IMMACULATA, Pa. – Immaculata men's and women's cross country return to the course for their 2026 campaign this weekend. The teams are led by
David Smith, who is in his fourth year on the Immaculata sidelines.
Both squads were the runners-up in the 2025 Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Championships. They competed in the Division III Metro Regional Championships, with
Aubrey Donahue nearly qualifying for nationals.
The Schedule
Cross country starts their year on Saturday, Sept. 5 with the Bryn Mawr Invitational at Rose Tree Park in Media, Pa. After the Philadelphia Cross Classic, hosted by Thomas Jefferson University, the teams have three weeks to prepare for October's competitions.
Immaculata gets back in action on Oct. 3 at the Cairn Highlander Invitational. They head to the Rowan Inter-Regional Border Battle at DREAM Park in Logan Township, N.J. on the 17
th. This is the last meet before the AEC Championships on Halloween (Oct. 31). The championships are once again hosted at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome in Milton, N.Y.
Division III Metro Regionals are at DREAM Park on Nov. 14.
Roster Check
The Mighty Macs are bringing back eight men and seven women from the 2025 roster. These include
Kendall Budlow,
Jason Canterino,
Samuel Domencic,
Nick Heinlein,
Jimmy Lauer,
Yerlin Ortiz,
Luca Patrone, and
Alexander Wilson for the men. For the women, they have
Shannon Barycki,
Breanne Dymek,
Maggie Friend,
Jayla Gross,
Jacquie Leone,
Madeline McBride, and Donahue.
Connor Kakowski and Lauer made All-AEC Second Team in 2025, while Budlow claimed the Elite Scholar-Athlete Award.
Donahue grabbed All-AEC First Team and Runner of the Year, while Gross, Dymek, and Leone were named to the Second Team. Immaculata also earned Coaching Staff of the Year on the women's side.
Welcome to the Team
Immaculata has 10 new faces for cross country this year. On the men's team:
Jay Friend,
Shane Latham,
Oliver Leader,
Declan McGorry,
Thomas Petrowski,
Easton Ragno, and
Jackie Webb. On the women's team:
Paige Bachowski,
Kyara Farjardo, and
Mia Leopold.
Kakowski, who was on the men's team from 2022-25, makes his coaching debut in 2026 as one of Smith's assistants.
The newcomers come to Immaculata from Pennsylvania (Friend, McGorry, Ragno, Webb, Leopold), New Jersey (Latham, Petrowski, Bachowski, Farjardo), and Maryland (Leader).
Season Outlook
The Atlantic East Conference went from eight teams to six over the summer, with Neumann and Marywood going to the MAC Commonwealth and MAC Freedom, respectively.
Immaculata is looking to claim the title on both sides with only five teams in the conference (Centenary (N.J.) does not field cross country). There will be a new champion at least on the men's side, since Marywood won last year.
To see the entire 2026 men's schedule, click
here.
To see the entire 2026 women's schedule, click
here.
