LAKELAND, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's cross country team opened its season Saturday with a victory at the Swan City Cross Country Classic. A mix of newcomers and veterans led the Eagles to their first win of 2025, battling through heat and humidity. Two runners broke the program's 6K record, a distance rarely raced.

Freshman Taye Newman, a California native, took the lead from the start and never looked back, finishing in a program-best time of 18:19.6. Junior Nicholas Scarangelli settled into the chase pack early before breaking away after the first mile to finish second in 18:31.8, also bettering the previous program record.

Sophomore Joseph Koraya, freshman Henry Friedrichs and senior Ethan Stout rounded out the Eagles' top five with times of 19:05.7, 19:05.7 and 19:31.9, respectively, all placing inside the top 20.

"The men were impressive today, showing big improvement from last year," head coach Mike Rosolino said. "It's always great to start the year with a victory. Taye and Nick looked so smooth up front and will be a formidable one-two for us all year. I'm really excited to see what this group can do."

Up next
Embry-Riddle returns to action Saturday, Sept. 13, hosting the Embry-Riddle Cross Country Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla.