WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The Tufts University men's cross country team placed 14th out of 23 teams with a team score of 429 during their second meet of the season at the Purple Valley Classic Saturday in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The Jumbos finished only eight points behind 13th-place Norwich. The squad also competed in the 5-kilometer race during the meet at Mount Greylock High School.
SUNY Geneseo earned first-place honors in the 8-kilometer race with a team score of 48, as it placed four runners in the top-10 overall. Isaac Garcia-Cassani of the Knights finished first overall on the individual side with a time of 25:24.9.
The Jumbos rested some of their top runners, as the squad's top-nine finishers from the season-opening meet at the Bates Invitational did not compete in this event, including senior captains Tim Nichols and Luke O'Connor, who finished first and second overall, respectively, last Saturday.
Sophomore Brian Reaney was the Jumbos' top-finisher on the 8-kilometer course, as he posted a time of 27:23.9 and finished 98th overall out of 284 competitors during his first meet of the 2016 season. Sophomore Brian Djerf finished 119th overall with a time of 27:37.2, while sophomore Colin Raposo finished 129th overall with a mark of 27:45.3. Freshman Michael Carnavos finished 148th overall with a time of 28:04.1.
Junior John Greenberg (28:22.2), freshman Taylor Wurts (28:23.6), sophomore Kyle Anderson (29:25.2) and senior Chris Warren (30:32.0) also competed on the 8-kilometer course.
Sophomore Hiroto Watanabe led the way for the Jumbos during the 5-kilometer race, as he finished ninth overall with a time of 16:35.9. Junior Tom DePalma clocked a time of 17:29.0, which was good for 23rd overall. Freshmen Dylan McEniry and Jackson Mihm competed in their first collegiate meet, as McEniry posted a time of 18:30.0 and Mihm recorded a time of 18:34.1. Junior Christopher Gregory posted a time of 18:46.5 on the 5-kilometer course.
The Jumbos will prepare during the week for the Paul Short Invitational at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, next Saturday. The squad will then focus on the James Earley Invitational, which will be held at Westfield State University Saturday, Oct. 8.
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