Men's Cross Country Routs Lafayette for First Dual Win Since 2001

Saturday, September 5

Lewisburg, Pa.

9:30 a.m.

Bucknell University

Lafayette

Photo by: Brett Newcomb

Men's Cross Country Routs Lafayette for First Dual Win Since 2001

9/5/2026 12:42:00 PM | Men's Cross Country

LEWISBURG, Pa.- Dual meets used to heavily dominate cross country schedules. Bucknell men's cross country, back in the halcyon days, ran a streak of 167 consecutive victories in dual meets. Memories of glory days briefly returned at the Bucknell Golf Club Course on Saturday morning as the Bison routed Patriot League rival Lafayette, winning 16-46 for its first dual win since sweeping Rutgers, Siena, and Syracuse at the Gulden Duals in 2001. Orange & Blue runners grabbed four of the top five places.

"Our men scored 16 points," head coach Kevin Donner said. "I thought they ran very well. I thought our men ran a good team race. Lafayette had a few guys run up with us early in the race and one of their runners broke up our top five."

The Bison have only run two dual meets (2009 & 2011) since 2001 but the opportunity to revive the tradition arose when Lafayette accepted Donner's invitation for a Sept. 5 meet.

"I really appreciate that they were here and they got a good chance to see the course," Donner said. "But we also got a good chance to see the course as well in a competitive situation and we won the meet pretty handily. This gives me a good gauge of where we're at right now on the men's side."

Junior captain Ethan Pratt-Perez won the race, logging 18:50.30. Pratt-Perez led from the opening gun and never relinquished his catbird seat. The 2025 All-Patriot League runner enters 2026 in the best shape of his running career and is expected to inherit Henry Didden's spot as the pacesetter.

"Ethan looked very good," Donner remarked. "He really took off in that last 2K."

Sean Wemmlinger christened his Bucknell career by finishing second with a time of 19:02.30. He looked sharp in preseason training and continued that momentum into the opening weekend.

Senior Carter Paul expressed sentiments that his final year was "an all-out campaign." He delivered on Saturday, placing third with a time of 19:08.20.

David Carillo, tabbed by Donner as one of the breakout stars for 2026, finished fourth, clocking 19:09.50, and building upon his strong conclusion in 2025.

Mason Barlow rounded out the Bison scorers, finishing sixth. His time of 19:27.60 narrowly clipped teammate Cooper Hollinger's 19:27.70 for the slot.

Next up for Bucknell is Route 45 Rival Penn State's Spiked Shoe Invitational on Friday.

"We'll get a much better gauge of where we're at on Friday when we're at Penn State, where men will run 5.2 miles," Donner said.

Time will reveal how the upcoming season unfolds, but for one Saturday morning, Bucknell men's cross country revived historical glory.