NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's cross country team came up just shy in its GNAC title defense on Sunday afternoon, finishing second overall at the 2025 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Cross Country Championship on its home course.
Despite a wire-to-wire individual win form senior standout
Seth Varin (Danielson, Conn.), the Cadets were edged by just two points in the team standings, finishing with 46 to Saint Joseph's College of Maine's 44 in one of the tightest finishes in recent GNAC Championship history.
Emmanuel College (63), Lasell University (108), and Regis College (144) rounded out the top five scoring teams in a field that featured seven scoring programs and 10 total teams. Colby-Sawyer College, Dean College, and additional runners from Elms College, New England College, and Mitchell College also competed.
Varin seized control of the race early and never looked back, clocking a 26:44.9 to take first overall and earn GNAC Runner of the Year honors. The All-Conference First Team nod caps a dominant senior campaign for Varin, who collected four GNAC Runner of the Week awards this fall and becomes the fifth different Cadet in program history to be named Runner of the Year. He joins a distinguished list that includes two-time recipient Michael Monaghan (2005, 2006), Korey Leonard (2015), Brody Hale (2017), and Adam Saucier (2018).
Freshman
Shea Parish (Barrington, R.I.) continued his breakout debut season by placing seventh overall in 28:19.1 to land on the All-Conference First Team. JuniorÂ
Landon Pandolph (Peru, N.Y.) earned his third-straight All-Conference honor with an eighth-place showing in 28:24.0, earning Second Team accolades.
Freshman
Logan Whitmarsh (North Yarmouth, Maine) took 14th in 29:01.2, also claiming a spot on the All-Conference Second Team. Sophomore
Matheu Dettenrieder (Tribes Hill, N.Y.), the reigning GNAC Rookie of the Year, rounded out the Cadets' scoring five in 29:27.9.
Kyle Duffek (Chandler, Ariz.) and
Alex Calo (Attleboro, Mass.) added key support in the sixth and seventh scoring slots for Norwich, placing 17th (29:34.5) and 18th (29:46.9), respectively.
Lasell's Caleb Ruch was named GNAC Rookie of the Year after placing second overall in 26:49.8, leading a Lasers team that cracked the top four with 108 points.
Sunday's meet was once again started by the ceremonial firing of a M116 75mm pack Howitzer by the Norwich Artillery Battery, with
Joe Barch '82, a member of the undefeated 1982 Norwich Athletic Hall of Fame cross country team, serving as the official starter.
MEN'S LEADERS:
The Cadets now turn their focus to the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional Championship, hosted by St. Lawrence University on Saturday, Nov. 15, in Canton, N.Y.
2025 GNACÂ Men's Cross Country Championship Final Results
1. Saint Joseph's (Maine) - 44
2. Norwich - 46
3. Emmanuel (Mass.) - 63
4. Lasell - 108
5. Regis (Mass.) - 144
6. Dean - 153
7. Colby-Sawyer - 159
INC. - Elms, New England College, Mitchell
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