HAVERFORD, Pa. — The 2025 cross country season got underway for the Haverford men with the annual three-mile Alumni/Open Race at the newly minted Fran Rizzo Cross Country Course at Haverford College. A total of 53 runners, a mix of current varsity athletes, program alumni, and open entrants, toed the start line.
 
The race unfolded quickly at the front, with a competitive group establishing an early pace. When the dust settled, senior Micah Lachman emerged as the day's top performer, finishing first overall in 14 minutes, 47 seconds. His time was 12 seconds ahead of the first unattached runner, Peter LaRochelle '25, who finished second in 14:59. The third spot went to Ryan Kredell '23, who completed the course in 15:05. Haverford's varsity squad showed impressive depth, placing its top seven runners within the top 13 overall.
 
First-year Simon Lane made a strong statement in his collegiate debut, running as the second Haverford scorer and finishing fourth overall in 15:06, just a second behind Kredell. He was followed by junior Luke de Valpine, who placed sixth in 15:20, and first-year Cole Branstrom, who crossed eighth in 15:28.
 
The team's pack running continued with senior Jakob Maiwald taking 11th in 15:40 and junior Torin Pelton-Flavin finishing 12th in 15:50. The seventh Haverford scorer was first-year Will Tew, who placed 13th in 15:54. The performance of the top seven highlighted both the team's promising start and the depth of its roster.
 
Other Haverford runners turned in strong efforts. First-year Wade Garoutte (16:07), sophomore Reef Kirchner (16:14), junior Gopal Patel (16:36), senior Deven Abrams (16:37), and first-year Will Root (16:38) finished 16th, 19th, 25th, 26th, and 27th, respectively. First-year Jack McCurry (16:42), junior Cullen Worth (16:45), sophomore Nicky Elias-Gillette (16:57), and first-year Gabriel Bernstein (16:59) placed 28th through 31st, while first-year Wyatt Grace (17:27) and senior Joseph DeRosa (17:29) finished 34th and 35th. The varsity contingent was rounded out by rookies Raine Guidarelli (17:52), Will Gray (17:55), Ben Aaron (18:02), and Josue Laurore (18:28), all making their collegiate debuts.
 
The alumni and open field provided a spirited challenge, underscoring the program's deep history. After LaRochelle and Kredell's top 3 finishes, Aaron Bratt '23 placed fifth in 15:14, with Charlie Marquardt '16 close behind in seventh at 15:22. The top 10 was rounded out by Matt Denton '24 (15:33) and Seamus Fraser '25 (15:37). Other alumni runners in the top 20 included Miles Colescott '25 (15:55), Hiro Kawakatsu '20 (16:06), Nick Scardigno '23 (16:11), Evan Daniels '24 (16:12), and Chris Southwick '11 (16:17).
 
The full list of alumni and open entrants included Rowan Shigeno '25, Jordan Schilit '13, Luca Ponticello '24, Nico Tripeny '23, Sammy Schindel '24, William Harris '24, Michael Franco '23, James Barker '20, Matt Willig '18, Reed Solomon '25, Jack Fanikos '21, Ben Siqueiros '12, Abe Doroshow '21, Tommaso Wheeler '25, Faraz Sohail '12, Nathan Ma '25, Nathan Akerhielm '21, Jacob Gaba '22, Keqing He '22, and Gene Perry '21.
 
The event offered an early-season test for Haverford and served as a promising preview of the competitive racing ahead. Haverford will next return to action at the Main Line Invitational on Friday, Sept. 19, with the men's race scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. on the Fran Rizzo Cross Country Course.