NAC Men's Cross Country Awards Announced
WATERVILLE, Maine – UMaine-Farmington head cross country coach
Robbie Hollis was voted the North Atlantic Conference Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year while SUNY Cobleskill senior
Nick Logan was selected as the Men’s Cross Country Senior Scholar Athlete, in the results of voting among the conference head coaches and Faculty Athletics Representatives.
UMaine-Farmington junior
Justin Castaldo earned Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year honors while Castaldo's teammate, freshman
Ethan Linscott of UMaine-Farmington, received the Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year accolade, by virtue of their respective performances at the 2023 NAC Cross Country Championships held October 28 at the University of Maine-Presque Isle.
Hollis receives his first NAC coaching honor, as he guided the Beavers to the 2023 Championship. It was the fifth title in program history, and the first since 2005-06. The Beavers were second in last year’s event. This year, they had five of the top eight finishers. UMF won the season opening meet at the Ron Ouellette invitational and the NAC Preview Meet. At the Ouellette Invitational the team placed six runners inside the top-10. At the NAC Preview Meet the men placed sixinside the top-10 as well. The Beavers ran the second fastest 8k in program history at the Maine State Championship, placing fifth. They broke the fastest meet record at the Suffolk Invitational at Franklin Park with the top five racers averaging a 27:00 8k.
Castaldo won the title with a time of 27:37.4 to lead Farmington to a first-place finish at the NAC Men’s Cross Country Championship. He is the seventh member of the program to earn NAC Runner of the Year honors and the first since his coach, Robbie Hollis, was the 2015 NAC Runner of the Year. Castaldo earned a NAC Runner of the Week award and also had a PR at the Suffolk Invitational, placing 20th out of 276 with a 26:28 finish.
Linscott captured NAC Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year honor after he finished 12th overall at the NAC championship meet with a time of 28:19.6
The Senior Scholar Athlete award recognizes a graduating senior who has excelled academically and athletically, while demonstrating leadership and service, during their student-athlete experience.
Logan will be graduating with his Bachelor's Degree in Plant Science in January at SUNY Cobleskill. He holds a 3.80 GPA. In his three and a half seasons, Logan has earned NAC First Team honors in 2021, 2022 and this season, while also earning NCAA All-Niagara Regional Team honors in 2021 and 2022. He has been a five-time NAC Runner-of-the-Week during his career.
All programs are headed to NCAA Regional qualifying races on November 11. SUNY Canton and VTSU Lyndon will compete in the Mideast Region. SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY Delhi, SUNY Morrisville and SUNY Poly will compete in the Niagara Region. Eastern Nazarene, UMaine-Farmington, Husson, Maine Maritime, UMaine-Presque Isle and Thomas will compete in the East Regional.
In addition to the major conference awards, 15 student-athletes were named to the All-Conference teams, and 13 individuals were named to the NAC Men’s Cross Country Sportsmanship Team. Selection to the Sportsmanship Team is reserved for those who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior. The honorees have positively affected the cross country culture and meet day environment by clearly demonstrating sportsmanship and integrity beyond the rules and etiquette.
2023 NAC Men’s Cross Country Awards
Runner of the Year – Justin Castaldo, UMaine-Farmington
Rookie of the Year – Ethan Linscott, UMaine-Farmington
Senior Scholar Athlete – Nick Logan, SUNY Cobleskill
Coach of the Year – Robbie Hollis, UMaine-Farmington
First Team All-North Atlantic Conference
Justin Castaldo, UMaine-Farmington
Nick Logan, SUNY Cobleskill
Ponce Saltysiak, Maine Maritime
Luke Bliss, UMaine-Farmington
James Riley, UMaine-Farmington
Jimmy Reel, UMaine-Farmington
David Hileman, Husson
Ethan Linscott, UMaine-Farmington
Second Team All-North Atlantic Conference
Derek Leiter, SUNY Delhi
Nathan Goodwin, SUNY Delhi
John Amenta, SUNY Delhi
Andrew Laflamme, UMaine Farmington
Nik Recore, SUNY Cobleskill
Connor Freeman, UMaine-Farmington
Stephen Grierson, UMaine-Presque Isle
Sportsmanship Team
SUNY Canton – Matthew Pietryka
SUNY Cobleskill – Will Molesky
SUNY Delhi – Cheo Mumford
Eastern Nazarene - Andrew Fitzpatrick
UMaine-Farmington – Luke Bliss
Husson – David Hileman
Lesley - Dawson Romito
VTSU Lyndon – Nathan Moore
Maine Maritime – Zach Hammel
SUNY Morrisville - Gavin Griffin
SUNY Poly – Caleb McDermott
UMaine-Presque Isle – Ezra Leach
Thomas – Matt Shea