DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - On Saturday, Eastern Men's Cross Country ran one of their best races under Kiehl Smith's tutelage at the 2025 MAC Championships at Delaware Valley University. Ryle Mellinger became the first Eagle to claim First-Team All-MAC Honors since Bryton Henry and Milan Sharma in 2019, and Eastern finished in seventh out of 16 teams with a score of 207.

Mellinger claimed his second All-MAC Honor in the last two seasons after finishing Second-Team All-MAC last fall. The senior from Glen Mills ran a career-best time of 26:01.9 and finished in eighth place. He joins Henry, Greg Thomas, and Kenny Deloff to become the fourth Eagle to earn multiple All-MAC Honors since 2016.

Eastern's pack also ran a solid race, led by Robert Walton. The junior was second on the Eagles with a time of 27:38.1. First-year Joshua Knox-Wagner ran the best race of his young career, finishing in a personal best time of 27:55.5, while Jason Karch crossed the finish line in 28:10.8.

"Our men competed extremely well," Smith said. "This was by far the best team performance I have seen this team put forward in my time at Eastern. These guys stepped off the bus with energy and a mission. They went out there looking to improve on last year's performance. I am very proud of these guys and am excited to see them finish this year's story at Regionals in two weeks."

The Eagles will be back in action in two weeks for the NCAA Metro Regional Championships in Logan Township, N.J.