HOPKINTON, NH (November 16, 2024) -- The No. 19 Tufts University men's cross country team had hopes of a regional title on Saturday and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships next weekend, but the Jumbos still managed a strong runner-up finish at the 2024 NCAA Division III Cross Country East Regionals, hosted at Hopkinton State Fairgrounds.
Tufts accumulated 61 points, trailing first-place MIT by just 18 points for the top spot on Saturday. The next closest team was WPI in third place with 128 points, while Bowdoin College and Bates College were fourth and fifth respectively with 161 and 162 points. The Jumbos average mile of 5:05 was only three seconds behind MIT's, while the five-man gap of 0:40 was only eight seconds behind the Engineers. The difference was at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the lineup, as MIT finished eighth and 12th overall, while Tufts was No. 15 and No. 16 overall.
Tufts was paced on Saturday by junior
Amokrane Aouchiche, who took sixth place overall to secure a spot in the NCAA Championships regardless of the NCAA at-large announcement on Sunday. Aouchiche recorded a time of 24:47.02, his best finish at a NCAA East Regional in his career.
Junior
Calvin Cummings was right behind Aouchiche in seventh place with a time of 24:47.02, besting his previous East Regional personal-best finish of 16th in 2023. Senior
Alex Friedman was 15th overall as well, as he came over the line at 25:22.72 to lead four straight runners for the Jumbos.
Sophomore
Jonah Reisner was 16th overall in 25:25.22, and sophomore
Harris Gulbransen finished the team's scoring in 17th place with a time of 25:26.50. Both were personal-best finishes at an NCAA East Regional.
Junior
Quinn Hampson took 18th overall and sixth among Tufts' runners, while junior
Luke Brennan recorded a 21st place finish for the Jumbos.
All Tufts runners finished as All-Region performers, thanks to posting Top 35 overall finishes.
Tufts will find out Sunday at 3 p.m. if it earned a spot in the NCAA Championships as a squad, which will be run Saturday, November 23 at the Lavern Gibson Championships Course at 11 p.m. in Terre Haute, IN.
--JUMBOS--
