ST. MARY’S CITY — Six St. Mary’s College of Maryland men’s cross-country runners have been named All-United East, and one of them was honored for the second year in a row as the top student among the conference’s best teams.
The all-conference selections, announced Nov. 5, follow the Oct. 31 United East Conference Championships hosted by Penn State Berks, where the Seahawks finished second in a nine-team field with 65 points. It was their third straight runner-up finish.
Sophomore Brandon Smoot of Hanover led the way. He covered the 8-kilometer course in a personal-best 27:02.7 to place ninth of 81 runners and earn Second Team honors, his second all-conference award after a First Team nod a year ago.
First-year Connor Walsh of Ellicott City was one spot and seven seconds behind him. Junior Pierson Hogue, a First Team pick in 2024, and first-year Rey Vilmenay of Washington, D.C., rounded out the Seahawks’ Second Team group.
| Runner | Class | Hometown / High school | Place | Time | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Smoot | So. | Hanover / DeMatha Catholic | 9th | 27:02.7* | Second |
| Connor Walsh | Fy. | Ellicott City / Reservoir | 10th | 27:09.8 | Second |
| Pierson Hogue | Jr. | Ellicott City / Mount Hebron | 13th | 27:52 | Second |
| Rey Vilmenay | Fy. | Washington, D.C. / Calvin Coolidge | 14th | 27:56.2* | Second |
| Simon McGillivray | Fy. | Brunswick / Brunswick | 19th | 28:07.6* | Third |
| Blake Carberry | Jr. | Pylesville / North Harford | 22nd | 28:18.4 | Third |
Three of the six are first-year runners, a sign of how much of the roster is new. Vilmenay and McGillivray both ran personal bests in their first conference championship.
Carberry repeats as Elite 21 winner
Carberry, a mathematics major with a 3.96 grade point average, also collected the United East Elite 21 Award for the second consecutive season. The award goes to the athlete with the highest GPA from a team that finishes in the top four at the conference championship. He was a Second Team all-conference runner last season.
The honors cap a regular season in which the Seahawks placed fifth of 15 teams at the Dutchmen Invitational on Sept. 5, won their own Seahawk XC Classic on Sept. 18 at Oak Ridge Park in Hughesville and finished 29th of 44 at the Aubrey Shenk Invitational in Gettysburg, Pa., on Oct. 17.
Up next
St. Mary’s races Saturday, Nov. 14, at the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on the West Branch Cross Country Course at Lock Haven University in Lock Haven, Pa. Racing is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The NCAA Championships are Nov. 21 in Northfield, Minn., according to the team schedule.
