MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Williams College men's cross country team finished in first place at the Aldrich Invitational on Saturday morning. The Ephs recorded a team score of 21 points, as they finished with seven runners in the top 10.
Tufts finished in second place with 40 points, followed by Middlebury (81), Clarkson (129), and St. Michael's (139) to round out the top five teams.
Junior
Eli Welch, led the way for the Ephs, winning the individual 8K race in 25:40.3 to average a 5:09.8 mile, followed closely by sophomore
TJ Zwall who finished in third in a time of 25:57.4.
Senior
Henry Alexander finished in fourth place crossing the line in a time of 25:59.2, sophomore
Gavin Engtrakul in sixth (26:04.6), first year
Everett Pacheco in seventh (26:05.1) in his collegiate debut, sophomore Liam O'Conner in eighth (26:13.4), and first year
Finn Miller in ninth (26:14.4) to round out the Ephs' top runners.
"It's too early to draw any conclusions about the season but this was a very encouraging step for the men," said head coach
Dusty Lopez. "We got great contributions from all four classes, which was really fun to see. It will be exciting to watch this group come together as they build confidence and gain experience," said Lopez.
The Ephs look forward to next weekend, Sept. 19, as they are set to host the Purple Valley Classic at Mount Greylock Cross Country Loop.
