NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The 2025 Yale men's cross country schedule was released today, with the first competition set for Friday, Sept. 12. The Bulldogs have three meets scheduled before the championship season starts, with the Ivy League Heptagonal Cross Country Championships set for Oct. 31 in Van Cortlandt Park.
The Bulldogs are entering their second season with Courtney Jaworski as the team's Mark T. Young '68 Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. Kyle Basista returns for his second season as Yale's Head Coach of Men's Cross Country, Assistant Coach of Men's Track and Field. Laura Broderick returns for her second season as assistant coach.
Rising senior Braden King (Sacramento, Calif.) is Yale's captain.
Here is a breakdown of the 2025 schedule:
- The Bulldogs are at Van Cortlandt Park to start the season Friday, Sept. 12, for the Iona Meet of Champions. Yale last competed at this meet in 2014, placing seventh out of 22 teams.
- On Friday, Oct. 3, the team will head to Bethlehem, Pa., to compete in Lehigh's Paul Short Run. This meet often draws some of the best teams in the country. The Bulldogs won the Gold Meet here two years ago, with rising senior Owen Karas (Columbus, Ohio) taking eighth individually. Last year the Bulldogs placed eighth out of 44 teams.
- The Bulldogs will compete in the Princeton Fall Classic on Oct. 17. This event debuted last year and featured four nationally ranked teams. This year will mark Yale's first time competing in it.
- The Ivy League Heptagonal Championships take place Friday, Oct. 31, at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx. Four of Yale's top seven finishers at this meet last year are back, led by Karas (who was 18th overall).
- On Friday, Nov. 14, Yale's top seven will head to Hopkinton State Fairgrounds in Contoocook, N.H., for the for the NCAA Northeast Regional. Karas is the Bulldogs' top returning finisher from last year's regional meet, having finished 22nd. The Bulldogs' fifth-place finish last year was their best since 2004 (when they also finished fifth). At this meet two years ago, Sean Kay '24 qualified individually for the NCAA Championships by placing 13th.
- Based on the results of Regionals, the Bulldogs may have the opportunity to compete at the NCAA Championships in Columbia, Mo., on Saturday, Nov. 22. Here are the NCAA's selection criteria for teams and individuals:
- The top two teams at each of the nine regionals qualify for the national championships automatically, and 13 at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division I Cross Country Subcommittee.
- From each NCAA regional meet, the first four student-athletes to finish – among those not on a qualifying team – will qualify automatically for the NCAA Championships. The committee will then select two at-large individuals by identifying the highest non-qualifying individual finishers at the regional meets. All individual qualifiers must finish in the top 25 within their region.
