Men’s and women’s cross country clinched first-place finishes at last weekend’s NCAA New England Regionals and secured automatic bids to next weekend’s NCAA Div. III Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. The men, who tallied 24 points, were followed by Colby in second with 93 points and MIT in third with 105 points. The women finished with 64 points, edging out MIT with 84 and Tufts with 156. 

“That’s an amazing[ly] good team score,” head coach Pete Farwell ’73 said after the race. “We talked about our race plan ahead of time and the team could not have executed it any better. We got off the start well and then we had a solid pack throughout.”

The men placed five runners in the top eight spots, led by Aidan Ryan ’21 in his sixth consecutive first-place finish of the year. Ryan got out in the lead pack from the start of the race, took over first place around mile one and then methodically worked on extending his lead to finish in 24:51.56. 

Ryan Cox ’20 crossed the finish line shortly after him to clinch second. Kenneth Marshall ’20 finished third for the Ephs and sixth overall in a time of 24:59.96. The Ephs’ fourth finisher was Elias Lindgren ’22, who was clocked at 25:01.57 and finished seventh overall. The Ephs’ fifth and final scoring runner was Nick Gannon ’22, who crossed the line in eighth place, posting a time of 25:04.61.

William McGovern ’20 and Tristan Colaizzi ’20 rounded out the Ephs’ roster, coming in ninth and 13th overall, respectively. All seven Eph competitors earned All-Region honors.

In the women’s race, within a minute or so of MIT’s Izzi Gengaro’s individual victory at the NCAA New England Regional Championships, all seven Ephs had crossed the line, a blur of purple and gold cow print.  Shortly thewreafter, the results became clear — the Ephs had carried the day. Gengaro clinched first at 21:19. 

Eva Borton ’23 finished first for the Ephs, earning eighth place, with a time of 21:39. In addition to being a top-10 finisher, Borton was the fastest first-year in the region. Sarah Tully ’21 was right behind her and secured ninth in 21:43. Brianna Bourne ’21 clocked in just two seconds behind Tully for 10th place. 

Anna Passannante ’20 finished fourth for the Ephs, earning 16th place in 21:59. Maddy Boutet ’20 rounded out the team’s scorers, coming in 21st place in 22:06. Borton, Tully, Bourne, Passannante and Boutet all earned All-Region Honors.

The Ephs will head to Louisville next weekend to compete at the NCAA Div. III Championships on Saturday.