MIDDLEBURY, VT (October 31, 2026) – The Tufts University men's cross country team finished third at the 2026 NESCAC Championship on Saturday, placing just four points behind champion Amherst College in one of the closest finishes in recent conference history.
The Jumbos scored 70 points at Middlebury College, behind Amherst (66) and Williams College (67). Wesleyan University (83) and Middlebury (116) rounded out the top five in the 11-team field.
Tufts, the defending NESCAC champion, was separated from the title by a handful of places, and its five scorers posted the fastest combined time in the field at 2:05:54, one second ahead of Williams and two ahead of Amherst. The Jumbos placed nine runners in the top 30 and 11 in the top 40, and their first-through-fifth runner spread was just 24.2 seconds. Conditions were dry and sunny with a light wind for the 8k race.
Senior
Jonah Reisner led Tufts, taking sixth overall in 24:57.2, while classmate
Harris Gulbransen followed in 11th (25:07.9). They both receive NESCAC All-Conference honors for their top 14 individual finishes.
Sophomore Christopher Hovet was 15th (25:12.9), missing All-Conference by one place. Ffreshman
Taylor Combs was 18th (25:15.1) and senior
Meba Henok was 20th (25:21.4) to complete the Jumbos' scoring five.
Sophomore Will Burch (26th, 25:34.5) and senior
Sam Kurian (27th, 25:36.5) were Tufts' sixth and seventh runners. Freshman
Tadhg Murray (29th, 25:37.7) and
Jason Minicozzi (30th, 25:40.4) finished close behind, with freshman
Elliott Reines in 35th (25:51.3) and junior
Gabe Grove in 36th (25:54.2).
Minicozzi, one of the team's top runners this season, fell 1,000 meters into the race and got stepped on. He finished the race and then needed to get nine stitches in his finger afterwards. His finishing mark very likely would have been better.
The remaining Tufts finishers were freshman
Ellis Wood (72nd, 26:35.8), sophomore Benjamin Hester (77th, 26:40.9), senior
Simon Donovan (80th, 26:42.0), and freshman
Ryan Optekar (111th, 27:17.2).
Wesleyan junior Dylan Cote won the individual title in 24:31.1, followed by Middlebury senior Benjamin Hughes (24:44.3) and Williams junior Eli Welch (24:47.7).
Tufts will next compete at the NCAA Division III Regional Championship in two weeks.
--JUMBOS--
