PRINCETON, NJ - The Iona University men's cross country team finished ninth overall among a strong 15-school race field Saturday at the Princeton Meadows Challenge, competing in the men's 8k on the Meadows Campus course. Junior
Ollie Boltz led the Gaels with a 33rd-place finish in 23:45.6. The field featured six teams ranked or receiving votes in the USTFCCCA Top 30 poll.
THE RUNDOWN
Iona posted a team score of 277 points to finish ninth overall. No. 4 Alabama captured the team title with 42 points, followed by No. 9 Syracuse with 68. Villanova, Georgetown and North Carolina, all receiving votes, finished third through fifth, respectively. No. 25 Princeton placed sixth with 156 points, followed by Cornell and Duke.
Iona finished ahead of Providence, Boston University, Arizona State, Texas A&M, Columbia and La Salle.
IONA PERFORMERS
Boltz paced the Gaels with a 23:45.6 finish, placing 33rd overall. The junior was followed by classmate
Baptiste Cartieaux, who crossed in 24:03.1 to finish 47th.
Sophomore
Billy Coogan was Iona's third finisher, placing 59th in 24:09.8. Freshman
Reiss Marshall followed in 77th with a time of 24:24.9.
Freshman
Rhett Baker completed Iona's scoring five, finishing 91st in 24:42.9.
Senior
Flynn Jennings finished 99th overall in 24:45.9, followed by freshman
Daniel Cova in 119th at 25:13.4. Sophomore
Jackson Jamison placed 123rd in 25:19.3, while freshmen
Sean McCauley and
Igor Ouwerkerk finished 139th and 146th, respectively, with times of 25:48.4 and 26:05.8.
TOP INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS
Alabama runners occupied three of the top four individual positions. Rodgers Minatum won the race in 22:59.4, followed by teammate Duncan Gituku in 23:07.3. Syracuse's Benne Anderson finished third in 23:11.2, while Alabama's Dismus Lokira placed fourth in 23:17.3. Villanova's Bailey Habler rounded out the top five in 23:18.6.
Iona Performers
Top 10 Performers
| Pl. |
Runner |
School |
Time |
| 1.) |
Rodgers Minatum |
Alabama |
22:59.4 |
| 2.) |
Duncan Gituku |
Alabama |
23:07.3 |
| 3.) |
Benne Anderson |
Syracuse |
23:11.2 |
| 4.) |
Dismus Lokira |
Alabama |
23:17.3 |
| 5.) |
Bailey Habler |
Villanova |
23:18.6 |
| 6.) |
Freddy Collins |
Boston University |
23:20.8 |
| 7.) |
Birhanu Harriman |
Georgetown |
23:21.3 |
| 8.) |
Jacob Nenow |
Princeton |
23:23.1 |
| 9.) |
Joe O'Brien |
Georgetown |
23:24.5 |
| 10.) |
Ben Gabelman |
Syracuse |
23:26.3 |
Team Scores
| Pl. |
Team |
Score |
| 1.) |
#4 Alabama |
42 |
| 2.) |
#9 Syracuse |
68 |
| 3.) |
RV Villanova |
104 |
| 4.) |
RV Georgetown |
127 |
| 5.) |
RV North Carolina |
129 |
| 6.) |
#25 Princeton |
156 |
| 7.) |
Cornell |
186 |
| 8.) |
Duke |
216 |
| 9.) |
Iona |
277 |
| 10.) |
Providence |
285 |
| 11.) |
Boston University |
311 |
| 12.) |
Arizona State |
340 |
| 13.) |
Texas A&M |
356 |
| 14.) |
Columbia |
409 |
| 15.) |
La Salle |
416 |
UP NEXT
Iona returns to action Friday, Oct. 16 at the 2026 Pre-National Invitational at LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
FOLLOW THE GAELS
Be sure to follow Iona University athletics on all social media platforms:
Iona Gaels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube (
Email Updates).
Iona Cross Country/Track: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
