PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Keene State College’s Tyler Bolaske earned Little East Conference (LEC) Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year honors, while UMass Dartmouth’s Maurice King was named Rookie of the Year following their performances at the 2026 LEC Championship. Keene State also earned Coaching Staff of the Year recognition.
Bolaske captured the individual championship with a time of 25:12.53, finishing more than 18 seconds ahead of the runner-up to secure Runner of the Year and First Team All-LEC honors. He led four Owls among the top eight finishers, joined by Griffin Urnezis in second (25:31.29), Andrew Klinedinst in seventh (26:01.84) and Nicholas Terranova in eighth (26:03.82).
King earned Rookie of the Year recognition as the championship’s top rookie finisher, placing ninth overall in 26:10.06. His performance also secured Second Team All-LEC honors, joining teammate Declan Smith, who finished third in 25:37.85 to earn first-team recognition.
Keene State’s Coaching Staff of the Year honor followed a championship performance that produced six all-conference finishers. In addition to the Owls’ four first-team selections, Harper Borden placed 10th in 26:22.47 and Ben Tetlow finished 11th in 26:35.89 to earn second-team honors.
The conference also recognized nine student-athletes on the LEC Men’s Cross Country Sportsmanship Team, with one representative from each institution.
2026 LEC Men’s Cross Country Major Awards
Runner of the Year: Tyler Bolaske, Keene State
Rookie of the Year: Maurice King, UMass Dartmouth
Coaching Staff of the Year: Keene State College
2026 LEC Men’s Cross Country Sportsmanship Team
| Student-Athlete |
School |
| Noah Hauswirth |
Eastern Connecticut |
| Griffin Urnezis |
Keene State |
| Jimmy Gallagher |
UMass Boston |
| Michael Gemelli |
UMass Dartmouth |
| Cooper O’Neil |
Plymouth State |
| Mckeene Keith |
Rhode Island College |
| Jack Tassinari |
Southern Maine |
| Asher Lauzen |
VTSU Castleton |
| Eddie Dalton |
WestConn |