Both Quinnipiac men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Montgomery, N.Y., to compete in the MAAC Championships on Nov. 1.

Let’s break the races down.

Women’s Cross Country 

The Bobcats had a lot riding on this race going into the competition. With a win, Quinnipiac women’s cross country would officially four-peat, maintaining its dominance over the MAAC. 

And to no surprise, that’s exactly what it would do. 

With a final team score of 36 points, the Bobcats would secure their fourth consecutive MAAC Title, with a 28-point lead over the runner-up Iona. 

“We have a really strong team this year and I think we all really put in the work and I’m really excited we got a four-peat,” senior Sierra Gray said.

No team even stood a chance against Quinnipiac. 

Individually, Quinnipiac placed high, with four Bobcats finishing in the top 10. These Bobcats would include: Gray (third), senior Rachel St. Germain (fourth), sophomore Madeleine O’Neill (seventh) and junior Zoe Merryman (ninth). 

“It was fun, the girls accomplished what we asked them to do, we asked them to run as a team and they put their team needs infront of their individual wants and I think that really made for a great day,” head coach Carolyn Martin said.

Merryman, a transfer from St. Thomas Aquinas College, has been a strong addition to this year’s squad. And with another potential two years of eligibility for the Mawah, N.J. native, the Bobcats are in luck. 

Additionally, three more Bobcats would contribute to the team’s final score, with placements from freshmen Ashley Carillo (13th) and Alyssa Turns (16th), as well as senior Weronika Lewna (19th).

Turns was named to the Women’s All-Rookie Team, with her final time of 21:41.4. Additionally, Gray, Merryman, St. Germain, Carillo and O’Neill were named All-MAAC Cross Country runners from the competition.

Men’s Cross Country

After finishing in No. 11 during the 2024 MAAC Championships, Quinnipiac men’s cross country would improve its team ranking three spots, finishing the 2025 MAAC Championships in eighth place. 

With a final score of 228 points, the Bobcats improved from their last year’s final score of 302 points. 

“We were really pleased with our performance overall as a team,” head coach David Scrivines said. “We came in wanting to make improvement, as a team and individually, and we did that, we moved up three places…improved our team average by about 40 seconds, so we were really pleased with that.”

The highest-placing runner for the Bobcats was sophomore Alex Saldana, in 32nd place.

Saldana would be followed by freshman Shepard Livingston (59th), junior Michael Strain (64th), freshman Tyler Deme (68th) and sophomore Alessandro Tullo Alvarez (90th).

With a young team, made up of mostly freshmen and sophomores, it’s no shocker that so many younger athletes needed to step up in a crucial race for the Bobcats. Even if it’s their first-ever collegiate championship race, as seen in Livingston and Deme.

“(Our) First-year group had a really solid season and you know we had a couple in Shepard and Tyler, some really key performances today, in our top five,” Scrivines said.  

Both teams look ahead to continuing their strong performance, traveling to Hopkinton, N.H., to compete in the NCAA Northeast Regional on Nov. 14.

“Our goal is to get our highest finish ever at Regionals and to put Quinnipiac on the map and the region,” Martin said.