MONTGOMERY, NY - The Iona University men's cross country dynasty added another historic chapter on Saturday afternoon at Twin Ponds on the Farm, capturing their 35th straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship with a perfect score of 15, the program's second consecutive perfect effort and 16th in history. The 35 consecutive conference championship winning streak extended the longest in the NCAA in any sport.
Iona produced an unprecedented display of depth, claiming the first 10 positions overall and placing 11 runners among the top 15 to earn All-MAAC honors. The Gaels' top seven finished within a single second of one another.
Senior
Matt Rankin led the sweep to secure the individual MAAC title in his final conference championship appearance, crossing the line in 24:11.8. Rankin also claimed MAAC Most Outstanding Runner honors and became the program's 25th consecutive individual champion, a streak dating back to 2002.
Iona's dominance was evident from the opening strides, with a tightly packed lead group running in unison deep into the race. Rankin stepped ahead in the final stretch to secure first place, just edging junior
Baptiste Cartieaux, sophomore
Bradley Giblin, senior
Ben MacMillan, and sophomore Oliver Boltz - all separated by just tenths of a second. Close behind, sophomores
Conan Harper and
Aiden Coles crossed only fractions later, sealing a statement-making perfect score for the second straight year.
The Gaels' remarkable depth continued with juniors
Duncan Robinson and
Tristan Coles, followed by freshman
Billy Coogan, who rounded out the top 10 sweep and earned MAAC Rookie of the Year as the highest-finishing newcomer. Freshman
Jackson Jamison surged into 13th place to join his teammates on the All-MAAC squad, giving Iona 11 athletes among the conference's best. Coogan's rookie honor joined recent Iona standout newcomers including Giblin (2024),
Aiden Coles (2023),
Tadhg Donnelly (2022), Rankin (2021) and Joshua DeSouza (2020–21).
Director of Cross Country/Track & Field
Joe Pienta was recognized as MAAC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the fifth straight season, guiding the Gaels to yet another historic accomplishment.
Iona's perfect score was the 16th in program history - 14 of them coming during the current run of 35 titles and 13 occurring in this century alone.
Behind Iona's historic showing, Siena finished second with 67 points while Marist took third with 85. Rider and Canisius rounded out the top five, but the afternoon belonged entirely to the Gaels - once again proving that the standard for championship excellence runs through New Rochelle.
Iona Performers
Top 15 Performers (All-MAAC)
Team Scores
| Place |
School |
Score |
| 1.) |
Iona |
15 |
| 2.) |
Siena |
67 |
| 3.) |
Marist |
85 |
| 4.) |
Rider |
141 |
| 5.) |
Canisius |
142 |
| 6.) |
Merrimack |
166 |
| 7.) |
Fairfield |
183 |
| 8.) |
Quinnipiac |
228 |
| 9.) |
Sacred Heart |
234 |
| 10.) |
Manhattan |
276 |
| 11.) |
Niagara |
335 |
| 12.) |
Saint Peter's |
362 |
| 13.) |
Mount St. Mary's |
387 |
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