MORAGA, Calif. — Entering the 2025 campaign with their highest ever preseason regional ranking, the Saint Mary's Men's Cross Country team will open up their season at the USF Invitational on Friday at Golden Gate Park. With a solid balance of returning talent and highly touted newcomers this season is gearing up to be one for the history books for the Gaels. 

The Gaels are coming off of a strong showing in 2024 that featured their first meet win since 2020 and their best ever regional finish. A big reason for the Gaels success was the consistency of Elon transfer Zane Jackson, who paced Saint Mary's in every race he ran in. Jacob Moffett settled into the number two role for the Gaels by the end of the season in his second season in Moraga. Curtis Volf made the most of his final season in Moraga, establishing himself as the Gaels #3, while Jason Habash had his most productive season to date earning the #4 spot in each of the final two races for the Gaels. Jackson, Moffett and Habash are all back in 2025. 

Nine Gaels will be competing in this week's meet: Andrew Perez, Moss Michelsen, Quinn Davis, Luke Davis, Anthony Sharp, Jackson Woolf, Nick Shoemaker, Jack McGuire, and Jacob Schuetze.  Seven of those nine will be making their SMC debuts, while Perez and Michelsen kick off their second and third season for the Gaels respectively. Of the Gael freshmen, Jack McGuire and Jackson Woolf are both coming off of brilliant senior campaigns in which they each set sub 16 minute PRs in the 5K. They will now get a chance to show what they can do in the collegiate 8K distance. 

The Golden Gate Park Cross Country Course is a mostly flat 2000m loop composed of grass and dirt with a gradual descent from the start to the 600m mark and a gradual uphill elevation change from 1200m mark to the 1800m mark. The men's race will feature four laps around this course for the standard DI distance of 8 kilometers. The Gaels made a statement to open the 2024 campaign at this race last year, placing second overall. Zane Jackson dazzled in his Gael debut, finishing in 10th, with Jacob Moffett finishing just two spots behind him in 12th. 

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