Aouchiche 12th, Team 9th at NEICAAA Men's Cross Country Race

HOPKINTON, NH (October 10, 2025) - Senior Amokrane Aouchiche of the Tufts University men's cross country team had the best Jumbo finish in the New England Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic Association (NEICAAA) Championship varsity race since 2015 today at Hopkinton Fairgrounds.

Aouchiche's 24:37.88 time across the eight-kilometer course was 12th individually out of 257 total finishers today. The time is his 8K career-best. It led the Jumbos to a ninth-place team finish out of 24 teams. Tufts' five-best finishers recorded a 207 score.

Today was the 110th running of the historic NEICAAA men's meet, which began in 1912. The event features Division I, II and III squads from around the region. The Jumbos were first among Division III teams today. The University of Rhode Island won the NEICAAA title with a 60 score.

Aouchiche got out with the lead pack right away. He was 10th at both 2000 meters and 4000 meters, then ninth at the six-kilometer mark. His 12th-place finish was Tufts' best since Tim Nichols was fifth and Luke O'Connor 11th at the 2015 NEICAAA race.

Junior Meba Henok returned strong after two weeks off and finished an excellent 15th with a 24:49.99 mark that is his PR. He maintained a top-16 position throughout the race.

Notching another PR for the Jumbos was junior Simon Donovan, who scored third for the team with a 25:31.65 mark for 47th overall. Sophomore Gabe Grove, Tufts' fourth scorer, also hit his 8K PR with a 25:42.35 finish that was 62nd individually. Scoring fifth for the Jumbos was freshman Jack Moretta in 92nd place (26:05.18 season-best).

Freshmen Ben Hester and Chris Barbato checked in with top-seven placements for Tufts in 26:26.28 (121st) and 26:32.60 (127th) times, respectively. The Jumbos had 14 runners at the meet overall.

UMass Amherst's Colin Catherwood won today's race crossing the finish line in 23:57.82.