COLONIA, N.J. – Nine-time defending champion Roberts Wesleyan was picked first in the 2024 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's seven head coaches and announced on Tuesday afternoon. In the same vote, Redhawks senior Owen White (Lockport, N.Y.) was unanimously selected as the 2024 ECC Men’s Cross Country Preseason Runner of the Year.
Roberts Wesleyan earned six of seven first-place votes for 48 total points. Led by reigning ECC Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year Andrew Dorr, the Redhawks return four All-ECC First Team finishers in 2023 ECC Runner of the Year Owen White (1st), Jackson Doran (2nd), Zachary Hall (5th), and Theodore Pintabona (7th). RWU remains the only current ECC program to claim a conference title.
White, the ECC Preseason Runner of the Year, won the 2023 ECC Cross Country Championship individual title in a field of 62 runners last fall, crossing the 8k finish line over 14 seconds ahead of runner-up Doran in a career-best 24:44. White went on to place third in a field of 138 runners at the 2023 NCAA Division II East Region Championship, turning in a career-best 10k performance of 30:54.2, before placing 144th out of 260 runners at the 2023 NCAA Division II Cross Country Championship.
After finishing second in both 2022 and 2023, Daemen earned the final first-place vote and 41 points to finish second in the poll. The Wildcats return All-ECC First Team selections Jon Moote (4th) and ECC Rookie of the Year CJ Johnson (6th) as well as All-ECC Second Team finisher Aidan Kincaid (9th) as the Wildcats set their sights on their first-ever ECC title this fall.
Molloy earned the third spot with 31 points. With the departure of All-ECC Second Team finishers Matt Floyd (12th) and Eric Palencia (13th), the Lions will look to their next highest finishers in Peter Bagattine (16th), Aiden Watson (18th), and Sean Wilde (37th) to lead the pack.
St. Thomas Aquinas, led by James Polisena (24th) sits fourth while D’Youville rounds out the top five; Henry Smith, who had the 15th-fastest time at ECCs and broke D'Youville's 8k school record last year in 25:56.0, will lead the Saints this fall.
2024 ECC Men's Cross Country Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan (48 points, 6 first-place votes)
2023 ECC Finish – 1st
2. Daemen (41 points, 1 first-place vote)
2023 ECC Finish – 2nd
3. Molloy (31 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 3rd
4. St. Thomas Aquinas (24 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 4th
5. D'Youville (21 points)
2023 ECC Finish – DNF
6. Queens (16 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 6th
7. Staten Island (15 points)
2023 ECC Finish – 5th
2024 ECC Preseason Runner of the Year: Owen White, Sr., Roberts Wesleyan