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Kyle Marks was one of three Jumbos to earn All-Region honors
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BRUNSWICK, ME- The Jumbo men's cross country team placed three runners in the top 35 to finish fifth of 48 teams at the NCAA New England Division III Championship at Bowdoin College on Saturday.
Williams placed four runners in the top 25 to win the team title, accumulating 88 points. Only one point behind was Middlebury, whose top five runners all finished in the top 30. Also separated by only point were Bowdoin and Bates, who claimed third and fourth place with 160 and 161 points respectively. The Jumbos rounded out the top five with 175 points.
With partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the high 40s, it was hard to ask for better racing conditions on a November day in Maine. The flat, fast course allowed many racers to post some impressive times.
Senior Michael Schmidt of Middlebury ran to victory for the second consecutive year, besting the 322-man field with a time of 24:39 over the eight-kilometer course.
The Jumbos were led by junior Matt Rand (Cape Elizabeth, ME) who finished third overall with a time of 24:58. With the third-place finish, Rand secures a berth to the NCAA Championship next Saturday and earns All-Region honors for the second consecutive year.
Sophomore Brian McLaughlin (Barrington, RI) was next across the line for Tufts, placing 30th with a time of 25:23. With his top 35 finish, he earns the first All-Region award of his young career. Also earning All-Region recognition was junior Kyle Marks (Carmel, IN) who finished 35th with a time of 25:28. This is the third consecutive All-Region award for Marks.
Finishing off the scoring for the Jumbos were sophomores Liam Cassidy (Brunswick, ME) and Andrew Shapero (Laguna Beach, CA). Cassidy came through in 44th with a time of 25:40, while Shapero clocked a 26:03 to finish 63rd overall.
Rounding out the top seven for Tufts were sophomore Ben Wallis (Dover, NH) and senior Connor Rose (Irvine, CA). Wallis recorded a time of 26:16 to finish 71st, while Rose placed 80th overall with a time of 26:26.
The top two teams from Saturday's race automatically qualify for the NCAA Championship, while the third, fourth, and fifth place teams have to hope they receive an at-large bid. Third-place Bowdoin and fourth-place Bates will almost certainly qualify, but the Jumbos future is less certain. They will now await the at large national qualifying bids which will be released by the NCAA on Sunday afternoon.
If Coach Ethan Barron's team receives an at-large bid, they will travel to Winnecombe, WI next Saturday to compete in the NCAA Championship.
NCAA Regional results
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