HOPKINTON, N.H. – Senior Kai Hillier (Hinesburg, Vt.) led the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's cross country team with a 25th-place finish at the NCAA Division III East Regional Championship, hosted by Suffolk University this morning at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H.

Fitchburg State University first year Paulino Guevara Mateo (Cambridge, Mass.) turned in a time of 24:31.6 in the eight-kilometer race to win the individual crown. Massachusetts Institute of Technology tallied 42 points and boasted three of the top seven finishers to win the team title.

The Lyons scored 477 points to finish 16th as a team and featured three personal-record times for the day. 

Hillier posted a personal-best time of 25:22.6 to lead Wheaton and also earned All-East Region status from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association by virtue of a top-35 finish. Senior Nick Lacroix (Bedford, N.H.) recorded a time of 26:55 to place 74th for the Lyons. Both sophomores Dan McIntyre (Keene, N.H.) and Finn Morris (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) turned in personal-record times of 27:48.6 and 28:05.2, respectively. McIntyre finished 120th, while Morris was 131st. Senior Parker Fullem (Wantage, N.J.) rounded out the scoring for Wheaton with a time of 28:17 to place 136th. 

First years Will Doyle (Milton, Mass.) and Thomas Sargent (Bow, N.H.) closed out the race for the Lyons. Doyle finished 140th with a time of 28:37, while Sargent crossed the line in 164th place with a mark of 29:31.