EWING, N.J – By taking up all but two spots in the top ten, the TCNJ men's cross country team cruised to a first-place team finish in their Herb Lorenz Invitational to begin the 2026 competitive slate.
 
In his first competitive collegiate race, freshman Tyler Hurst led the charge for the lions with a runner-up finish over the six-kilometer course. Hurst broke the 20-minute mark by about ten seconds, posting a time of 19:50.1.
 
After Hurst, TCNJ runners took up spots four through eleven to secure a comfortable team win with 24 points. Will Nelson finished in fourth in 20:13.0, followed a few seconds later across the line by Phil Pace (20:15.6). Silas Matteson then posted a personal-best time of 20:27.3 in his sixth-place run. To round out the race's top ten, four Lions—William O'Donovan, Joshua Santiago, Will Evarts, and Moksh Patwari—completed the race within three tenths of a second from each other.
 
The Lions will look to build on this positive start next Saturday, when they travel to Center Valley, Pennsylvania for the DeSales Invitational.