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Sophomore Jake McCauley led the Jumbos at Connecticut College
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WATERFORD, CT- The Tufts men's cross country team placed seventh out of 14 teams at the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park in on Saturday. The Jumbos competed without the team's top 12 runners, who were resting in preparation for the championship season.
Southern Connecticut claimed the team title by placing four runners in the top five to accumulate a score of 52 points. Host Connecticut College was the runner-up with 75 points, and The College of New Jersey took third with 99 points. Plattsburgh State, Oneonta State, and Vassar followed, all finishing ahead of the Jumbos who claimed seventh with 172 points. Brian Nill of Southern Connecticut won the individual crown, covering the eight-kilometer course in a time of 25:28.
As the last competition of the season for many racers, the meet served as an opportunity to set personal bests and carry positive momentum into the indoor track season. Weather conditions did not make it easy for any competitors, as 25-35 mph winds made it difficult to sustain a quick pace over the waterfront course. Nevertheless, multiple Jumbos came away with lifetime-best marks.
Sophomore Jake McCauley (Darien, CT) led the way for the Jumbos, crossing the line with a time of 26:37, which was a new personal best and good enough for 20th overall in the field of 211 runners. Freshman Cyrus Cousins (Barrington, RI) also was able to clock a personal best, finishing in 31st with a time of 26:57. Continuing the trend was freshman Joe Poupard (Northbrook, IL), whose personal record time of 27:05 was good enough for 33rd place.
Rounding out the scoring five for Tufts were sophomore Jamie Norton (Groton, MA) and senior Jeff Prescott (Wilton, CT). Norton came through in 27:18 to take 43rd, while Prescott recorded a time of 27:25, good enough for 45th place. One second behind Prescott was junior Luke Maher (Carmel, NY), who notched a 47th place finish. The seventh man to cross the line for the Jumbos was freshman Marshall Pagano (Niskayuna, NY) who finished 57th with a time of 27:37.
With many new personal bests and a few solid months of training under their belts, the Jumbos who wrapped up their 2011 XC season on Saturday will look to carry the success into the indoor track campaign, which begins December 3.
For the top 15 runners on the squad, the attention now shifts to the post-season races, which begin on October 29 with the NESCAC Championship hosted by Amherst College.
Race results
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