Eastern Men's Cross Country Finishes Third at Little East Conference Championship

Emily Rosenbluth | Sports Editor

Athletes running in a race on a dirt trail./Photo by: 'ABBPhoto', licensed by Envato.com.

The Eastern Connecticut State University men's cross-country team finished third out of nine teams at the Little East Conference Championship on October 31, 2026, earning a top-three team finish behind a strong performance from its runners. The Warriors had several close finishes, with two athletes earning Second Team All-LEC honors.

Eastern's top finishers were sophomore Luke Dalton and junior Noah Hauswirth, who both earned Second Team All-LEC honors. Dalton finished 13th overall with a time of 26:43.3, while Hauswirth followed closely behind in 14th place, crossing the finish line in 26:48.0. Both runners finished among the top 14 competitors to earn conference recognition.

The Warriors continued to show their depth with four runners finishing close together. Senior Zach D'Andrea placed 15th with a time of 26:51.2, followed by first-year runner Brayden Dunn in 16th at 26:52.8. The four runners finished within just 10 seconds of each other, giving Eastern a strong group of finishes near the top of the field.

Junior Joey Caruk rounded out Eastern's top five, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 27:16.3. His performance completed the Warriors' scoring group and helped secure their third-place team finish.

Eastern also had several other runners competing throughout the race. Sophomore Kyle Kornacki finished 40th with a time of 28:28.9, while first-year Gerry Hall placed 49th in 28:59.9.

First-year Luke Nichols continued his late-season progress, finishing 56th with a time of 29:44.4. Sophomore Hayden Baber placed 60th in 30:04.4, followed closely by first-year Noah Chaloult in 61st with a time of 30:14.7. Senior Ian Vasquez rounded out Eastern's competitors, finishing 83rd overall in 33:04.5.

With a third-place finish out of nine teams, the Warriors had a successful conference championship performance. Dalton and Hauswirth's All-LEC honors, along with several close finishes from Eastern's runners, highlighted the team's performance at the championship.