2026 Cross Country Season Preview

The University of Scranton men's and women's cross-country teams enter the 2026 season looking to compete for both team and individual success at the Landmark Conference Championship level and beyond.

Head Coach: Bill Burke (21st Season – Men, 19^th Season - Women)
Women's XC 2025 Season: Finished 3^rd at 2025 Landmark Championship meet and 14^th at NCAA Regional meet
Men's XC 2025 Season: Finished 5^th at 2025 Landmark Championship meet and 11^th at NCAA Regional meet

Key Returners:

Brayden Clarke
- Earned First Team All-Landmark Conference honors in 2025 after a 6th-place, personal-best finish (24:51.39) at the Landmark Championships, then picked up USTFCCCA All-Region honors with a 25th-place showing at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional.
- Named 2024 Landmark Rookie of the Year.
Kyrianna Nemitz
- Returns to the Royals roster after competing for Lebanon Valley during the 2025 Cross Country Season. Placed 7^th at the 2025 Middle Atlantic Conference Cross Country Championships and 36^th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional meet.
- Provided a strong showing in the Royal's 2025-26 Track and Field Landmark Conference championship campaign, in which she won the Indoor Mile and 3k, and was the Outdoor 5k champion.
Callie Gorman
- Earned First Team All-Landmark honors in 2025, finishing 6th overall in a career-best 22:44.19 at the conference championship.
Luke O'Brien
- Finished 24^th at the 2025 Landmark Conference Championships as a Freshman in a personal best time of 26:22.2.
Other returning scorers:
- Men: Michael Allardyce, Joseph Kilpatrick, Owen James, Dylan Walsh, Luke O'Brien
- Women: Paige Barnett, Emily Miller, Kaitlyn Stibritz, Helen Socorso

Key Departures:

Emily Hopkins — Scranton's top finisher in 2025, placing third at the Landmark Conference championships with a personal best of 22:09.5.
Angel Perez – 2022 Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year, recorded a personal best 25:56.6 at the 2025 Aubrey Shenk Invitational.

2026 Outlook:

Scranton enters the season with key returning athletes as well as a promising class of 2030 recruiting class.
The Royals will kick off their season at the Misericordia Invitational on Tuesday, September 1 at 6pm.
The 2026 Landmark Conference Championship will take place on Saturday, October 31 at Susquehanna University.

Print Friendly Version