WATERFORD, CT (October 18, 2025) – The ninth-ranked Tufts University men's cross country team had a pair of strong performances on Saturday at the Connecticut College Invitational held at Harkness State Park.
In a field of top national teams, the Jumbos took second place in the men's varsity Blue race. Earlier in the day, the team's second varsity won a very closely-contested men's White race.
Tufts' varsity earned a team score of 111 that was runner-up behind only third-ranked Johns Hopkins University (96). The Jumbos finished ahead of #4 NYU, #7 SUNY Geneseo, #8 Williams College and #10 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the team standings.
Senior
Cullen McCaleb continued his strong season with a Tufts-best time of 24:17.85 for eighth place on the eight-kilometer course. He moved up 10 spots during the last two-plus kilometers for his final mark which is his career best.
Junior
Harris Gulbransen also had his best race with a 24:21.66 mark for 13th overall and second on the team. He made a move up into the top 20 mid-race and stayed there. Scoring third for Tufts was senior
Amokrane Aouchiche with a 24:30.51 finish (22nd), another PR. Senior
Luke Brennan ran 24:33.3, chopping 20 seconds off his personal-best and finishing 26th. He advanced six spots late in the race to help the Jumbos' scoring. The fifth and final Tufts scorer was senior
Calvin Cummings in 24:52.60 (42nd).
The Jumbo varsity was without
Jonah Reisner, one of their leading runners this fall.
Tufts showed their depth in the men's White race, where they had four individuals in the top 20. Tufts, NYU and Williams all finished with 65 team scores, but the Jumbos' head-to-head results in the five scoring spots gave Tufts the edge in both tie-breakers.
Junior
Sam Kurian led the Tufts White team with a third-place finish overall out of 364 runners, crossing the eight-kilometer course in a 25:16.57 PR time. He was followed among Jumbo scorers by junior
Simon Donovan in fifth (25:21.68 PR) and sophomore
Gabe Grove 11th (25:32.71 PR). Freshmen Christopher Hovet in 18th (25:46.3) and
Will Olsen in 32nd (26:02.1) both recorded season-best 8K marks.
The Jumbos will be idle next week before they return to Harkness State Park for the NESCAC Championship on November 1.
--JUMBOS--
