LEWISBURG, Pa. – Junior
Dane Eike captured the individual title to lead the Navy men's cross country team to the Patriot League Cross Country Championship on Saturday at Bucknell University. It was the sixth consecutive Patriot League crown for the Midshipmen and the fourth straight year that the Mids had the individual medalist. Navy placed five runners inside the top 14 to claim their 14th title overall.
"The guys ran tough today," head coach
Aaron Lanzel said after the championship. "I expected the outcome if they did, but it was a necessity today to be up to the challenge. Boston and Army threw caution to the wind and made sure it was a race. We know nothing is given in finishing a 5-mile race, so I'm very pleased the team came with a decisive win against a good challenge."
The Midshipmen claimed the team championship with 43 points in the 8K race, fending off runner-up Boston University (65 points) and third-place Army (68). Bucknell (110) and Lehigh (132) rounded out the top five in the team standings. American (162), Holy Cross (174), Colgate (200), Loyola (289), and Lafayette (296) closed out the scoring in the 10-team field.
Eike crossed the line first in the men's race to collect Patriot League Men's Outstanding Performer of the Meet honors, as the junior finished the 8K course in 23:48.3. Eike is the fourth consecutive Midshipmen to claim the individual title, joining Murphy Smith (2023, '24) and
Justin Mumford (2025).
"Several individuals from the conference had big performances this season, Dane also had his own, and today it was great to see him step away from the best when the race got tough to be the champion," Lanzel added.
Navy's coaching staff, led by Lanzel, collected Patriot League Men's Cross Country Coaching Staff of the Year honors after guiding the Midshipmen to their 14th Patriot League cross country title.
Eike was joined in the top 10 by a pair of Midshipmen: sophomore
Luke Bowlsby, who finished seventh with a time of 24:20.5, and junior
James Partlow, who claimed eighth in 24:25.0.
Navy secured the team victory with a dominant pack performance, placing all five of its scoring runners inside the top 15. Junior
Trevor Hayes finished 13th with a time of 24:42.9, and junior
Patrick Gandini closely followed in 14th place at 24:45.2 to round out the scoring five.
Eike and Bowlsby were named First Team All-Patriot League for finishing in the top seven, while Partlow, Hayes, and Gandini earned second-team distinction for finishing in the top 14.
As a unit, the Navy men averaged a time of 24:24.4 and posted a tight 1-5 spread of 56.9 seconds.
Sophomore
Shane Conroy and senior Zackery Poekert served as Navy's displacers, finishing 17th (24:48.5) and 20th (24:55.3), respectively.
Junior
Billy Driscoll (24:57.0), freshman
Jace Deledonne (25:13.1), freshman
Dom Pappagallo (25:14.8), sophomore
Ben Marks (25:59.9), and
Owen Ahten (26:26.9) also competed in the race.
"A few of our guys just had a challenging week to merely get to the start line, James and Luke made the jump to be next level runners and today earned another win with consistency at that level, despite the challenges. Dom and Jace both ran well as freshman to stand up against whatever the future may bring. They have a clear path to great success ahead with their capabilities."
Up next, both Navy teams will have two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional, hosted at Lehigh on Friday, Nov. 13.
2026 Patriot League Cross Country Men's Major Awards
Men's Outstanding Performer of the Meet: Dane Eike, Navy, Jr.
Men's Rookie of the Meet: Jason Baker, Lehigh, Fr.
Men's Coaching Staff of the Meet: Navy (Head Coach
Aaron Lanzel)
2026 Patriot League Cross Country Men's Championship Team Results
1. Navy, 43
2. Boston University, 65
3. Army, 68
4. Bucknell, 110
5. Lehigh, 132
6. American, 162
7. Holy Cross, 174
8. Colgate, 200
9. Loyola, 289
10. Lafayette, 296
First-Team All-Patriot League (Men): 1.
Dane Eike, Navy, Jr.; 2. Joseph Mahon, Holy Cross, Sr.; 3. Adam Furman, Army, Sr.; 4. Maximus Haynia, Army, Sr.; 5. Daniel Hruska, Boston University, Jr.; 6. Freddy Collins, Boston University, Sr.; 7.
Luke Bowlsby, Navy, So.
Second-Team All-Patriot League (Men): 8.
James Partlow, Navy, Jr.; 9. Ethan Pratt-Perez, Bucknell, Jr.; 10. Noah Smith, American, Jr.; 11. Will Tempest, Boston University, So.; 12. Parker Harris, Army, Jr.; 13.
Trevor Hayes, Navy, Jr.; 14.
Patrick Gandini, Navy, Jr.
