NEW LONDON, N.H. - The Norwich University men's cross country team turned its first look at the 2026 Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship course into a runner-up performance on Sunday afternoon, placing second at the Colby-Sawyer Maslan Cross Country Invitational & GNAC Preview.
Competing almost exclusively against conference opposition, the Cadets totaled 38 points to finish just five behind team champion Saint Joseph's College of Maine, which posted 33. Emmanuel College (Mass.) followed Norwich in third with 64 points, while Lasell University took fourth with 105 and Dean College rounded out the five scoring teams with 132.
Norwich placed all five of its scorers among the first 12 finishers overall, including three inside the top 10, as the Cadets previewed the Morris Trail course that will host the GNAC Championships on Sunday, Nov. 1.
Junior Leo Circosta (Greensboro, Vt.) continued his season-long run atop the Norwich lineup, placing third overall in 24:56.2.  Circosta reached the opening 2.8-kilometer checkpoint in 9:04.1 and passed 5.74 kilometers in 18:26.7 before securing his third consecutive team-leading finish.
Senior Landon Pandolph (Peru, N.Y.) gave the Cadets a second top-seven finisher, crossing seventh overall in 26:10.4. Pandolph moved through 2.8 kilometers in 9:32.7 before reaching the final intermediate checkpoint in 19:19.5.
From there, Norwich's depth supplied the points that kept the Cadets within striking distance of the team title.
Sophomore Zachary Chastain (Reisterstown, Md.) delivered a ninth-place finish in 26:39.4, while junior Jayquan Boswell (Dallas, Texas) came through 11th in 26:58.3. Freshman Levi Jones (South Londonderry, Vt.) completed the scoring five immediately behind Boswell, taking 12th overall in 27:04.4.
Just 25 seconds separated Chastain, Boswell, and Jones, giving Norwich a tightly grouped third through fifth scoring trio.
Junior Matheu Dettenrieder (Tribes Hill, N.Y.) was next across for the Cadets in 21st overall with a 28:03.6 clocking, followed by sophomore Drew Nelson (Bagley, Minn.) in 22nd at 28:15.3. Freshman Paulo Coello (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) followed in 23rd at 28:23.3.
Senior Kyle Duffek (Chandler, Ariz.) finished 28th in 28:55.3, while freshman Austin Savee (Chesapeake, Va.) followed two places later in 29:02.6. Junior Samuel Estey (Yardley, Pa.) and sophomore Soren Tassmer (Higganum, Conn.) completed Norwich's finishers in 31:12.9 and 31:26.2, respectively.
Saint Joseph's claimed the team championship behind the top two individual finishers and five scoring runners inside the top 17 overall. Jacob Pelletier won the individual race in 23:52.7.
MEN'S LEADERS:
Norwich will make a quick return to competition on Friday, Oct. 9, traveling to the Hopkinton Cross Country Festival, hosted by fellow GNAC member New England College. The men's race is scheduled for 3:45 p.m.
The Cadets will return to the Morris Trail later this fall when Colby-Sawyer hosts the 2026 GNAC Championships on Sunday, Nov. 1.
