2024 NAC Men's Cross Country Pre-Championship Poll/Preview
WATERVILLE, Maine - The 2024 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men’s Cross Country Pre-Championship Coaches Poll results have been released and UMaine-Farmington has been picked to repeat as champions with seven of nine first-place votes and 72 points overall.
The 2024 NAC Cross Country Championships will take place on the campus of SUNY Delhi this Saturday. The men’s 8K race is slated to begin at 12:00 AM.
SUNY Delhi, which won the 2019 and 2022 men’s races and finished as the NAC runner-up in 2021 and 2023, has been forecasted to finish second with 69 total points and one first-place bid. Maine Maritime Academy, the runner-up in 2018 and 2019, claimed a first-place vote and 61 points and is ranked third.
SUNY Cobleskill earned 54 points and Thomas College secured 48 points to place fourth and fifth in this year’s pre-championship poll, respectively.
Husson University (39 pts), UMaine-Presque Isle (27 pts), Lesley University (19 pts), and VTSU Lyndon (16 pts) round out the 2024 NAC Men’s Cross Country Championship field.
2024 NAC MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLL:
| Rank |
Team |
Points (1st Place) |
| 1 |
UMaine-Farmington |
72 (7) |
| 2 |
SUNY Delhi |
69 (1) |
| 3 |
Maine Maritime Academy |
61 (1) |
| 4 |
SUNY Cobleskill |
54 |
| 5 |
Thomas College |
48 |
| 6 |
Husson University |
39 |
| 7 |
UMaine-Presque Isle |
27 |
| 8 |
Lesley University |
19 |
| 9 |
Vermont State Lyndon |
16 |
2024 NAC CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM CAPSULES:
#1 UMaine-Farmington
Head Coach: Robbie Hollis (2nd Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 1st, 24 pts
Last fall, the five-time (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2023) NAC champs closed the door on a 16-year title drought by placing five runners in the top eight individually en route to winning the 2023 NAC Championship by nearly 70 points. The Beavers return 2023 NAC Runner of the Year – and four-time 2024 NAC Runner of the Week - Justin Castaldo (Scarborough, Maine) as well as fellow All-Conference honorees Jimmy Reel (Nashua, N.H.) and Ethan Linscott (Lakeville, Maine), who placed sixth and eighth, respectively, in last year’s main event.
#2 SUNY Delhi
Head Coach: Jordan Brannan (1st Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 2nd, 93 pts
SUNY Delhi has either won or finished as the runner-up in the NAC Championship event in each of the last four seasons with conference crowns in 2019 and 2022. Senior Sam Lees (Delancey, N.Y.), who placed 18th in last year’s race, is the Broncos’ top returner while freshman Liam Cowdrey (Scotia, N.Y.) has been SUNY Delhi’s top finisher in four races this fall and claimed NAC Rookie of the Week honors on October 15th.
#3 Maine Maritime
Head Coach: Bryan Wolf (2nd Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 6th, 146 points
A five-time NAC runner-up, Maine Maritime has been projected to improve upon the team’s sixth-place finish last fall by three places with the help of senior Ponce Saltysiak (Bar Harbor, Maine) and freshman William Spaulding (Freeport, Maine). Saltysiak, a three-time All-Conference honoree, has claimed three NAC Runner of the Week honors this fall while Spaulding has been a five-time NAC Rookie of the Week selection as a first-year standout.
#4 SUNY Cobleskill
Head Coach: Zach Haskin (1st Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 4th, 115 points
SUNY Cobleskill returns their top runner from the 2023 NAC Championship in junior Nik Recore (Peru, N.Y.), who earned Second Team All-Conference honors after placing 13th with a 28:58.5 time in the NAC main event last fall. He has finished in the top 10 in all five of the Fighting Tigers’ races this season, including a win at the Castleton Invitational, and forms a solid 1-2 punch with junior Daniel Jaffin (Woodbury, Conn.), who has a pair of top-10 finishes this year.
#5 Thomas College
Head Coach: Alanna McDonough (3rd Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 8th, 192 pts
The Terriers are led by a pair of returners in senior Matt Shea (Ellsworth, Maine) and sophomore Patrick McKenney (Skowhegan, Maine), who placed 22nd (30:43) and 25th (30:49), respectively, in the 2023 NAC Championship. Freshman Gage Bruns (Bucksport, Maine) has finished in the top 10 twice this fall and will be a key contributor for Thomas in this year’s championship event.
#6 Husson University
Head Coach: Kate Goupee (11th Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 3rd, 103 pts
Husson finished third in the 2023 NAC Championship with the help of senior David Hileman (Bucksport, Maine), who garnered First Team All-Conference honors with a seventh-place finish in last fall’s title meet. The Eagles also return seniors Jeremy Stone (Houlton, Maine) and Richard Cromwell (Burlington, Mass.), who finished 27th and 59th, respectively, in 2023.
#7 UMaine-Presque Isle
Head Coach: Ray Putnam (1st Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: 7th, 169 pts
Junior Westley Dyer (Belfast, Maine) and freshman David Gustin (Winthrop, Maine) lead the way for the Owls, as Dyer has posted seventh and 11th-place finishes this season and Gustin has placed 23rd in two events as a first-year runner.
#8 Lesley University
Head Coach: Aidan Konhaus (1st Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: NA
Lesley, which had two individual runners in last season’s conference meet, will field a team in the NAC Championship for the first time this Saturday. Junior Johnny Maldonado (Chelsea, Mass.) will lead the way for the Lynx after showing steady improvement in each of his team’s events this fall.
#9 VTSU Lyndon
Head Coach: Chris Chichester (1st Season)
2023 NAC Championship Finish: NA
A seven-time NAC Champion during an eight-year span, VTSU Lyndon last claimed the conference crown in 2015 and is looking to rebuild the tradition under the watch of first-year Head Coach Chris Chichester. Freshman Abraham Olsen (Burlington, Vt.) placed 15th with a 30:06 time at the Norwich Cadet Invitational this fall, and junior Nathan Moore (Norwich, Conn.) placed 65th in the 2023 NAC Championship and garnered NAC All-Sportsmanship Team honors.