Recently the FGCU men’s cross country team has added six new members to its 2016-17 roster. Carlin Berryhill, Kenny Castro, Jan Figuero, Ronny Greenup and Quasan Markowski are all from Florida while the sixth runner, Luka Ndungu is from Nyahururu, Kenya.

Head coach Cassandra Goodson seemed very optimistic about this newly recruited group.

“This recruiting class is very special to our program,” Goodson said. “They’re part of an overall plan to set a foundation of continued, long-term improvement and success. These six student athletes will join five returners on the men’s side, and we expect them to contribute immediately and add depth and talent to an already competitive training environment. We’re also looking forward to their contributions to our overall team-first culture that demands hard work, respect and support.”

This group of men consists of three freshmen, two juniors and a graduate student.

Berryhill, a freshman from Miami, is joining FGCU after a very successful high school career where his team finished runner-up in the state from 2014 to 2016.

Figuero, a freshman from Casselberry, brings a list of high school achievements with him to FGCU, holding five records and two state qualifications.

Markowski, a freshman from Tampa, was on the all-state, all-conference and all-county teams before becoming an Eagle.

Castro, a junior from Miami, comes to FGCU after spending the past two years at Iowa Central Community College. He is a two-time FHSAA cross country individual medalist in 2011 and 2012.

Greenup, a junior from Miami, becomes an Eagle after running as a rival FIU Panther in the previous season. He comes with four state qualifications and was also named First Team All-Dade County in 2013.

Ndungu, a graduate from Kenya, joins the Eagles after spending the two previous seasons at Eastern Kentucky University. He has a personal record of 23:58:50 in the 8K, which is almost a full minute faster than the program record.

These new Eagles will be on the team with five holdovers from the 2015 team, which finished third in the A-Sun Championship last season. The new group of runners will make its debut at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 at the FAU Invitational.