NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's cross country team returned to the forefront of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in emphatic style, winning the 2024 GNAC Men's Cross Country Championship on their home course on Saturday afternoon.
The Cadets hosted a field of 12 teams, with seven finishing with enough scorers. Norwich could not be stopped by any means, with six Cadets finishing within the top 10 to give the hosts a dominant 30 points. Saint Joseph's College of Maine concluded the day as runner-ups with 57 points, while Colby-Sawyer College and Emmanuel College also logged less than 100 points.
Regis College, Rivier University, and Dean College rounded out those who placed, while runners from Lasell University, New England College, Elms College, Mitchell College, and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) all participated in the title race.
A new face emerged as the top runner, as Colby-Sawyer's Cody Thompson usurped Jacob Pelletier of Saint Joseph's (Maine) for first-place after Pelletier claimed the individual title at the Norwich Cadet Invitational in early October. Thompson earned GNAC Runner of the Year laurels after logging a 25:43.1 time, ahead of Pelletier, who checked in at second on 26:03.0.
At third and fourth, the University of Saint Joseph's Braeden Laframboise and Riley Stogsdill of Regis were the final runners before a sea of maroon and gold crossed the line in succession.Â
Matheu Dettenrieder (Tribes Hill, N.Y.) began the onslaught, posting a 27:48.9 effort to finish as the top individual first-year and fifth-place overall, collecting GNAC Rookie of the Year recognition and receiving a spot on the GNAC All-Conference First Team in the process.
Seth Varin (Danielson, Conn.) and
Landon Pandolph (Peru, N.Y.) followed shortly after Dettenrieder, also landing on the GNAC's First Team after tallying 27:54.8 and 28:10.2 times to finish sixth and seventh, respectively. Both runners improved on their times at the Cadet Invitational by over a minute each.
Judson Nash (Boerne, Texas),
Jacob Reed (Thompson, Conn.), and
Leo Circosta (Greensboro, Vt.) rounded out the top 10 effort, all receiving GNAC All-Conference Second Team plaudits. All three crossed the line one after the other, with Nash leading the pack on 28:26.0, followed by Reed's 28:31.5, and closed by Circosta's 28:40.4.
Kyle Duffek (Chandler, Ariz.) was also tapped to the GNAC's Second Team, finishing 12th overall on a 29:14.5 time.Â
Chance Boulware (Martinsburg, W.Va.) posted a strong race to check in at 15th.
Norwich's victory marks their 12th GNAC Championship and the first since 2022. The Cadets avenged last season's loss to Saint Joseph's College of Maine, when they finished as runner-ups in Standish, Maine, in the 2023 title race. Norwich's winning history dates back to the 1999 season when the Cadets claimed the first of three-straight GNAC Men's Cross Country Championships.
The meet was started by the pairing of the Norwich Artillery Battery and Joe Barch '82. The Norwich Artillery Battery began the meet with a firing of a M116 75mm Pack Howitzer, while Barch, a member of the 1982 Norwich Athletic Hall of Fame cross country team, served as the official starter.
MEN'S LEADERS:
The Cadets will now look ahead to the NCAA Div. III Mideast Regional Championship, hosted by Connecticut College in Waterford, Conn., on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12:00 p.m.
