ANNVILLE, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley College men's and women's cross country teams have their sights set on winning Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) titles in 2025. The teams are scheduled to compete in six meets this year, including two home events at Union Canal Tunnel Park in Lebanon. 

Lebanon Valley's men's cross country team is coming off a historic season in which it won its first team title at the MAC Championships. The team also finished fifth out of 29 scoring teams at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. Entering the 2025 campaign, the Dutchmen were ranked third in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) preseason rankings for the Mid-Atlantic Region. Additionally, LVC was ranked 26th in the USTFCCCA Division III National Preseason Coaches' Poll, marking the program's first-ever national ranking.

"We were really grateful to have a tremendous fall last year, but we want to continue to keep building and growing as a program," said Head Coach James O'Brien '07, M'16. "We're fortunate that we return a good portion of our team from last year's campaign. I think in an ideal world, we would love to qualify for nationals as a team." 

Nineteen returning runners are joined by five newcomers. The group of returners includes eight 2024 All-MAC honorees: junior Rory Lieberman, junior Matthew Santana, senior Joe Chukoskie, graduate student Eric Shelton, sophomore Andrew Namatka, senior Sam Rothstein, junior Dylan Lenhart, and senior Donnie Miller. Lieberman won the individual title at last year's MAC Championships, finishing first with a time of 26:05.6 to earn the conference's Runner of the Year award. Santana finished second at the conference championships with a time of 26:11.1. Santana also ran a stellar race at the 2024 NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championships to earn All-Region accolades alongside Chukoskie, who delivered an impressive effort. 

Namatka was the top finisher among newcomers at MAC Championships, earning conference Rookie of the Year accolades. 

O'Brien expressed that a strength of the team this year will be its depth. In addition to last year's All-Conference selections, senior Elijah McKell and junior Lukas Walko will be key contributors for the program this fall. 

Lebanon Valley's women's cross country program also posted a strong 2024 season, in which the team placed third out of 16 teams at the MAC Championships. The team finished 11th out of 30 scoring teams at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships. Going into the 2025 season, the Flying Dutchmen were ranked seventh in the USTFCCCA preseason rankings for the Mid-Atlantic Region. 

"I think that we are in the hunt to compete for a conference title this fall," O'Brien said. "We do have a lot of seniors and juniors that have done some great things for us over the years, but we also have a lot of really good underclassmen that I think are developing really well, too." 

The Flying Dutchmen return 15 runners from last year's roster, while two first-years and two transfer student-athletes are joining the program this fall. Lebanon Valley's strong group of returners is led by five 2024 All-MAC selections: senior Coyla Bartholomew, senior Autumn Garges, senior Abigail Hunt, junior Charlee Kurtz, and sophomore Kaylee Senglar. Bartholomew and Garges finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at last season's MAC Championships with times of 23:05.4 and 23:16.2. Garges, Bartholomew, and Hunt posted impressive performances at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championships to garner All-Region recognition, as all three runners placed within the top 35. 

The Dutchmen will also look to junior Kyrianna Nemitz to be a pivotal performer during her first campaign with the cross country team, after transferring to LVC last year. She was chosen as the Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year in 2023 and was named an All-Landmark Conference honoree in 2023 and 2024. Nemitz delivered an excellent outdoor track and field season for Lebanon Valley, finishing second in the women's 5000 at the 2025 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 18:02.46. 

Additionally, O'Brien said that he thinks the program has multiple other student-athletes who will be key contributors. Along with Kurtz and Senglar, senior Sierra Kapcsos and graduate student Dani Fetterolf return to the roster. 

Lebanon Valley will begin the season on Saturday, Sept. 6, when the program will host the Dutchmen Invitational at Union Canal Tunnel Park in Lebanon. The women's race will begin at 10:15 a.m. and the men's race will start at 11 a.m. 

Another key event on the schedule is the Paul Short Run on Friday, Oct. 3, which is hosted by Lehigh University at the Goodman Campus Cross Country Course in Bethlehem, Pa. The meet will likely include several nationally ranked teams. The Dutchmen will host the Last Chance Run Fast Invitational on Friday, Oct. 24, at Union Canal Tunnel Park. The women's race will start at 11 a.m. and the men's race will begin at noon. 

Lebanon Valley will compete in the MAC Championships on Saturday, Nov. 1, which will be hosted by Delaware Valley University at the DVU Cross Country Course in Doylestown, Pa. The Flying Dutchmen will also participate in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Saturday, Nov. 15, which will be hosted by Dickinson College at Big Spring High School in Newville, Pa. The program will look to qualify runners for the NCAA National Championships a week later. LVC's men's cross country schedule can be found here, and the women's cross country schedule can be found here. 

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