BEVERLY, Mass. - A new season, a new course and another race for the crown are on the horizon as the 2026 Conference of New England (CNE) men’s cross country season gets underway. Roger Williams University returns as the defending CNE champion after racing to the title at Gordon College last fall, with teams across the conference now setting their sights on the Hawks and the league’s top prize. The journey through the 2026 season will ultimately lead to the University of Hartford, where the CNE Championship will be decided this fall.

Curry College
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: TBD | graduated: TBD | newcomers: TBD)
2025 Postseason Finish: 10th place
 
The Curry men’s Cross Country team is coming off their best season ever, and will look to continue to push the pace on the course. They are led by program record holder Blaise Denson, and followed by other standouts in Linus Kiser and Chance Payton.
 

Gordon College
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 9 | graduated: 1 | newcomers: 6)
2025 Championship Finish: 4th place
 
Gordon returns nine veterans and adds six newcomers for the upcoming season.
 
The Fighting Scots finished fourth at the 2025 CNE Championships. Josef Schultz paced Gordon at the CNE Championship meet, placing 10th to capture All-CNE accolades for the second-consecutive year.
 
Gordon opens the season September 5 at the NCAA Regional Preview meet.
 

Endicott College

2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 8 | graduated: 2 | newcomers: 1) 2025 Postseason Finish: 6th place

Returning much of its core from a young squad in 2025, the 2026 Gulls men’s cross country program looks to take another step forward, led by senior Dawson Romito (Boxford, Mass.) following his individual sixth place finish in the CNE Championship last season.

Romito is joined by fellow seniors Henry Bybee (Hampton, N.H.) and Jonathan Rodrigues (Walpole, Mass.) in pursuit of a 2026 CNE Championship. Additionally, the Gulls welcomed in freshman Andrew Loughran (Dedham, Mass.) to their 2026 squad.

University of Hartford
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 14 | graduated: 5 | newcomers: 7)
2025 Postseason Results: 3rd
 
The University of Hartford men’s cross country team returns to action in 2026 looking to continue to grow on a 3rd place CNE Championship Finish and a 16th place NCAA Mideast Regional Finish in 2025.
 
The Hawks return 14 student-athletes from last year's team including CNE 1st Team All-Conference selection Owen Klein and CNE 3rd Team All-Conference member Trae McIntyre. Klein finished in 4th place in the 2025 CNE Championship at a time of 26:02.4, while McIntyre placed 15th overall at a time of 26:42.69. Head Coach Connor Green brings in seven newcomers to the team including a single transfer and six freshmen.
 
Overall the Hawks will have five out of the eight meets in the state of Connecticut in 2026 including the CNE Championships on October 31st in Keney Park and the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships taking place in Wickham Park in Manchester on November 14th.
 

University of New England
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 8 | graduated: 3 | newcomers: 0)
2025 Postseason Finish: 9th place
 
The University of New England and 7th-year head coach Kourtney Bonsey start 2026 at home (Rotary Park) on September 4 for the Ron Ouellette Invitational.
 
The Nor'easters only feature returners from the 2025 squad, led by senior Troy Silvestri, who was an all-conference performer for the third time last season and the CNE Rookie of the Year in 2023. Junior Thomas Hoff was the second UNE runner across the line in the league championship race.
 

Nichols College
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (Returners: 3 | Graduated: 2 | Newcomers: 6)
2025 Postseason Finish: 8th Place
 
Nichols College men’s cross country gear up for the 2026 season under new leadership with Head Coach Luke Elson at the helm. Accompanying Head Coach Elson is Assistant Coach Len Harmon as well as Graduate Assistant Coach Brendin Marks.
 
Cross country returns Patrick Bergin, Jack Crowley and Chad Moffat. Among the additions is Andrew Skillin, a member of the track & field team making his cross country debut. Nichols rounds out their team with five freshmen newcomers.
 
The Bison will open their 2026 season at the University of Hartford Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, September 12th.
 

Roger Williams University
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 13 | graduated: 6 | newcomers: 9)
2025 Results | 2025 Postseason Finish: 1st place

Roger Williams and head coach Sean Livingston enter 2026 as the five-time defending CNE champions after placing five runners among the top 13 and scoring 34 points at the 2025 conference championship.

Senior Nathan Evans returns after finishing second at the CNE Championship and earning First Team All-CNE and All-Region honors. Evans placed 31st at the NCAA Mideast Regional before making his first NCAA Division III Championship appearance. Senior Harrison Krause also returns after placing 13th and earning Third Team All-CNE recognition.

Sophomore Cole Walker, the 2025 CNE Rookie of the Year, joins Evans and Krause in the returning group. Roger Williams welcomes nine first-year runners as it looks to replace three members of last season’s championship scoring lineup, including three-time All-American Nathan Tassey.

The Hawks open the season Sept. 12 at the University of Hartford Invitational at Keney Park, which will also host the CNE Championship on Oct. 31.

 
Suffolk University
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 5 | graduated: 3 | newcomers: 6)
2025 Results | 2025 Postseason Finish: 5th Place

A young Suffolk men's cross country squad will look to make its mark in 2026, with five returners set to lead a group that features six newcomers. The Rams finished fifth at the 2025 Conference of New England (CNE) Championships and will lean on the experience of its returning veterans to help guide the next wave of runners.

Matthew Ramarge returns after making a name for himself during his rookie campaign, finishing as Suffolk's second runner at the CNE Championships. Sebastian Vickers-Richard also returns after crossing the finish line as the Rams' fourth finisher at the conference meet, giving Suffolk a pair of experienced runners from last year's championship lineup.
 
Suffolk opens the season at the Short Course Classic at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass., with the race set for 10:00 a.m.
 

Wentworth Institute of Technology
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 12 | graduated: 3 | newcomers: 8)
2025 Results | 2025 Postseason Finish: 2^nd

Head Coach Emily Gustavson enters her fifth season as Wentworth’s men’s cross country coach in 2026. The Leopards will look to be in the mix once again for the CNE title after finishing second in last season’s conference championship. Wentworth took first at the Pop Crowell Invitational last season, led by Ezra Blasko who finished third. Blasko returns to Wentworth after being named CNE runner of the week twice and earning All-CNE First Team honors in his sophomore season.

The Leopards also see the return of Teddy Doyle, 2025 All-CNE Second Team honoree, Jack Newton, Dylan Brilliant and Joey Cotta. Wentworth brings in eight newcomers, eager to make claim their spot as a top finisher in the conference.

The season opens on Saturday, September 5 at the Suffolk Short Course meet at Highland Park in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
 

Western New England University
2026 Schedule | 2026 Roster (returners: 9 | graduated: 5 | newcomers: 3)
2025 Postseason Finish: 7^th
 
The Western New England men’s cross country team graduated five student-athletes in 2025 but will look to rebuild quickly, with many top runners still gearing up for the 2026 season. WNE will look to Lucas Franco (Ludlow, Mass.), who was named CNE Rookie of the Week twice last season, to emerge as one of the top runners for the Golden Bears this season. WNE also sees Nick Smith (Middletown, Conn.) return for his junior campaign, looking to improve on his fastest 8k run, which he recorded last season at the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational.
 
Western New England has just one senior on its 2026 roster as Austin Vale da Serra (Berlin, Conn.) will look to lead the Golden Bears toward the top of the conference.

WNE opens its 2026 campaign at the Fred Pavlich Invitational on Saturday, September 5, hosted by Bard College.