LEBANON, Pa. - Eastern Men's Cross Country took part in the 2026 LVC Last Chance Run Fast Invitational in its final tune up before next weekend's MAC Championships. The Eagles recorded their third top-three finish of the season, placing third with a team score of 84. Three Eagles also ran career-best races, while two more ran season-best times. 

Heading into the race, Head Coach Samantha David stated that the goal was to run it as a workout, going at tempo for the first two-thirds of the race, before emptying the tank for the final third. She was pleased with the results.

"Going off the line super relaxed allowed both the men and women to have a good reserve to push hard for the last portion of the race," David stated. "We saw excellent times and finishes. We are ready to confidently go into MACs next week after today's performance."

Robert Walton led the Eagles, placing eighth with a season-best time of 27:01. The senior averaged 5:26.1 per mile. Joshua Knox-Wagner also ran a season-best 28:05.5 at a 5:39.0 pace. 

Matthew Schilling had the first of three PR's for the Eagles, crossing the finish line in 28:08.7. He ran a 5:39.7 mile pace. Malachi Wilson and Rylan Weiant ran PR's of 28:54.8 and 29:13.9, respectively, while Kayden Hovermale finished in 28:54.7. Weiant dropped two minutes off his previous best time. 

The Eagles will be in Owings Mills next weekend for the 2026 MAC Cross Country Championships. The men's race will begin at 12 noon.