Denison University

Men’s Cross Country Posts Second Place Finish at NCAC Championships

10/31/2026 5:04:00 PM

Oberlin, Ohio - The Denison men's cross country team marked their best finish at the NCAC Championships since 2008, finishing second with multiple Big Red earning All-NCAC honors. Sophomore Will Jackson earned first team honors, finishing third. First-year Aaron Escalante rounded out second team honors, and first-years Olma Mathewos and Jack Blemker, along with senior Leo Wisnefski capped off the meet with third team distinction

Denison finished with 68 points, right behind champion John Carroll, who had 36. Denison had all seven runners place in the top 50.

How It Shook Out

Jackson improved his second team placing last season by 11 spots, finishing third with a personal best of 25:04.9. His performance earned him first team All-NCAC honors.
Escalante rounded out his championship performance with second team distinction, placing 12th with a personal best of 25:39.9.
Three Big Red were named third team All-NCAC; first-year Jack Blemker (15th, 25:47.4), senior Leo Wisnefski (17th, 25:59.0), and first-year Olma Mathewos (21st, 26:08.9) all earned honors and new personal bests on the season.
Sophomore Will Fontana (35th, 26:45.0) and junior Jack Evans (42nd, 26:49.8) rounded out the scoring for the Big Red.

Team Highlights

This is the first time the men's cross country team has placed second since 2008, and is their best finish since 2022, when they finished third.
Will Jackson is the first first team All-NCAC recipient since 2023, when Noah Cyr was tabbed with the honor. The finish was also the first time a Big Red finished in the top three since 2021.
This year marks the first multiple All-NCAC performances since 2023.

Up Next for the Big Red

The Big Red will head up north to East Lansing, Michigan to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championship hosted by Olivet College on Saturday, November 14.

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