CASTLETON, Vt. – Backed by a pair of All-LEC performances and five finishes in the Top-20, the UMass Dartmouth men's cross country team finished second overall at the 2026 Little East Championship, hosted at the Spartans Athletic Complex on Saturday. The Corsairs compiled 66 points on the day, placing runner-up behind champion, Keene State (28 points).
It marks the highest finish at the conference championship for the Corsairs since the 2022 season – when UMD placed second behind Plymouth State. UMass Dartmouth saw sophomore
Declan Smith garner his first All-Little East First Team honor, while freshman
Maurice King earned Second Team recognition and was the top finishing first year, taking home Rookie of the Year honors.
Smith ran to third overall with a time of 25:37.9 in the 8k event, while King was ninth on the afternoon with a time of 26:10.1. Senior captain
Joseph Stanton placed 17th overall with a time of 26:53.7, while junior
Jack Barbato crossed the line in 27:00.5 – good for 18th overall. Sophomore
Stevie MacLennan powered his way to 19th overall in 27:04.5, while junior
Connor Bruni was 23rd in 27:16.6. Rounding out the top-seven for the Corsairs was senior captain
James Carriere and classmate
Zack Shute as they ran to 31st overall and 32nd overall, respectively in 27:55.2.
Other outstanding performances for the Corsairs at this year's championship included:
Junior
Michael Gemelli – 35th overall – 28:07.2
Sophomore
William Johnson – 43rd overall – 28:38.7
Senior captain
Colin Ozturk – 45th overall – 28:45.8
Senior captain
Tyler Scanlon – 46th overall – 28:54.0
Sophomore
Edward Yeboah – 48th overall – 28:59.4
Senior captain
Ben Bairos – 58th overall – 29:59.5
Rookie
Evan Solger – 64th overall – 30:21.5
Senior
Ronan Maloney – 71st overall – 30:58.0
Rookie
Isaiah Gagne – 80th overall – 32:14.4
Junior
Isaac Toweh – 81st overall – 32:17.9
UMass Dartmouth returns to action at the 2026 NCAA East Regional Championship, which will be held on November 14. The meet will be hosted by Bates College at the Wainwright Sports Complex - South Portland, Maine with an 12pm start time for the 8k event.
