WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- The Ave Maria University cross country teams were among the top NAIA programs at the Keiser University Flagship Invitational Friday evening, as the Gyrenes placed second among NAIA programs in a competitive field. The Gyrene women finished fifth among eleven teams in the field, while the men placed third of nine.

Lily Burke led the way for the Gyrenes, placing in the top 15 with a time of 19:28.22. Two more Gyrenes broke the 20-minute mark on the 5k course, as Felicity Foxhoven clocked in at 19:44.05 and Madison Thomas crossed the finish line at 19:50.88. Sofia Torres and Anne Scheck rounded out Ave Maria's scoring, clocking in with times of 20:03.52 and 20:36.72. 

Three NCAA Division II programs led the way in the women's event, with Palm Beach Atlantic claiming the team title by eleven points over runner-up Nova Southeastern. Three of the top four individual runners also came from the Sailfish, with freshman Emma Hanstveit winning the individual title by seven seconds over Nova Southeastern's Eden Toal.

Joseph Perreault  was the top Ave Maria finisher on the men's side, finishing fifth overall with a time of 15:42.67. Michael Long was just outside the top ten at 15:59.35, while both Samuel Paga and Christopher Hermann finished in the top 20 with times of 16:09.98 and 16:12.46, respectively. Adam Paga rounded out the the Ave Maria scorers with a top 20 finish of his own, placing 20th overall at 16:16.40

Ave Maria's men finished just three points behind Southeastern University, with the Fire's average just four seconds faster than the Gyrenes. Southeastern's edge over the Gyrenes was powered by overall winner John Perez-Dunn, who finished the course in 15:23.52. The team champion on the men's side was Palm Beach Atlantic, who placed all five of their scoring runners in the top 12.

AMU will have three weeks to prepare for their next meet, which will come on their home course at North Park. Ave Maria will host The Sun Conference Preview on Saturday, October 7. It will mark the first of two home meets for the Gyrenes this season, with the entirety of The Sun Conference converging on Ave Maria on November 4 for The Sun Conference Championships.