NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's cross country team will return to the Morris Trail on Sunday, Nov. 1, for the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Cross Country Championship, with the Cadets entering the weekend squarely in the conference title picture.

The men's eight-kilometer championship race is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Colby-Sawyer College in New London, N.H., following the women's 6K at 12:00 p.m.

Norwich was selected second in the GNAC pre-championship coaches' poll, earning 90 points and two first-place votes.  Defending champion Saint Joseph's College of Maine received the remaining eight first-place votes and 95 points, while Emmanuel College (81), Lasell University (71), and host Colby-Sawyer (56) completed the top five.

The poll mirrors what has already been a tight season-long battle between Norwich and Saint Joseph's.

The Cadets got their first look at Sunday's championship course on Oct. 4 at the Colby-Sawyer Maslan Cross Country Invitational & GNAC Preview, placing second with 38 points and finishing just five behind the Monks.  Norwich put all five scorers among the first 12 finishers overall, including three inside the top 10.

The matchup also renews a championship battle decided by only two points one year ago.  Saint Joseph's edged Norwich, 44-46, at the 2025 GNAC Championship in Northfield, denying the Cadets a second consecutive conference crown after Norwich captured its 12th GNAC men's title in 2024.

Junior Leo Circosta (Greensboro, Vt.) has set the pace for Norwich throughout the 2026 campaign, finishing first among Cadet runners in all five regular-season meets.

Circosta enters the postseason coming off his best placement of the fall, finishing sixth overall in 27:08.81 at the Golden Bear Invitational on Oct. 17.  His performance helped Norwich place fifth in a 21-team field, only eight points behind fourth-place Clark University.

The junior also delivered one of his strongest conference benchmarks earlier this month at the GNAC Preview, finishing third overall in 24:56.2 on the Morris Trail.

Senior Landon Pandolph (Peru, N.Y.) has been Norwich's most consistent second runner, finishing seventh at the GNAC Preview in 26:10.4 before placing 29th overall in the regular-season finale at Western New England.

Behind Circosta and Pandolph, Norwich's strength has increasingly come through its depth and pack running.

Sophomore Zachary Chastain (Reisterstown, Md.), junior Jayquan Boswell (Dallas, Texas), senior Kyle Duffek (Chandler, Ariz.), freshman Levi Jones (South Londonderry, Vt.), junior Matheu Dettenrieder (Tribes Hill, N.Y.), and freshman Paulo Coello (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) have all contributed within the Cadets' top seven this season.

At the GNAC Preview, Chastain finished ninth, Boswell crossed 11th, and Jones placed 12th. Just 25 seconds separated Norwich's third through fifth scorers, helping keep the Cadets within five points of Saint Joseph's.

Norwich produced another compact scoring group in its regular-season finale.  Chastain took 50th overall, Duffek followed in 58th, and Jones finished 59th, with only 18.27 seconds separating the trio.  Boswell and Coello completed the Cadets' top seven as Norwich placed fifth among 21 scoring teams.

The Cadets have steadily improved throughout the fall after opening the season at Suffolk University's Short Course Classic.  Norwich moved to the full 8K distance at St. Lawrence, finished second at the GNAC Preview, placed fourth at the Hopkinton Cross Country Festival, and closed the regular season with its fifth-place result at Western New England.

"The women's and men's teams competed well today both placing fifth overall out of twenty-some teams," Head Coach Michael McGrane said after the regular-season finale.  "Today was a final tune-up race before the GNAC XC Championships in just two weeks. The teams have developed well with a pair of consistent top performers by Ava and Leo followed by good depth and pack running between our 2nd through 7th runners. We're looking better each week and looking forward to the chance to place high at the GNAC's."

Norwich enters Sunday pursuing the 13th GNAC men's cross country championship in program history.  The Cadets have won conference titles in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, and 2024.

Norwich has also produced several individual GNAC champions, including Michael Monaghan in 2005 and 2006, Korey Leonard in 2015, Brody Hale in 2017, Adam Saucier in 2018, and Seth Varin in 2025.  Varin won last year's championship in 26:44.9 to earn GNAC Runner of the Year honors.

The top overall finisher Sunday will earn GNAC Runner of the Year honors, while the highest-finishing first-year runner will be recognized as GNAC Rookie of the Year.  All-Conference honors will also be determined by individual placement.

The men's 8K is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. at Colby-Sawyer's Morris Trail.