WILLIAMSTOWN – Freshman Evan Ensslin led the Tufts University men's cross country team to an eighth-place finish out of 19 teams at the Purple Valley Classic hosted by Williams College on Saturday.
Ensslin ran the eight-kilometer course in 27:34.2 to lead Tufts and place 40th individually. He was right ahead of junior teammate Patrick Nero, who placed 41st overall with a 27:35 time.
Tufts accumulated a 204 team score, two points behind seventh-place St. Lawrence University (202). Host Williams College won the event with a 31 team score, well ahead of second-place MIT (56).
Scoring third for the Jumbos today was sophomore Sam Gatti, who had a time of 27:43.3. Sophomore Neerav Gade was 53rd in the 228-man field and fourth for the Jumbos with a 27:50.9 mark. The fifth Jumbo scorer was sophomore Joseph Harmon, who came across the finish line in a 28:13.6 time (66th).
Williams College junior Ryan Aidan won the race convincingly with a 26:07.3 time.
Tufts travels to Pennsylvania for Lehigh University's Paul Short Run next Saturday.
