TERRE HAUTE, IN (November 23, 2024) – Led by junior All-American
Amokrane Aouchiche, the Tufts University men's cross country team matched its best finish at the NCAA Division III Championship race since 2015 with 17th place today at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
Making their fourth consecutive NCAA Nationals appearance, the Jumbos compiled a 493 team score that was tied with George Fox University. In NCAA cross country, a tie between teams is broken by comparing the place finish of each of the five scoring members of the tied teams. The team with the majority of winning comparisons is awarded the higher place, which Tufts earned with better finishes at their second, third and fourth positions.
Aouchiche ran the eight-kilometer course in a 24:39.6 time to take 35th place, earn All-American honors (top 40) and lead the Jumbos. It's the first All-American award of his career, which he adds to three NCAA All-Region honors.
Junior
Calvin Cummings moved up 22 places over the last kilometer and a half to finish 106th overall and second for Tufts in a 25:14.5 time. The Jumbos also got a good race out of sophomore
Jonah Reisner, who was third for the squad and 118th overall with a 25:18.3 finish.
Sophomore
Harris Gulbransen, who had earned a Nationals start with a strong performance at the Regional, scored fourth for Tufts with a 25:29.2 mark that was 153rd. He moved up seven spots in the final 1.5k. The fifth scorer for Tufts was junior
Luke Brennan in a 25:57.2 time for 223rd.
Also competing today for the Jumbos was senior
Alex Friedman (234th in 25:59.8) and junior
Quinn Hampson (252nd in 26:14.0).
The Jumbos finished ahead of Amherst College (20th place) and Middlebury College (25th) teams who had edged Tufts at the NESCAC race. Tufts was third among New England teams today behind only 10th-place Williams College and MIT in 13th place.
"Amo Aouchiche attacked the race with confidence and aggression and was rewarded with an All-American performance," Director of Cross Country and Track & Field
Jamie Norton said. "He was able to get into a great position and then stay patient and poised throughout the middle of the race, holding back just enough to gear up for the finishing kick and hold onto his spot in the top 40. His teammates behind him stepped up, moving up well throughout the race despite getting buried earlier on. This was a big step forward for this crew to have a positive experience at Nationals and cap off a season that saw a lot of growth for a lot of our athletes."
The University of Wisconsin-Lacrosse won the 32-team 2024 national championship with a 77 team score. Christian Patzka from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater won the men's national championship with his 24:01.6 finish in a race of 294 finishers. The race was run in cloudy conditions with the temperature near 40 degrees and a light wind.
This concludes an excellent season for the Jumbos in which they were second at the NCAA Regional for the second straight year and fourth in a very closely contested conference championship.
--JUMBOS--
