MEDFORD – The Tufts University men's cross country team finished third at the NCAA Regional Championship on Saturday at Franklin Park in Boston, led by senior captain Sam Gatti. The third-place finish is Tufts' best at an NCAA Regional since the Jumbos were also third in 2015.
Gatti finished the eight-kilometer race in 10th place out of 234 total runners with a time of 25:54. The second Tufts runner to cross the finish line today was sophomore Walter Wagude, placing 15th with a time of 26:15. They are the first two Jumbo runners to finish among the top 15 at the Regional since Tim Nichols and Luke O'Connor at the 2015 event.
As a team, the Jumbos compiled 118 points today, beating out NESCAC foe Bates College (126) for third place by eight points. Colby College finished in second with 67 points and MIT won the event with 23 points.
This was the first East Region Championship race after the sport was realigned into 10 regions earlier this year. As the third-place team, Tufts will hope to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Championship Race. A total of 22 at-large berths will be announced tomorrow.
Junior Oliver Printy had an outstanding day finishing third for Tufts and in 25th place overall with a time of 26:38. Freshman Alex Friedman was the next Jumbo to cross the finish line in 33rd place with a 27:04 mark. The top 35 finishers at the race are awarded All-Region, which the first four Jumbo scorers earned. Senior Collin O'Sullivan narrowly missed the honor, finishing in 36th place, but scoring well for Tufts with a 27:08 time.
Tufts had all seven runners finish in the top 100 with six of the seven finishing in the top 45. Freshman Enock Musyoka came around in 46th place with a time of 27:32, while senior Joseph Harmon finished off the Tufts runners in 101st place with a time of 29:08.
