JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Alise Petrova and Addison Torres turned in top 20 performances to lead the way for a fifth place finish for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in their opening meet of the 2026 season Friday night in Jacksonville.

The Eagles finished fifth out of 19 teams with 135 points, ahead of in-state foes USF and FIU as well as ASUN rivals Stetson and Jacksonville. UCF won the meet with a score of 43 while North Florida was second with 74.

"We are very proud of the team for a strong season opening performance" FGCU head coach Argeo Cruz said. "Despite weather delays, we were able to stay focused and compete fiercely together, including a strong benchmark established by Alise and Addison. We look forward to building on this momentum at our next meet in Tallahassee."

Alise Petrova led the Eagle runners with a time of 18.16.78, good for 14^th place while Addison Torres was just behind her with an 18:19.76 that put her 17^th. Rhyen Foley and Juliana Courville finished back to back in 30^th and 31^st in their first races at FGCU, less than a second apart at 18:37.65 and 18:38.55 while Tess Shultz rounded out the Eagles' scorers in 46^th with a 19:00.20.

The Eagles will return to action on September 18^th in Tallahassee when they compete in the Florida State Pre-Regional.

For more information on the Eagles, follow them on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit FGCUathletics.com.