SCSU Men's Cross Country Finishes 8th At 2026 NEICAAA Cross Country Championships

Men's Cross Country 10/9/2026 10:15:00 PM

SCSU Men's Cross Country Finishes 8th At 2026 NEICAAA Cross Country Championships

CONTOOCOOK, N.H. — Southern Connecticut State University men's cross country finished eighth at the 2026 NEICAAA Cross Country Championships at Hopkinton Fairgrounds, led by a top-five individual finish from sophomore Colton Sallum.

The Owls totaled 213 points in the men's 8K to place eighth of 20 scoring teams. Providence won the team title with 85 points, edging Stonehill and Vermont, which tied for second with 87 points each. Holy Cross was fourth with 137, Bryant fifth with 191, Merrimack sixth with 199, Harvard seventh with 201, and Southern eighth with 213, ahead of New Hampshire (221) and Central Connecticut (230).

Sallum placed fourth overall in 24:40.9 to score four team points, matching the time of third-place Sam Hodgson of Providence to the tenth of a second. The sophomore's finish made him the top Division II runner in the field and the highest-placing Owl at the New England championships since Jonathan Volpe's regional title run in 2025. Holy Cross senior Joseph Mahon won the individual race in 24:10.4, followed by Central Connecticut senior Aidan Budge in 24:18.7.

Junior John Glidden was second for Southern in 49th place overall in 26:10.1 for 46 points. Senior Ryan Gagne was next in 54th in 26:17.0 for 49 points, and freshman Dominic Lombardo was 61st in 26:20.7 for 53 points. Senior Dominic Tartarelli closed the scoring five in 72nd in 26:26.1 for 61 points, giving Southern a 1:45.2 spread from first to fifth scorer.

Freshman Hayden Burke was sixth for the Owls and 103rd overall in 26:50.6 for 82 points, and sophomore Landon Pelletier was seventh in 116th in 27:11.1 for 88 points. Also competing were freshman Jaxson Koczur (27:11.6), junior Joseph Lamburn (27:27.9) and freshman Santiago Rodriguez (28:44.4).

The 213-point total put Southern 12 points behind Harvard and eight points ahead of New Hampshire, which finished ninth with 221 points. The Owls were the top Northeast 10 Conference team in the field, finishing ahead of Bentley (323), Saint Michael's (435), Southern New Hampshire (475) and Assumption (487) as well as former NE10 foe New Haven (564).

For Southern, which won its fourth straight NCAA East Regional title in 2025 behind Volpe's individual crown and swept the NE10 championships with the women's program, the eighth-place finish provides a regional benchmark against Division I programs from the America East, Ivy League and Big East. The Owls' four-point score from Sallum was the lowest individual contribution for any team outside the top three, underscoring the value of a low stick up front.

The Owls have relied on pack improvement throughout 2026. After opening at Hartford and finishing fourth at UMass Dartmouth, Southern showed progress at Hopkinton with three runners under 26:20 and five under 26:27.

The Owls will next compete at the NE10 Championships in Garden City, N.Y. on Nov. 7, where they will look to defend their conference title. The NCAA Division II East Regional land on Nov. 21.

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