Gwynedd Valley, Pa. – (8/10/2026) – Only a few weeks before Gwynedd Mercy University toes the line for the Misericordia University Invitational (Sept. 1, 6:00 p.m.), Head Men's and Women's Cross Country Coach Joe Dyas is pleased to officially present the Griffins' schedule for the fall of 2026. "I am excited for the upcoming season. Our schedule will give us the opportunity to not just see what our conference is going to look like, but what our region is going to look like too." Coach Dyas explained, "In cross country, everything is focused on your conference and regional meets, so we want to make sure we building toward those meets. With AEC's being at the same site as it has been the last two years, we now have familiarity and experience there," he continued, "Paul Short is a big date for us, as it is a regional preview. We will get to see teams from all over the country compete, see how our young talent stacks up, and adjust for the big meets to come."
 
Both the Gwynedd Mercy University men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Dallas, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, September 1, for the Misericordia University Invitational. The Griffins last ran the four-kilometer (4K) race down 42^nd Street in 2023 (Sept. 1), when Sebastian DeSimone '26 (87^th, 15:37.90) and Keely Greene '24 (83^rd, 19:56.80) were the Red and Gold's top finishers. The women will kickoff the event with a 6:00 p.m. starting gun, while the men's race is scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m.
 
Later in the opening week, on Saturday, September 5, Gwynedd Mercy University travels to Union Tunnel Park for Lebanon Valley College's Dutchmen Invitational; the women are scheduled for a 10:15 a.m. five-kilometer (5K), while the men are scheduled for an 11:00 a.m. eight-kilometer (8K). In 2025 (Sept. 6), freshman Conner Brennan (Hatboro, Pa.) paced the Griffins in the men's race with an 84^th-place time of 30:24.90, while his classmate, Abigail Flannery (Cinnaminson, N.J.) paced the Griffins in the women's race with an 82^ndplace time of 22:11.40.

After week off from competition, Gwynedd Mercy University returns to action on Saturday, September 19, when they travel to Center Valley, Pennsylvania, for the DeSales University Invitational. The men will begin the event with a 10:30 a.m. 8K and the women will follow with a 11:20 a.m. 6K. In 2025 (Oct. 11), Brennan was the lead Griffin in the men's race with his 47^th-place time of 28:45.20, while Flannery was the lead Griffin in the women's race with her 15^th-place time of 25:39.90.
 
On Friday, October 2, Gwynedd Mercy University travels to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, for Lehigh University's Paul Short Invitational. Both the men and women will compete in the Green race, which holds a 3:30 p.m. start for the former and a 4:15 p.m. start for the latter on the Goodman Campus Course. The Griffins last participated in the Paul Short Invitational in 2018 (Sept. 29); then the men placed 36^th of 37 in the 8K with 1,080 total points and the women placed 34^th of 44 in the 6K with 914 total points.
 
Two weeks later, on Saturday, October 17, the Red and Gold travel to DREAM Park for Rowan University's Border Battle. The women's 6K will open the event at 11:00 a.m., with the men's 8K following at 11:45 a.m. In 2025 (Oct. 18), the Griffin women placed 31^st of 31 teams with 984 total points; Flannery was first across the finish line in 194^th-place on a season's best time of 25:13.11. Meanwhile, the men did not produce a team score; Brennan served as their top finisher with a 262^nd-place time of 28:58.20.
 
The season of competition culminates with the final two events; the Atlantic East Conference (AEC) Cross Country Championships – on Saturday, October 31 – and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Regional Championships, which are scheduled for Saturday, November 14, at Lehigh University.
 
For the second consecutive season the AEC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships are scheduled to take place at the Hudson Valley Sportsdome in Milton, New York. The women's 6K will begin at 10:00 a.m. with the men's 8K to follow at 11:00 a.m. In 2025 (Nov. 1), Gwynedd Mercy University celebrated two All-AEC performers in both championship races as All-AEC Second Team finishes were enjoyed by Brennan (8^th, 29:35.50), DeSimone (11^th, 31:27.70), Flannery (8^th, 27:32.60), and sophomore Ava Ezzie (Drexel Hill, Pa.) (13^th, 29:01.10). As a team, the Griffins placed 4^th of 6 teams in the women's championship with 101 total points.
 
The NCAA DIII Metro Regional will be hosted by Moravian University on Lehigh University's Goodman Campus Course. There, the men will open the championship with a 11:00 a.m. 8K, which will be followed by a 12:00 p.m. women's 6K. In 2025 (Nov. 15), Brennan and Ezzie were Gwynedd Mercy University's top finishers in their respective races with personal bests. The former placed 109^th in the men's championship with a time of 28:41.9 and the latter placed 122^nd in the women's championship with a time of 26:11.1.