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Jake McCauley scored for Tufts in his first varsity race
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WESTFIELD - The Jumbo men's cross country team placed four runners in the top 40 to finish first among Division III teams and fifth overall at the Open New England Championship at Westfield State on Sunday.
The meet served as an opportunity to see where the squad stacked up against some of the best teams in New England, as well as to preview the course that will host the Division III New England Championship on November 10. The rain held off Sunday afternoon to allow for dry and fast racing conditions.
Dartmouth was the class of the 37-team field, running to victory with 83 points. Boston College and Yale rounded out the top-three with 123 and 142 points respectively. Boston University placed fourth with 156, edging the fifth-place Jumbos by 13 (169). Bowdoin was the second Division III team to finish, as the Polar Bears took sixth overall with 231 points.
Tufts was led by senior co-captain Matt Rand (Cape Elizabeth, ME). He placed 15th overall in a time of 24:46 over the eight-kilometer course. Fifty seconds ahead of Rand was race-winner Mike Biwott, a freshman from American International College. He was the only runner in the field of 261 to break the 24-minute barrier.
Breaking the 25-minute barrier for the first time in his career was senior Kyle Marks (Carmel, IN). His time of 24:58 was good enough for 20th overall. Close behind was his classmate Tyler Andrews (Concord, MA), who crossed the line in 34th with a time of 25:10. Right on his heels was junior Ben Wallis (Dover, NH), who notched a time of 25:12 to take 37th.
Closing out the scoring for the Jumbos was junior Jake McCauley (Darien, CT). In his first career race on the varsity level, McCauley recorded an impressive time of 25:32 to place 63rd. Classmate Andrew Shapero (Laguna Beach, CA) was close behind in a time of 25:46, good enough for 82nd. Rounding out the varsity squad was senior Sam Haney (Essex, CT), who crossed the line in 115th with a time of 26:05.
Sunday was certainly an impressive day for the squad, as the Jumbos improved three places from last year's eighth-place finish. Notching top honors among Division III teams is also a very encouraging sign as championship season draws closer.
Next Saturday, coach Ethan Barron's team will head south to Waterford, CT to compete in the Connecticut College Invitational.
Race results
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