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Kenyon College Athletics

Adam Skidmore, Charlie Menzel
Elisa Ayungua

2026 men's cross country preview

GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College men's cross country team took a big leap forward in 2025 and is eager to do the same in the upcoming 2026 season. The Owls, who placed sixth in the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships, moved all the way up to the runner-up spot in the 2025 race. With the 2026 season on the horizon, a young roster, one composed of 80 percent underclassmen, is focused on making a serious run at the program's first conference title since 2003.
 
2025 Review
Kenyon claimed the runner-up spot in last season's NCAC Championship. It was the program's best finish since the 2004 team also placed second. The Owls had a trio of runners take top-10 spots in the championship race, but John Carroll University, new to the conference, claimed the top-three individual spots en route to the title. Following the conference championship, the 2025 Kenyon men went on to place 10th out of 37 teams at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championship. That finish marked the program's best regional results since a seventh-place showing in 2008. Charlie Blackmer, a sophomore on the 2025 team, led the way for the Owls throughout the season and ended up ninth at the NCAC Championship and 20th out of 272 runners at the regional run. 
 
Coaching Staff
Kirk Shellhouse returns as the head coach of the Owls' cross country squads for his fourth season. His tenure has been marked by steady success and, during his previous three seasons, he had eight men earn All-NCAC honors, including one who claimed the NCAC Newcomer of the Year award. Four of those eight gained All-NCAC honors in the 2025 season and one went on to earn All-Region recognition. Shellhouse will get some assistance from John Gogle, who is now in his fourth season with the program and will serve as a volunteer assistant in 2026. 

"We are very excited for the upcoming cross country campaign for both our men's and women's squads," Shellhouse said. "The women have wonderful senior leadership with a fresh group of talented newcomers joining the ranks. On the men's side, we look to recharge with a hard-working young group." 

Preseason Polls
The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released earlier this week its preseason regional rankings. Within the Great Lakes Region, the Owls claimed a top-10 spot, landing at No. 9.  Although the NCAC coaches do not vote for preseason rankings, they do vote a week prior to the conference championship race. Looking back on 2025, the Owls were picked, by conference coaches, to finish first and ended up in second place.

Returning All-Conference Honorees
Kenyon had four All-NCAC runners in 2025, which was the program's best output since the championship season of 2003. The team lost seniors Joshua Breard (All-NCAC First Team) and Colt Murphy (Second Team) to graduation, but it does return both Blackmer and Caleb Low, who claimed second- and third-team all-conference honors, respectively. Blackmer placed ninth at the 2025 NCAC Championship and Low placed 16th in the field of 96 runners.  

Returning Statistical Leaders
The Owls top-two runners in 2026 were Breard and Blackmer. With Breard now a graduate, Blackmer enters the new season as the likely frontrunner. His best collegiate 6K (19:18.1) and 8K (25:16.6) times were both recorded in the 2025 season, a stretch in which he logged four top-10 individual finishes. Low and Charlie Menzel who will both be juniors on the 2026 squad, are arguably the next two top returners for Kenyon.  Low, now a junior, had a pair of top-20 finishes in 2025, while Menzel finished within the top-25 in two different races one season ago.  

Schedule Overview
  • Season and home opener: Friday, September 4, hosting the Port Kenyon Opener
  • NCAC Championship: Saturday, October 31 at Oberlin College 
  • NCAA Regional Championship: Saturday, November 14 in East Lansing, Michigan
How to Follow
Fans can follow Kenyon men's cross country throughout the season via the following links: 
 
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