WATERFORD, Conn. - Sophomore
Emil Nelson of the No. 8-ranked Williams College men's cross country team placed first overall out of 364 runners with a career-best time of 25:05.7 in the 8-kilometer White race Saturday, as 15 Ephs broke personal records during the Connecticut College Invitational at Harkness Memorial State Park.
The meet was divided into two races, the White and Blue ones. During the White one, Williams (65 points) finished with the same score as No. 4 NYU and No. 9 Tufts, but the Ephs were awarded third place out of 37 teams according to the tiebreaker rules. In the 8-kilometer Blue race, the Ephs placed fifth out of 34 teams, as senior
Rick Yanashita was the team's top-finisher, earning sixth-place laurels out of 264 runners with a personal record of 24:16.8.
Nine student-athletes in addition to Nelson clocked personal-best times in the White race, including first-year
Liam O'Connor (9th, 25:26.7), junior
Ethan Striff-Cave (14th, 25:40.4), first-year
Andrew Kolenski (21st, 25:47.8), first-year
Gavin Engtrakul (24th, 25:53.3), senior
Blake Biever (25th, 25:55.1), sophomore
Jackson McFerron (26:03.8), senior
Zachary Liu-Walter (26:17.4), sophomore
Rex Bedwick (26:49.4) and first-year
Luis Angel Mendoza (27:10.9). Juniors
Avery Allen and
Duncan DeProfio compiled times of 26:27.8 and 27:54.6, respectively.
"It was very exciting to see such a tight team race," said head coach
Dusty Lopez. "The student-athletes ran tough in a crowded field and Nelson had a nice breakthrough."
During the Blue race, four student-athletes in addition to Yanashita compiled personal-best times, featuring sophomore
Eli Welch (7th, 24:17.0), sophomore
Malcolm Oakes (9th, 24:18.1), senior
Luke Zanuck (25:00.1) and first-year
TJ Zwall (25:12.2). Senior
Nikhil DeNatale (25:02.3), senior
Ryan Hardiman (25:06.7) and sophomore
Keiyu Mamiya (25:15.8) also competed in the race.
"Out top-three men all had great days and behind that we got caught in some traffic at the start and it proved difficult to overcome," said Lopez. "We moved up through the field nonetheless, and we are confident we will show better at the NESCAC Championship in two weeks."
The Ephs will compete in the NESCAC Championship, which will be hosted by Connecticut College on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 11 a.m. from Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Connecticut.
