MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (Sept. 19, 2026) - The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy men's cross country team laced it up on Saturday morning at the Cardinal Invitational, hosted by Wesleyan University. The Mariners had six runners PR in the 8K race and six others record season-bests.
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Sophomore Caden Davis (Katy, Texas) led the way for the Blue and Gray, crossing the finish line with a personal-best time of 26:33.5. Classmates Cooper Johnson (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Arjun Suresh (Plainsboro, N.J.) put up season-best times of 27:29.7 and 27:38.4.
Sophomore Enois Maceira (Monroe Township, N.J.) recorded a personal-best time of 27:46.9, while freshman Steven Kirschner (Rudyard, Mich.) also PR'ed with a time of 27:57.2. Senior Ben Anastasoff (Litchfield Park, Ariz.) followed with a season-best time of 28:36.4, and sophomore Brayden Mercier (Valparaiso, Ind.) put up a personal best with a time of 29:26.4.
Sophomore Chase Pavlow (Holland, Pa.) recorded a season-best time of 30:05.7, while junior John Piangozza (Smithtown, N.Y.) and sophomore Landon Graves (South Bend, Ind.) also recorded season bests with times of 30:12.3 and 31:20.1.
Freshman Colton Rutt (Denver, Pa.) and junior Rory McWeeney (Portland, Ore.) rounded out the personal bests for Merchant Marine, crossing the finish line in 31:28.1 and 33:06.0.
The Mariners also lost their head-to-head matchup with arch-rival Coast Guard, 15-48, in the battle for a point in the overall standings of the 2026-27 Superintendents' Trophy.
USMMA is back at it next Saturday, Sept. 26, at the Golden Eagle Invitational at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, N.Y.
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