NEW LONDON, N.H. - Five Norwich University men's cross country runners earned Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) All-Conference honors on Sunday afternoon as the Cadets turned in a strong team performance, finishing second at the 2026 GNAC Men's Cross Country Championship at Colby-Sawyer College's Morris Trail.
Norwich placed all five of its scoring runners inside the top 14 overall, including two among the first four, to finish with 42 points. Saint Joseph's College of Maine successfully defended its conference championship with 38 points, leaving the Cadets just four points shy of the crown.
Emmanuel College (Mass.) followed in third with 66 points, while host Colby-Sawyer College (116), Lasell University (119), and Mitchell College (160) rounded out the six-team scoring field.
The four-point margin marked another razor-thin championship battle between Norwich and Saint Joseph's after the Monks edged the Cadets by only two points, 44-46, at the 2025 title meet in Northfield.
Junior Leo Circosta (Greensboro, Vt.) continued his season-long run at the front of the Norwich lineup, placing third overall in 28:24.9 to earn GNAC All-Conference First Team honors.
Circosta finished behind only Saint Joseph's senior Jacob Pelletier and freshman Sam Tooley, giving Norwich three scoring points with his highest career GNAC Championship finish. The junior had led the Cadets in each of their five regular-season competitions before once again pacing Norwich in the postseason.
Senior Landon Pandolph (Peru, N.Y.) crossed only 19.8 seconds behind Circosta, placing fourth overall in 28:44.7 to join his teammate on the All-Conference First Team.
The performance continued Pandolph's decorated career and gave Norwich two runners among the first four finishers, immediately putting the Cadets in the thick of the team-title race.
Sophomore Zachary Chastain (Reisterstown, Md.) delivered another major result for Norwich in ninth place, clocking a 29:47.5 to earn GNAC All-Conference Second Team recognition.
Chastain crossed just one-tenth of a second ahead of Emmanuel's Luke Bullock, securing the ninth scoring position and giving Norwich its third All-Conference finisher.
Freshman Levi Jones (South Londonderry, Vt.) continued an impressive first collegiate season with a 12th-place finish in 30:09.9, landing on the All-Conference Second Team in his GNAC Championship debut.
Senior Kyle Duffek (Chandler, Ariz.) then completed Norwich's scoring five and All-Conference sweep, taking 14th overall in 30:20.4 to claim the final spot on the Second Team.
With Circosta and Pandolph on the First Team and Chastain, Jones, and Duffek on the Second Team, all five runners who counted toward Norwich's team score earned postseason honors.
Only 32.9 seconds separated Chastain, Jones, and Duffek across Norwich's third through fifth positions, continuing the pack-running strength that had become a defining feature of the Cadets throughout the second half of the season.
Junior Matheu Dettenrieder (Tribes Hill, N.Y.) finished immediately outside the All-Conference positions, crossing 18th overall in 30:44.6. Junior Jayquan Boswell (Dallas, Texas) completed Norwich's top seven in 20th with a 30:56.7 effort.
Freshman Paulo Coello (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) followed in 23rd at 31:57.0, while sophomore Drew Nelson (Bagley, Minn.) finished 31st in 33:04.3.
Freshman Austin Savee (Chesapeake, Va.), sophomore Soren Tassmer (Higganum, Conn.), and junior Samuel Estey (Yardley, Pa.) also completed the championship course for Norwich.
Saint Joseph's built its championship total behind the top two individual finishers. Pelletier captured the individual title and GNAC Runner of the Year honors in 26:51.1, while Tooley followed in second at 27:50.7 to earn GNAC Rookie of the Year recognition.
Norwich's runner-up result matched its finish from a season ago and continued an extended stretch among the conference's elite. The Cadets entered Sunday selected second in the pre-championship coaches' poll, just five points behind Saint Joseph's, after also finishing five points behind the Monks at the GNAC Preview on the same Morris Trail course earlier this fall.
MEN'S LEADERS:
- Junior Leo Circosta (Greensboro, Vt.)
- 3rd, 28:24.9; GNAC All-Conference First Team
- Senior Landon Pandolph (Peru, N.Y.)
- 4th, 28:44.7; GNAC All-Conference First Team
- Sophomore Zachary Chastain (Reisterstown, Md.)
- 9th, 29:47.5; GNAC All-Conference Second Team
- Freshman Levi Jones (South Londonderry, Vt.)
- 12th, 30:09.9; GNAC All-Conference Second Team
- Senior Kyle Duffek (Chandler, Ariz.)
- 14th, 30:20.4; GNAC All-Conference Second Team
- Junior Matheu Dettenrieder (Tribes Hill, N.Y.)
- Junior Jayquan Boswell (Dallas, Texas)
Norwich will now turn its attention to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championship on Saturday, Nov. 14, hosted by Trinity College at Wickham State Park in Manchester, Conn. The men's 8K is scheduled for 12:00 p.m., following the women's race at 11:00 a.m.
2026 GNAC Men's Cross Country Championship Final Results
- Saint Joseph's (Maine) - 38
- Norwich - 42
- Emmanuel (Mass.) - 66
- Colby-Sawyer - 116
- Lasell - 119
- Mitchell - 160
