ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, NY – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's cross country team opened its 2026 season with a first-place finish among 11 teams at the Fred Pavlich Invitational, hosted by Bard College.

Samuel Gunther led the way for the Engineers with an individual victory, crossing the finish line in 16:07.0 to take first overall.

RPI placed four additional runners inside the top 12. Samuel Gibbons finished fourth in 16:27.4, while Tyler Carroll followed in fifth with a time of 16:32.9.

Ezekiel Shappel-Smith added a seventh-place showing in 16:37.0, and Ryan McCabe crossed in 16:37.8 to finish 12th and round out the Engineers' scoring five.

Tyler Husar and Cameron Parker also turned in strong performances for RPI, finishing in 16:46.4 and 16:48.8, respectively.