New London, CT– Two squads of Ephs represented the Williams College Men's Cross Country team at today's Connecticut College Invitational, each group bringing home accolades from the meet. A pack of seven Ephs took on the morning section with tenacity, clinching second place with a combined score of 44 points, just 18 points behind first-place team Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the afternoon championship race, the eight men representing Williams brought home a third-place finish, scoring 127 points on the field. St. Olaf College took second (95) and New York University placed first (80).
In the morning race, the Ephs put themselves at the front of the field early, commanding the race from the gun with their pack mentality.
Malcolm Oakes '28 worked his way up to the lead, competing hard against racers from MIT to hold his position. Oakes blazed through the finish line in a time of 25:04, clinching second place overall. Teammate
Keiyu Mamiya '28 worked his way up in place over the course of the 8K distance, finishing just two seconds behind Oakes. Mamiya's time of 25:06 earned him 3rd place overall, scoring crucial points for the team. Next to cross the line was Captain
Nikhil DeNatale '26. Staying relaxed and composed, DeNatale competed well over the sharp turns and rocky sections of the course, crossing the line in a time of 25:36 to secure 10th place.
Bradley St. Laurent '26 and
Avery Allen '27, another pair of Ephs, rounded out the team's top five scorers. St. Laurent worked his way up through the crowd, catching up to Allen within the last 1000 meters of the race. The two raced together through the downhill finish, crossing the line in 25:44 (14th) and 25:45 (15th), respectively.
Emil Nelson '28 was the next Williams runner to finish. Competing hard in his first major collegiate invitational, Nelson took 25th place in a time of 26:07. Finishing out the team's top seven was
Duncan DeProfio '27. DeProfio gave the race his all, surging over difficult sections of the course to finish in a time of 26:40 (56th).
The team's good energy continued into the second section of racing as eight different Ephs toed the line. Despite a particularly difficult start,
Chuckie Namiot '25 worked his way back up to the front of the field. Trading the lead with competitors from Roger Williams and Babson, Namiot remained competitive over the course of the 8K distance, surging into the finish in a time of 24:14 to take 3rd place individually.
Rick Yanashita '26 was the next Williams runner to cross the line. Positioning himself close to the front of the race, Yanashita competed hard to hold his place, staying engaged and finishing in a time of 24:40 (18th). Close behind was
Ryan Hardiman '26. Hardiman remained composed over the course of the race, cruising through the line in a time of 24:46 to take 21st place overall.
Alex Kemp '28 worked with teammates along over the course of the 8K distance, exemplifying the pack-running mentality Williams has been known for. Kemp crossed the line in a time of 24:55, finishing in 33rd place. Fellow first-year
Eli Welch '28 worked to improve the team's compression as he kept Kemp in sight, finishing in a time of 25:07 (40th) as Williams' fifth scoring runner.
Luke Zanuck '26, close behind Welch, was the next Eph to cross the line. Taking 44th overall (25:11), Zanuck showed strength in the midst of a deep field. Next after Zanuck,
Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos '25 sprinted through the line in a time of 25:32 (58th). Tuohy-Gaydos, displacing scoring members of other teams, helped propel the Ephs to their third-place finish.
Henry Alexander '27 rounded out Williams' top eight, racing with grit and determination to a time of 26:34 (126th).
For the Ephs, securing a place on the podium meant an additional reward– leaving their USTFCCCA national ranking of 21st in the dust. "Our mindset going in was that as a team, we were a bit under-ranked. We wanted to put on a display of what we were capable of," explained captain
Chuckie Namiot '25. "We executed the race fairly well. I don't think anyone had a stellar race, but if that's how we look on a less strong day, that's pretty good. We held onto our starting pace well, but the issue was that other teams were able to move up throughout the race, which is something we want to work on in the future. This was also our first major invitational with a young team," Namiot emphasized.
Eph head Coach
Dusty Lopez '01 lauded the team's performance across both races, emphasizing the strength of the pack. "We showed good depth as well as resilience as a group. It was definitely exciting to be the top NESCAC school today, but we had some good opponents in both races that we're excited to race again. We'll have a chance to look and perform even better in NESCACs, and it'll be fun to get everyone back on the same starting line next week."
As coach Lopez alluded to, the next time the Ephs toe the line will be at the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championships next weekend. Hosted by Bowdoin College, each NESCAC school will have the chance to field their top fifteen racers and contend for the team title.
Official Results Linked Here.
