The New York University men's cross country team opened its 2026 season on Saturday, Sep. 12 at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational, hosted by Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY. 

NYU placed six runners among the top 10, including its five scoring runners, and earned first place in the team standings with 31 points. Host Vassar took second (44 pts) and Union College (91 pts) finished third. 

"A phenomenal job from this group today," said Associate Head Coach Nic Jacobsen. "We felt like this was a really good opportunity to test our youth and depth. A big group of underclassmen got valuable experience against a quality field."

Newcomer Wyatt Lendon led the way for the Violets, taking second with a 19:16.6 finish. Vassar's Sean Miller took the individual win with a 19:15.8 time. 

Fellow NYU newcomer Sebastian Taylor (19:24.4) rounded out the top five. Trey Davidson (19:28.4), Amiri Olu Whittle (19:29.3) and Charles Abemayor (19:31.6) finished 7-8-9, respectively. 

The Violets will head back to training before traveling to Pennsylvania for the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University, on Oct. 2.