2024 NAC Men's Cross Country Postseason Honors Announced
WATERVILLE, Maine – The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) has announced the 2024 men’s cross country postseason awards, recognizing outstanding achievements in categories including Senior Scholar Athlete, Runner of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year.
Each season, the NAC selects a Sportsmanship Team, which includes one athlete from each institution as chosen by their head coach. This award honors athletes who exhibit outstanding sportsmanship, contributing to the overall culture of cross country through integrity and behavior that exceeds the expectations of the sport.
UMaine-Farmington, this year’s NAC Champion, earned three of the four men’s cross country awards. Senior Jimmy Reel (Nashua, N.H.) was named NAC Men’s Cross Country Senior Scholar Athlete, while senior Justin Castaldo (Nashua, N.H.) was honored as the 2024 Runner of the Year. Additionally, the Beavers’ coaching staff, led by Head Coach Robbie Hollis and Assistant Coach Sean Cabaniss, received the 2024 Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year award.
Reel has been selected, by vote of the conference head coaches and NAC institutions’ Faculty Athletic Representatives, as the 2024 NAC Men’s Cross Country Senior Scholar Athlete. A double-major in actuarial science and mathematics with minors in data analytics and business administration, Reel sports a 3.72 GPA and has earned Dean’s List honors following each of his semesters at UMF. The Clifford Oliver Scholarship recipient has tutored math since Fall 2022 and is an active member of Farmington’s Actuarial Science Club. Reel has also presented research on preventive oral health policy and contributed to an evaluation report for the United Ambulance Community Paramedicine Program. Having passed two SOA exams and with internships at OneAmerica and Oliver Wyman, he will join Elevance Health as an actuarial analyst in June 2025.
As an accomplished athlete, Reel serves as the men's cross-country team captain and ran on the record-setting Distance Medley and 4x800 relay teams for the Beavers’ track and field program. He also holds the sixth-fastest cross country time in program history and is a two-time NAC cross country champion.
UMaine-Farmington senior Justin Castaldo (Scarborough, Maine) has been named the 2024 NAC Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year. Castaldo led the Beavers to the 2024 NAC Cross Country Championship with a winning - and personal-best - time of 26:02, finishing over 50 seconds ahead of the runner-up. He concluded an impressive college career this season, with three individual victories and a 12th-place finish at the 2024 Maine State Championship. Castaldo was also named as the NAC Runner of the Week four times this fall.
Maine Maritime Academy freshman William Spaulding (Freeport, Maine) was selected as the 2024 NAC Men’s Cross Country Rookie of the Year. Spaulding earned NAC Rookie of the Week honors five times this season and was awarded First Team All-Conference after placing third with a time of 27:02 at the NAC Championship on November 2.
UMaine-Farmington’s coaching staff received the 2024 Men’s Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year award. Head Coach Robbie Hollis and Assistant Coach Sean Cabaniss led the Beavers to their second consecutive NAC Championship, with six UMF runners earning All-Conference honors by finishing in the top 15, including Castaldo, who claimed victory in the NAC meet for a second straight year.
2024 NAC Men's Cross Country Major Awards:
Senior Scholar Athlete: Jimmy Reel, Sr., UMaine-Farmington
Runner of the Year: Justin Castaldo, Sr., UMaine-Farmington
Rookie of the Year: William Spaulding, Fr., Maine Maritime Academy
Coaching Staff of the Year: UMaine-Farmington
First Team All-North Atlantic Conference (Top 8 Finishers at NAC Championship)
Justin Castaldo, UMaine-Farmington
Ponce Saltysiak, Maine Maritime Academy
William Spaulding, Maine Maritime Academy
Sam Lees, SUNY Delhi
James Riley, UMaine-Farmington
Connor Freeman, UMaine-Farmington
Andrew LaFlamme, UMaine-Farmington
Jimmy Reel, UMaine-Farmington
Second Team All-North Atlantic Conference (Next 7 Finishers at NAC Championship)
Cooper Parlee, Maine Maritime Academy
Ethan Linscott, UMaine-Farmington
Nik Recore, SUNY Cobleskill
Liam Cowdrey, SUNY Delhi
David Hileman, Husson University
Patrick McKenny, Thomas College
Eddie Bradley, SUNY Delhi
Men’s Cross Country All-Sportsmanship Team
Joseph Burgess, So., UMaine-Farmington
Antonio Gonzalez, So., SUNY Cobleskill
David Gustin, Fr., UMaine-Presque Isle
David Hileman, Sr., Husson
Sam Lees, Sr., SUNY Delhi
Johnny Maldonado, Jr., Lesley
Nathan Moore, Jr., VTSU Lyndon
Logan Serpico, So., Maine Maritime
Matt Shea, Sr., Thomas College