LOUDONVILLE, NY – The Siena Men's and Women's Cross Country teams utilized their Thursday as a day to stretch, recharge and visualize their success with assistant strength and conditioning coach Dylan Brickner ahead of Saturday's 2025 MAAC Cross Country Championships.

The culmination of a roughly six-month period to get ready for the season's big event has led to this. Now it will unfold on Saturday with the women's 6K race set to start at 11 a.m. and the men's 8K to follow at 12 p.m. at Twin Ponds on the Farm in Montgomery, NY.

It marks the third consecutive season in which the course will be set there and the 31^st time that Manhattan University is hosting said event. 

Women's preseason favorite and three-time defending MAAC champions Quinnipiac will be seeking the program's fifth overall title.

Iona has finished as the runners' up in each of the last two seasons while Hannah Snayd of Fairfield returns to seek to defend her individual crown after running last year's race in 20:36.3. 

The Siena Women finished fourth last season and will be led by senior Mattingly O'Rourke (top finisher on this course back on Sept. 13 with a time of 22:14.5 as well as fellow senior Julianna Tourangeau (personal record 22:27.1 on this course), junior Faith Skowvron (22:57.8) and senior Kate DeForest (23:28.3). 

Live results for Saturday's MAAC Championship races will be available by following the corresponding stat link. Updates will also be available by following @SienaXCTrack on X.
 
"Our one through seven spread (from our first runner down to our seventh runner) is getting smaller and smaller which means we are packing up more," said Siena Cross Country head coach Elizabeth DeBole.

"I think on the women's side—we actually have the smallest spread in the MAAC. We have the best group running out there. We're really pumped to get back to this course. We know it really well. We're ready for mud. We're ready for it to be sloppy. And I think we're really excited for that, too."

Siena has finished in the top four spots for both programs in each of the last seven seasons with the men finishing third last year while the women were in fourth place. 
 
In the men's 8K race, Iona will be seeking to extend its NCAA record to 35 consecutive MAAC crowns and 39 total men's titles since the inaugural MAAC Championship in 1981.

The Gaels return five 2024 All-MAAC Team runners that includes silver medalist Matt Rankin, bronze medalist Aiden Coles, Tristan Coles (fourth), 2024 MAAC All-Rookie Team pick Bradley Giblin (ninth) and Scott Fagan (10^th). 
 
The Siena Men feature 2024 MAAC All-Rookie Team members Collin Brown (24:43.7 at the 2024 championship) and Colin Brunelle (24:46.2) as well as graduate student Jackson Cayward (who finished second at the 2023 MAAC Championships with a time of 24:33.4). 

Cayward has had a strong 2025 with twice being named the MAAC Runner of the Week thus far this season. 
 
"Visualization is a big part of what we do when we prepare to race," Cayward said.

"We prepare mentally as much physically. The mental side is really important so just making sure that we're running the race mentally before we actually run physically so when we're out there we're prepared for whatever is thrown at us."
 
For all information regarding the 2025 MAAC Men's & Women's Cross Country Championships, please visit maacsports.com/xc.