North Dartmouth, Mass. (Sept. 19, 2026) – The UMass Boston men's and women's cross country programs opened their scored 2026 season Saturday at the UMass Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational, with Albert Ferreras (Lowell, Mass.) leading the men's squad and Jayden LaPlant (Plymouth, Mass.) pacing the women's team. 

The men's team placed 28th out of 32 teams with 777 points in the varsity 8k, while the women's team took 25th out of 33 teams with 727 points in the varsity 6k. The meet marked the first scored team result of the season for both programs, following a non-scoring tune-up at the Castleton Invitational on Sept. 5. 

Men's Race 

Ferreras paced the Beacons in the varsity 8k, placing 16th overall in a field of 32 teams with a time of 25:09.99. 

First-year runners filled out much of UMass Boston's scoring contingent. Jayden Ferreras (Lowell, Mass.) clocked 29:36.64, with Aiden Levin (Bristol, Conn.) right behind at 29:36.72 — the two first-years separated by less than a second. 

Jimmy Gallagher (North Attleboro, Mass.) came in at 29:56.52 in his second collegiate meet of the season, and Christian Labadini (Randolph, Mass.) closed out the men's five-man scoring group in 31:40.77 to round out the Beacons' 28th-place total. 

Women's Race 

LaPlant led the Beacon women in the varsity 6k, posting the top individual result for UMass Boston in the 33-team field at 24:15.94. 

Anatalya Graham (Minneapolis, Minn.) was next among Beacon women in 25:25.09, with Drew Sherman (Sandown, N.H.) close behind at 25:34.87. 

Molly Hilditch (Auburn, Mass.) came in at 26:55.08, and Audrey Connolly (Weymouth, Mass.) placed 198th at 27:24.19 in one of her first collegiate cross country appearances. 

Kylee Browning (Attleboro, Mass.) rounded out the Beacons' scoring group at 29:25.50, giving UMass Boston a full team score. 

Up Next 

Both programs return to action Friday, Oct. 9, at the Hopkinton XC Festival in Hopkinton, N.H. 

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