POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - A young Ephs' men's cross country squad took second place in the Vassar Ron Stonitsch Invitational held on Saturday, with three sophomores and two first-years finishing in Williams' top-seven.
Second-year racer Malcolm Oakes was the first Eph across the line, finishing the 6-kilometer race in 19:18, good for third place overall and just five seconds back of the race winner. Classmate Keiyu Mamiya was next for Williams in sixth overall at 19:35, an excellent performance considering some early trouble in the race.
"Keiyu fell right after the start and rallied very well in his season debut," said head coach Dusty Lopez. "It's always good to see people handle unexpected circumstances well. We worked on a more controlled race strategy today compared to last weekend and overall it worked out well."
First years Gavin Engtrakul (11th overall, 19:46) and Andrew Kolenski (24th, 20:05) also finished with points for Williams. Junior Ethan Striff-Cave (20th, 19:58) and senior Zachary Liu-Walter (23rd, 20:02) both finished in the team's top-five.
A total of 12 Ephs ran in the 6-kilometer race and the team's score of 55 was good for second place behind RPI (39) and just ahead of the hosts from Vassar (61).
The team will return to action next Saturday for the Purple Valley Classic and Pete Farwell Alumni Race held at Mount Greylock Regional School in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the Ephs' only home meet of the season.
