NEWMAC Cross Country Championships Preview
Courtesy of NEWMAC Communications
WESTWOOD, Mass.- The NEWMAC Men's and Women's Cross Country Championships return in 2023 for an incredible day of competition on Saturday, October 28. The Championships are hosted by Smith College and will be located on Smith's campus in Northampton, Massachusetts. The championship competition will begin with the men's 8K race at 11 a.m., followed by the women's 6K race at 12 p.m.
Babson College
Babson's men's program edged out Springfield in 2022 to place top three and has seen strong performances from senior Anthony Rodriguez. Rodriguez broke his own program record on the way to earning a third-place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational. The women will look to improve on their ninth-place finish from 2022. The Beavers will look to junior Ali Thomas to pace the squad, as she was Babson's top finisher, and had a career-best time of 25:04, at the Connecticut College Invitational.
Clark University
The Clark men's team saw a solid performance at the Connecticut College Invite from junior Evan Sucov, who ran 30:20.80 to finish 133rd. On the women's side, junior Ruby Krasnow enters the championship as a reigning All-NEWMAC Performer, after placing fifth overall at the NEWMAC Championships in 2022 and earned a spot on the All-Region Team with an eighth-place finish.
Emerson College
The Emerson Lions men's team will be counting on contributions from Oliver Glass, who paced his squad with a time of 27:54 at the Suffolk Invitational. On the women's side, Yazmin Defne Dadikhi finished 20th with a time of 23:53 at the Suffolk Invitational.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Both MIT men's and women's teams are coming into the championship race as reigning NEWMAC champions and will look to repeat their effort. The MIT men's program has now earned 24 consecutive NEWMAC Championships. They won the program's first NCAA Division III National Championship in 2022. The MIT women's program has won 15 straight NEWMAC Championships. On the men's side, Lowell Hensgen has been a consistent front runner throughout the season. He placed fifth place overall with a time of 24:58 at the Pre-National meet. MIT enters the championship ranked No. 3 in the USTFCCCA coaches poll. The women enter championship weekend ranked No. 7 in the USTFCCA poll and return five of their top seven runners from the 2022 NEWMAC Championship. Among the returners is Gillian Roeder, who crossed in fourth place with a time of 21:57.3 at the Connecticut College Invitational.
Mount Holyoke College
Finishing just outside of the top five in the 2022 championship, Mount Holyoke College is looking to crack that top group as they are led by junior captain Tessa Lancaster, who led the way for the Lyons in 119th place at the Connecticut College Invitational.
Salve Regina University
Newcomers to the NEWMAC, Salve Regina will look to vie for the title as they compete in their first NEWMAC Championship. The women are led by Isabella Hastings, who came in second at the Western New England Invitational. She now has the sixth fastest Salve Regina 6,000-meter time in history. The men were paced by freshman Gianni Soucy, who ran a personal best time of 32:31 for 8,000 meters at the Western New England Invitational.
Smith College
Coming off a second-place finish in 2022, Smith College will look to vie for the crown. The Pioneers have been led by junior Pria Parker, who is coming off a personal record time of 21:42.4 at the Connecticut College Invitational. Smith entered the USTFCCCA poll this season, reaching No. 34.
Springfield College
The Springfield College women raced to a seventh-place finish in 2022 but will look to improve this season, as they're led by senior Kate Bonanno. She paced the Pride as she finished 22nd overall in 23:45.15 at the James Earley Invitational. The men, who finished just outside of the top three in 2022, have seen impressive performances all season from senior Chris Vayda, who ran 25:08.32 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational to win NEWMAC Runner of the Week honors.
United States Coast Guard Academy
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy have seen strong performances on the women's side from sophomore Claire Semerod, who posting CGA's 4th fastest 6K performance in school history, running 21:33 and placing 10th overall in the Connecticut College Invite. On the men's side, the Bears are led by sophomore Paul Hobbs, who was Coast Guard's top finisher at the Connecticut College Invitational with a collegiate best performance of 26:09.
Wellesley College
Wellesley has seen strong performances from sophomore Ella Whinney all season long. Whinney has been named the NEWMAC Runner of the Week three times this season, most recently after winning the Keene State Invitational Whinney won the Keene State Invitational with a time of 18:32.7.
Wheaton College
The Wheaton men's team comes into the upcoming championship looking to improve upon their sixth-place finish in 2022. They are led by sophomore Kai Hillier. Hillier had a personal best of 26:03.3 at the recent Suffolk Invitational. The women will look to climb a few spots as well with sophomore standout, Jaz Vanderhoof, who also ran a personal best at the Suffolk Invitational with a mark of 23:59.4.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
On the men's side the WPI Engineers are led by graduate student David Reynolds who has had a fantastic season thus far. Reynolds finished 47th out of 377 runners at the Pre-National Meet. For the women, Grace Hadley has been a solid performer this season. Hadley recently logged a time of 21:46.2 at the Pre-National meet to snag NEWMAC Runner of the Week honors. The WPI women currently sits at No. 19 in the USTFCCCA poll.
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, United States Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.