Men's Cross Country 11/2/2024 9:28:00 PM

Men’s Cross Country Earns 2nd Straight NAC Championship, Castaldo Repeats as Individual Champion

DELHI, New York – The University of Maine at Farmington men's cross country team captured its second consecutive North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship, dominating the field on Saturday. Senior Justin Castaldo (Scarborough, Maine) claimed the individual title for the second year in a row, finishing over 50 seconds ahead of the competition.

The Beavers placed six runners inside the top 10, securing their second NAC Championship trophy in program history.

Beaver Runners

Castaldo, widely regarded as the best runner in the conference for much of the past two years, solidified his title with a personal best time of 26:03.1. He finished 51 seconds ahead of Ponce Saltysiak from Maine Maritime, who took second place. By finishing first overall, Castaldo earned North Atlantic Conference First Team All-Conference honors, averaging a mile time of 5:14.4 in his impressive performance.

Junior James Riley (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Connor Freeman (Bath, Maine), Andrew LaFlamme (Nashua, N.H.), and Jimmy Reel (Nashua, N.H.) placed fifth through eighth, respectively, with less than five seconds separating the four runners.

Riley finished fifth overall with a time of 27:13.6, averaging a mile split of 5:28.6. This was his fastest time of the 2024 season, earning him a spot on the NAC First Team All-Conference.

Freeman followed closely in sixth place, racing to a time of 27:15.2 with an average mile time of 5:28.9. This performance marked a career best for Freeman, moving him into 14th place all-time in program history. His sixth-place finish also earned him First Team All-Conference honors.

LaFlamme finished seventh with a strong time of 27:16.0, averaging 5:29.1 per mile. He was named to the NAC First Team All-Conference, with his time being the fastest of his season and less than two seconds off his personal best.

Reel placed eighth overall, completing the race in 27:18.5 with an average mile time of 5:29.6. This was his best 8k time of the season, improving by nearly 50 seconds, and his eighth-place finish earned him First Team All-Conference recognition.

The five scorers for the Beavers combined for an average time of 27:00, tying for the second-fastest meet in program history.

Sophomore Ethan Linscott (Lakeville, Maine) also finished in the top 10 but did not contribute to the team's scoring. He raced to a time of 27:30.8, averaging a mile split of 5:32.1—his fastest 8k of the season and just three and a half seconds shy of his personal best. Linscott's tenth-place finish earned him a spot on the NAC Second Team All-Conference.

First-year Alex Gagnon (Goffstown, N.H.) had a strong performance in his NAC Championship debut, finishing with a time of 28:55.9 and an average mile split of 5:49.2, just two places shy of Second Team All-Conference recognition.

First-year Sam Perkins finished 20th overall, completing the race in 29:52.0 with an average mile split of 6:00.4. Joe Burgess (Gray, Maine) placed 37th with a time of 33:13.4, averaging 6:41.0 per mile.