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All-American Matt Rand
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WINNECONNE, WI - The top five runners on the Tufts men's cross country team all ran personal-record times to earn a ninth-place finish of 32 teams at the NCAA Championship on Saturday.
Making the Jumbo program's first appearance at Nationals since 2007, the 2011 squad earned the program's fifth top-10 finish at the NCAA meet. The Jumbos were fifth in 2005, sixth in 2004, ninth in 1999 and seventh in 1996.
Number one ranked North Central College (IL) won the team title by placing all five scorers in the top 60 to accumulate 110 points. Defending champion Haverford (PA) settled for the runner-up spot this year with 172 points. Washington University (MO), SUNY Geneseo, and host Wisconsin-Oshkosh rounded out the top five.
Among New England teams, the Jumbos placed third. Williams placed sixth with 278 points, while Bates finished seventh with 294 points. The Jumbos accumulated 329 points, 25 behind eighth-place St. Lawrence (NY). Dickinson College (PA) rounded out the top ten with 341 points.
The course at Lake Breeze Golf Club was flat and wide with great footing. The rain held off on race day to allow for extremely fast racing conditions. It was easily the fastest course the Jumbos had raced on all season.
Senior Ben Sathre of St. Thomas College (MN) ran to individual victory after a runner-up finish in 2010. Sathre's time of 23:44 over the eight-kilometer course bested the 279-man field and was four seconds ahead of runner-up Lee Berube of SUNY Geneseo.
Leading the way for the Jumbos was junior Matt Rand (Cape Elizabeth, ME). He placed 19th overall with a 19-second personal-record time of 24:36 to earn All-American honors. Only the top 35 finishers garner the distinction. It is Rand's first cross country All-American award and the second overall in his collegiate career.
Next across the line for Tufts was junior Kyle Marks (Carmel, IN). Marks's time of 25:06 was a nine-second personal-best and good enough for 71st overall. Sophomore Brian McLaughlin (Barrington, RI) was the third Jumbo to finish. He clocked an eight-second personal-best time of 25:15 to place 95th overall.
Closing the scoring for the Jumbos were sophomores Liam Cassidy (Brunswick, ME) and Andrew Shapero (Laguna Beach, CA). Cassidy recorded a 23-second personal best time of 25:17 to place 101st overall, while Shapero placed 153rd with a nine-second personal best time of 25:37.
Rounding out the championship squad for Tufts were senior Connor Rose (Irvine, CA) and sophomore Ben Wallis (Dover, NH). Rose capped off his collegiate cross country career with a time of 25:43, good enough for 170th overall. Wallis, still gaining strength from a mid-season injury, was able to finish in 208th place with a time of 26:00.
The NCAA Championship caps off an up-and-down season for the Jumbos. Fortunately, the 2011 campaign ended on a very high note. With all five scorers and six of the top seven runners returning in 2012, the future looks very bright for Coach Ethan Barron's squad.
NCAA Championship results
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