Men’s cross country put together a strong race at the NESCAC Championships hosted by Connecticut (Conn.) College in Waterford, Conn., on Saturday morning. Led by Eli Welch ’28, who claimed the individual conference title, the Ephs placed second with 57 points, 27 points behind Tufts.
The Ephs found themselves in a familiar setting on Saturday, having raced the same course at the Conn. College Invitational just two weeks prior. “I took it as a confidence booster,” Malcolm Oakes ’28 said. “Running that course before gave us a little more confidence the second time.”
At their race on the course on Oct. 18, the Ephs finished fifth out of 34 teams. Welch said he was disappointed with this result, especially because the team finished behind Tufts. Despite this disappointment, the meet produced several personal records for the team, according to Oakes.
Saturday’s conditions were less conducive to fast times than the Oct. 18 race, Welch said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be the same quickness, just because of a ton of wind — it was colder, and a little bit soft and muddy,” Welch said. “But it was good to know going in that we were capable of running fast times on that course.”
Adding to the challenge, the Ephs entered Saturday’s race without co-captain Rick Yanashita ’26, who won the NESCAC Runner of the Week award last week for his performance at the Conn. Invite. Yanashita missed the race because of a minor injury.
“Rick has been one of our top runners throughout the season,” Nikhil DeNatale ’26 said. “We knew going in that [his absence] was going to be a good scoring loss.”
On Saturday, the team employed a conservative strategy because of the conditions, DeNatale said. “It was really windy, so we didn’t want to be leading,” he said. “And even if it weren’t [windy], we wouldn’t really want to lead, but let other teams take out the race and do the work.”
“[Head Coach] Dusty [Lopez] put a pretty big emphasis on not going out too fast and saving it for the last third of the race,” Welch said. “That’s generally the theme for us — make sure we’re not going out too hard and trying to be the stronger team later.”
The Ephs executed this approach well, allowing Amherst and Colby’s runners to lead early on before moving up during the back end of the race, Welch said.
Welch, who finished second in multiple races this season but had yet to place first, outlasted the lead pack for a breakthrough individual NESCAC title. “I felt like I was being put on the ropes early in the race. My legs were hurting — I wasn’t sure if I had it,” he said. “But coming down to the last kilometer, I realized I felt pretty good, and the other guys seemed gassed.”
As the race wound to a close, Welch sped up with 300 meters to go and crossed the line first in 24:20.2. He was joined in the top 10 finishers by Oakes and DeNatale, who finished eighth and 10th, respectively. Luke Zanuck ’26 finished 13th with a time of 24:47.9 to join Oakes and DeNatale on the All-NESCAC Second Team, while Keiyu Mamiya ’28 rounded out the Ephs’ scorers with a 25th-place finish.
The performance was solid enough for the Ephs to easily claim second place, despite Yanashita’s absence. “Cross country is a team sport, and it’s five people who score,” Oakes said. “Our fourth and fifth runners, and our [usual] sixth runner all really stepped up because Rick was out, and we did better than expected.”
Now, the Ephs turn their attention to the rest of the postseason, with NCAA Regionals slated for Nov. 15 in Canton, N.Y., and Div. III Nationals happening the following week in Spartanburg, S.C.
The Ephs have their attention set on Tufts to close out the season. “My goal, at least right now, is to put Tufts back in their place, respectfully,” Oakes said. “I really do think we can do that. They’re in the position we want to be in, and I think we will [get there].”
If the Ephs can catch up to Tufts, they can achieve their ultimate goal, according to Welch. “The big team goal is to get back on the podium at Nationals,” he said. “That’s where we belong.”
