A very experienced squad is set to return for the 2016 Massachusetts Maritime men’s cross country season, as the Buccaneers of second-year Head Coach Chris Slattery welcome back 13 letterwinners and welcome in 10 talented newcomers while looking to make a run at the program’s second Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championship.

Outstanding leadership has always been a team cornerstone since the program’s inception, and this season will be no different with seniors Jake MacVarish (Braintree, Mass./Norfolk Aggie) and Connor Rosenberg (Brooklyn, Conn./Woodstock Academy) serving as Massachusetts Maritime’s co-captains.  Slattery says that “the success that our program has enjoyed is directly equated to the leadership that our captains provide each year, and I couldn’t be more pleased that Jake and Connor have accepted the challenge of continuing that tradition.  They push their teammates in practice, in competition and in the regiment, and their determination to represent the Academy in the highest positive manner possible is what being a Buccaneer is all about.”

Here’s a look at how things are shaping up for the 2016 edition of Buccaneer Men’s Cross Country:

MacVarish earned all-MASCAC accolades with a seventh place individual performance at last year’s league championships, as he has been Massachusetts Maritime’s top runner across the line in 20 events during the course of his collegiate career.  Junior Robby Galvin (Woburn, Mass./Woburn) has also been a consistent performer for the Buccaneers, including a first place finish in last year’s Lt. Travis J. Fuller Invitational to go with a 10^th place effort at the Elms Blazer Invitational.

Juniors Ryan McNeal (Canton, Ga./Sequoyah) and Chris MacKay (Bethany, Conn./Amity Regional) have also been top scorers for Slattery’s squad over the past two seasons, including respective third and seventh place finishes at the 2015 Fuller Invitational.  Rosenberg lends experience to Massachusetts Maritime’s lineup that also includes a talented junior class comprised of Joe Eastman (Hanover, Mass./Hanover), Richard Langell (Georgetown, Mass./Georgetown), Josh Mattie (Pembroke, Mass./Pembroke), Tom Pelletier (Bradford, Mass./Central Catholic), Samuel Theriault (Hampstead, N.C./Topsail) and Tobias Way (Pocasset, Mass./Sturgis West).

Sophomores Ryan Nordstrom (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and Peter Lowry (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) return after making solid contributions as rookies last fall, while a talented crop of newcomers will also be vying for scoring roles in the Buccaneer lineup.  Sophomore Carl Thompson (Swanzey, N.H./Monadnock Regional), who is a member of Massachusetts Maritime’s outdoor track & field team, joins Slattery’s squad this year along with freshmen Ian Britt (Hernando, Fla./Lecanto), George Champion (La Jolla, Calif./The Bishop’s School), Douglas Cleary (Pocasset, Mass./Upper Cape Tech), Leif Gerchberg (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow), Kyle Hansen (North Chelmsford, Mass./Chelmsford), Esmael Mendes (Cataumet, Mass./Bourne), Daniel Plumb (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton), Steven Savoy (West Bridgewater, Mass./West Bridgewater) and Ryan Welch (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley).

The 2016 Buccaneer schedule features competition at the University of New England, UMass Dartmouth, Gordon and Emmanuel, and Massachusetts Maritime will host the Fuller Invitational on Saturday, October 1^st.  This year’s MASCAC championship race is set for Saturday, October 29^th at Fitchburg State, while the NCAA New England Regionals will take place at Westfield State on Saturday, November 12^th.

The Buccaneers begin their 2016 slate on Saturday, September 10^th by heading to Biddeford, Maine to compete at the University of New England Invitational at 11:30 a.m. EDT.