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Matt Rand finished first in the opening race of the season
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BRUNSWICK, ME - The Jumbo men's cross country team placed four runners in the top 10 and eight in the top 25 to win the Maine Invitational hosted by Bowdoin College on Saturday. Tufts finished with 35 points, 21 ahead of second place Bates. Bowdoin took third with 60 points, followed by Keene State, Southern Maine, Trinity, and Colby.
With sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60s, it was a perfect day for racing. The first meet of the year served as an opportunity for the Jumbos to gauge their fitness levels and preview the course that will host the NCAA Regional Championship on November 12.
The Jumbos were led by junior Matt Rand (Cape Elizabeth, ME), who finished first individually. Rand pulled away from the 144-man field in the third mile to win the race with a time of 25:05, six seconds ahead of Bates sophomore Tully Hannan. Sophomore Ben Wallis (Dover, NH) was second across the line for Tufts, finishing fourth overall with a time of 25:26.
Senior Connor Rose (Irvine, CA) moved up significantly in the second half of the race to finish third for the Jumbos and 8th overall with a time of 25:35. Right on his heels was junior Kyle Marks (Carmel, IN), who crossed the line half a second later to take ninth. Rounding out the scoring five for Tufts was sophomore Andrew Shapero (Laguna Beach, CA), who posted a time of 25:52, good enough for 13th place.
Senior co-captain Scott McArthur (Denver, CO), and sophomores Brian McLaughlin (Barrington, RI) and Benji Hansen (Madison, WI) were all able to crack the top 25 overall. McArthur came through in 18th with a time of 26:01. McLaughlin and Hansen finished back to back in 24th and 25th place with times of 26:18 and 26:21 respectively.
First-year racers Sam Garfield (Holland, PA) and Nick Guarnaccia (Reston, VA) posted impressive times for their first career eight-kilometer race. Garfield finished 36th overall with a time of 26:42, while Guarnaccia came in 40th with a time of 26:45.
With the team's victory and countless personal bests shattered, the opening meet of the season was certainly a success for the Jumbos. Coach Ethan Barron's team will now look forward to competing in the Codfish Bowl at Franklin Park in Boston next Saturday.
Meet results
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