The 2025 Liberty League Men’s Cross Country major award recipients were selected in a vote by the conference’s head coaches following the NCAA Division III Championship.
RUNNER OF THE YEAR: Nick Lyndaker, Senior, St. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University senior Nick Lyndaker was selected as the Liberty League Runner of the Year for the second straight year following the 2025 campaign. Lyndaker claimed his second straight Liberty League individual title in 2025 with a time of 25:16.6, winning by four seconds. Lyndaker became the first Saint to earn back-to-back individual conference titles since John Johnston in 2011. Two weeks later at the 2025 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional, Lyndaker posted his best career regional performance, finishing second in 25:11.5—an improvement of six spots from his eighth-place finish in 2024. His runner-up performance earned him a spot at the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship, marking his fourth consecutive appearance in the national meet. He was one of seven individual qualifiers from the Mideast Region invited to the national meet. Lyndaker’s senior season also included an individual victory at St. Lawrence’s Ronald C. Hoffmann Invitational (25:14.8) and a top 15 finish at the Paul Short Run (White Race), where he placed 13th out of 407 runners in a season-best 8K time of 24:44.9.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Nathaniel McKee, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
For the fifth consecutive year, a first-year RPI runner has earned Liberty League Rookie of the Year honors, with Nathaniel McKee garnering the 2025 accolade. McKee made his collegiate debut at Vassar’s Ron Stonitsch Invitational in September, finishing 16th in the six-kilometer race with a time of 19:50.2. McKee posted his season-best eight-kilometer time of 25:30.4 at the Paul Short Run (Open Race), placing 102nd among 574 runners. At the Western New England Invitational, he was a season-best fourth with a time of 25:41.7. In his final race of the season, the 2025 Liberty League Championship, McKee was the top rookie finisher; he placed 17th with a time of 26:17.9 and earned All-Liberty League Honorable Mention recognition. He was also recognized as Liberty League Rookie of the Week four times this year.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – John Lynch, Head Coach
The RPI coaching staff, led by 15th-year head coach John Lynch, was named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year in a vote by the conference’s head coaches. Lynch directed the Engineers to their ninth consecutive Liberty League title (22 points) and all 14 runners competing at the championship recorded a top-21 individual finish and garnered all-conference accolades (5 first team, 4 second team, 5 honorable mention). Two weeks later, RPI claimed its second straight regional crown at the NCAA Division III Mideast Regional with 44 points, as all seven from RPI placed among the top 20 and received All-Region recognition. At the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship, the Engineers posted a program-best fifth-place team finish with 122 points and set a program record with three All-Americans in a single season: Evan Lacey (22nd, 24:27.9), Colin Goldschmidt (26th, 24:32.4), and Tobin Durham (28th, 24:33.1), all finishing among the top 30. Lynch is assisted by Karina Bolton, Ben Fazio, Allison Thayer, Hannah Tighe, and Austin Turner.
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
- Nick Lyndaker, St. Lawrence — 25:16.6
- Evan Lacey, RPI — 25:20.6
- Colin Goldschmidt, RPI — 25:24.0
- Justin Cascio, RPI — 25:25.4
- Sean Miller, Vassar — 25:27.7
- Jack Loughery, RPI — 25:30.0
- Jack Czarnecki, RPI — 25:34.1
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
- Thomas Manson, RPI — 25:36.6
- Tobin Durham, RPI — 25:41.1
- Dominic Pena, RPI — 25:49.8
- Gwilym Horner, RPI — 25:49.9
- Derick Koen, RIT — 25:57.8
- Max Frazee, Vassar — 25:59.8
- Toag Wolf, Ithaca — 26:06.1
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION
- Patrick Russell, St. Lawrence — 26:10.3
- Tevin McLaren, RPI — 26:16.4
- Nathaniel McKee, RPI — 26:17.9
- Tyler Husar, RPI — 26:19.4
- Danny Gall, RPI — 26:22.9
- Brady Geisler, RPI — 26:23.5
- Griffin Roeder, St. Lawrence — 26:29.5
* All-Conference Teams are based on place finish at the 2025 Liberty League Championship