St. Gregory's cross country teams kick off their 2016 seasons Friday with heightened goals. Both squads feature an experienced core group to go along with some young talent, and each expect to make some noise in the conference and nationally.

On the women's side, SGU returns its top two runners in Sabrina DeSantiago and Alexis Gee. DeSantiago qualified for cross country nationals a season ago before becoming the track program's ninth All-American after finishing seventh in the marathon.

Gee knocked nearly 20 seconds off her collegiate PR last season, posting a season-best 19:17 at the OBU Invitational.

"Our returners look better than ever, and we have a great group of freshmen," said head women's coach Alice Ross. "I think this is a team that can be ranked going into nationals. I think they can definitely make some noise."

The men's team returns four runners from a season ago, led by national qualifier Robert Torres. The senior from Salinas, Calif., posted a collegiate-best time of 26:27 at the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship Meet last year.

"I think the men's team mirrors the women's team in that we expect to surprise some people," said head men's coach Cody Ingold. "We've got a great group of returners and some talented freshmen. They've bonded well in training are ready to compete."

Friday's season-opening event – the Terry Masterson Twilight meet – begins at 9 p.m. in Hutchinson, Kan.

CLICK HERE for the complete cross country schedule.