BETHANY, W.Va. (Sept. 12)- The Saint Vincent men's cross country team opened their 2026 season in fashion, winning the Bethany College Invitational on Saturday morning.

The Bearcats recorded 46 points to win the event, placing four runners in the top-10 of the almost 70-runner field. SVC finished six points ahead of second place NCAA Division II foe West Liberty University and ahead of PAC foes W&J (third), Waynesburg (fifth), and Franciscan (sixth).

Sophomore Noah Channel was SVC's top finisher, finishing third overall. Channel raced a time of 29:10.2 at a pace of 5:52 in the 8K race.

Freshman Carter Moody finished fifth in his first collegiate race. The freshman recorded a time of 29:32 at a 5:57 pace. Senior Kenny Battistelli (sixth) and junior Will Stickman (eighth) rounded out the top-10 for SVC. Battistelli raced to a time of 29:33.08 and Stickman finished in 29:36.08.

Brayden Cosky (24th), Harry Bogner (25th), and Nick Dzurica (26th) rounded out the scoring for the Bearcats. Cosky finished his first collegiate race in a time of 32:12, Bogner crossed at 32:18.3, and Dzurica finished at 32:39.6 for Saint Vincent.

SVC recorded an average team time of 30:01.0 at the event.

Saint Vincent returns to action on Saturday, September 26 as they travel to Lock Haven, PA to compete in the Lock Haven University Invitational. The event will take place at West Branch Cross Country Course two weeks from today.