ALBANY, N.Y. – The UAlbany cross country teams are set to return home for the first time since 2021 for the R. Keith Munsey Invitational, Friday afternoon. 
 

R. Keith Munsey Invitational

Friday, October 18

Albany, N.Y. | UAlbany Campus
Live Results

Time: 12:00 pm

Distance: 5k

Time: 1:00 pm

Distance: 8k
 

THREE RACES IN
Marist Season Opener (Sept. 4)

• Overall, the women's team finished second, with three runners finishing in the top ten. 
• Skyler Smith led the team with a first-place finish, followed by Arianna Verardi in fifth place and Nicole Samson in sixth place. 
• The men's team placed third overall and had two top ten finishers. 
• Jerry Lewis placed second overall, first out of all other UAlbany runners, and Isaac Graber finished ninth overall. 
• All three women who competed on the same course last season, as well as Lewis on the men's side improved upon their times from 2025. 

Jasper Fall Invite (Sept.19)

• Smith tabbed the highest finish of any Great Dane, finishing ninth overall. 
• The women's team placed eighth overall while the men's team placed 11th. 
• Owen Stachlik finished first for the UAlbany men and finished 65th overall. 
• Verardi, Cara Mastan, and Naomi Burinska all improved upon their times set at the same course last season. 

NJIT Invitational (Oct.10)

• Both the men's and women's teams placed second overall out of over 20 teams. 
• Smith recorded her second individual win of the season, and Verardi added a second podium finish for the Great Danes, placing third overall. 
• On the men's side, Lewis led the way finishing seventh overall; Stachlik followed in 15th place. 

HONORING R. KEITH MUNSEY
Robert Keith "R.K." Munsey was the founder of the University at Albany cross country and track & field programs. Munsey served as the cross country program's first head coach, as well as a track & field coach from 1958-1985. During his career, his teams qualified for national championships a total of 11 times and finished in the top 20 in six championship meets. His most successful team placed second overall at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in 1973. Munsey coached five student-athletes who earned All-America honors during his tenure, and seven of his student-athletes went on to be enshrined in the UAlbany Athletics Hall of Fame. In 2010, Munsey was inducted into the UAlbany Athletic Hall of Fame, and he was later a member of the inaugural UAlbany Track & Field and Cross Country Wall of Fame Class in 2012. Outside of UAlbany, Munsey spent time as the historian for Division III track & field for the whole country.
 

NEXT: The UAlbany cross country programs are set to host the America East Cross Country Championships for the first time since 2019, Friday, October 30. 

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