ALBANY, N.Y. - The UAlbany cross country teams are set to begin the five-race 2026 season.
 
Following the 2025 season, UAlbany looks to improve upon their finish at this season's America East Championship meet.
 
On the women's side, head coach Zach Cook is bringing on four freshmen, Lucy D'Alessandro, Talise Lynagh, Milani Modeste, and Nicole Samson, to strengthen the squad. They will be joined by talented returners such as fifth-year Skyler Smith and sophomore Arianna Verardi.
 
On the men's side the Great Danes welcome back a wealth of talented upperclassmen, including Jed Elmbarki and Jerry Lewis as well as sophomore Owen Stachlik. Coach Cook also welcomes two new runners for the 2026 season, freshmen Cole Cosgrove and Zavier Durandisse.
 
SCHEDULE
 
The Great Danes are set to compete at four meets in preparation for the 2026 America East Championships, which will be hosted by UAlbany.
 
This season marks the fourth consecutive season that UAlbany will begin their season at Vassar Farm in Poughkeepsie, New York for the Marist Season Opener (Sept. 4). Two weeks later, the team will return to Manhattan's Jasper Invitational for the second consecutive year (Sept. 19).
 
The Great Danes will head back the Paul Short Invitational (Oct. 2), hosted by Lehigh University, for the first time since 2022. This will mark the midpoint of their season.
 
UAlbany will host two races this season. The first will be the R. Keith Munsey Invitational (Oct. 16), named after the founder and first cross country coach at UAlbany. This will be a course preview for the America East Championships, which is set for two weeks later (Oct. 30). The last time the Purple and Gold hosted the America East Championship was in 2019, when Hannah Reinhardt became a back-to-back individual champion for the Great Danes. Both will be competed on the UAlbany campus.
 
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL
 
The UAlbany women were selected to finish ninth in the conference. Maine was voted first with seven first-place votes while Binghamton, Bryant, and UMass Lowell rounded out the top four, with Bryant earning one first-place votes. Vermont earned fifth place and the final first-place vote, while Maine, UMBC and NJIT were voted sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively.
 
The UAlbany men were voted to finish ninth in the conference. UMass Lowell claimed the top spot with eight first-place votes. Binghamton was voted second with 54 points, including one first-place vote. UMBC and Maine rounded out the top four. Vermont and NJIT followed in fifth and sixth place, respectively, while New Hampshire and Bryant tied for seventh with 22 points each.
 
Full polls – women | men
 
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