KEENE, N.H. – The Plattsburgh State men's cross country team returned to action Saturday afternoon, competing at the Keene State Invitational at Owl Athletic Complex. The Cardinals finished 13th in a highly competitive field that featured three nationally ranked programs, including Tufts, ranked 10th in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll, Williams, ranked 12th, and MIT, ranked 21st.

Senior Zander Brown (Wappingers Falls, N.Y./Roy C. Ketcham) led the Cardinals, placing 58th in 26:39.5 while recording a new personal best. Graduate student Samuel Van Auken (Greenville, N.Y./Greenville) was the next Cardinal across the finish line, finishing 87th in 27:16.8.

Junior Brody Serfass (Endwell, N.Y./Maine Endwell) followed with a new personal-best time of 27:28.4, placing 95th, while first-year Sean Dormann (Saranac, N.Y./Saranac) finished 102nd in 27:37.4, also setting a new personal best. Sophomore Brennan Muecke (Beamus Point, N.Y./Maple Grove) rounded out the Cardinals' scoring group, placing 116th in 27:49.2 and recording another personal best.

Sophomore Bryton Mandigo (Hartford, N.Y./Hartford) and senior Matthias Lauvau (Rye, N.Y./Rye Neck) also finished among Plattsburgh's top seven, placing 134th and 141st, respectively. Mandigo crossed the line in 28:03.2, while Lauvau finished in 28:09.3, with both runners establishing new personal bests.

Other highlights included senior Nate Alexander (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus), first-year Myles Hoffman (Medway, Mass./Medway), sophomore Griffin Leary (Pearl River, N.Y./Clarkstown South), and first-years Sean Rose (Peru, N.Y./Peru Central) and Everett Probeck (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central), who all posted new personal bests. Alexander finished in 28:49.7, Hoffman in 29:21.9, Leary in 29:32.4, Rose in 29:39.2, and Probeck crossed the line in 29:55.5.

The Cardinals will be back in action in two weeks, traveling to New London, Conn., on Saturday, Oct. 17, for the Connecticut College Invitational, which will serve as their final regular-season race.