ATTLEBORO, Mass. — Senior Kai Hillier (Hinesburg, Vt.) finished 20th to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's cross country team at the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Championship this morning at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course at a windy Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass. The eight-kilometer race was hosted by Wheaton.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology tallied 20 points and boasted five finishers among the top eight, including first, second, third, sixth and eighth to capture its 27th straight conference crown. The Engineers also claimed ninth and 10th place among individual finishers. MIT has won all 27 NEWMAC Championship races since 1998.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute was the league's runner-up with 60 points, while Babson College finished third with 83 points and United States Coast Guard placed fourth with a total of 90 points. Springfield College tallied 165 points and Wheaton was right behind at 173 for fifth and sixth-place showings for the schools, respectively. Clark University racked up 204 points to finish seventh and Salve Regina University was eighth at 248. Emerson College followed closely behind with 252 points to finish ninth.
Senior Tim Neumann (Downers Grove, Ill.) turned in a winning time of 25:07.9 and was named the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year to become the 12th straight and 23rd overall runner to earn the honor for MIT.
Hillier clocked in at 26:34.8 for the Lyons, despite a headwind coming right at the runners at the finish, while senior Nick Lacroix (Bedford, N.H.) placed 34th with a time of 27:19.5. Sophomore Finn Morris (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) finished 61st overall with a mark of 28:51.8 with senior Parker Fullem (Wantage, N.J.) right behind at 28:58.9 to place 66th. Sophomore Nathan Pires (Yarmouth, Maine) crossed the line in 76th place with a clip of 29:37.9 to round out the scoring for Wheaton. First year Will Doyle (Milton, Mass.) was close behind at 29:53.3 to finish one place shy at 77th.
First year Thomas Sargent (Bow, N.H.) placed 80th with a time of 30:15.7, while classmate Jack Kittredge (Broad Brook, Conn.) turned in a time of 30:58.2 to finish 90th overall. Senior Lucas MacKenzie (Saint Albans, Vt.) registered a mark of 31:06.2 to place 93rd and first year Kayden Chhoun (Wilbraham, Mass.) finished 95th with a time of 31:19.6. First year Nolan Bushnell (Rochester, Mass.) capped the day for Wheaton with a time of 31:50.3 to place 100th.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, November 15 when they compete at the NCAA East Regional Championship hosted at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H.
