THE BASICS:
- Location: Williamstown, Mass.
- The Lead: At the season-opening Purple Valley Classic on Saturday afternoon, the No. 8 ranked MIT men's cross country team placed sixth overall out of 26 teams with a total of 144 points over the eight-kilometer course. The Engineers competed against six nationally-ranked teams, including four in the top 15 as MIT finished just ahead of No. 24 Dickinson.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Josh Rosenkranz (Glencoe, Ill.) was the top finisher for the Engineers as he crossed in 10th place in a time of 26:41.3. His time was an improvement of 36 seconds from last year's event. Freshman Kent Slaney (Palo Alto, Calif.) placed 17th in his collegiate debut in a time of 26:53.1, followed closely by sophomore Billy Woltz (Logan, Ohio) in 19th place at 27:00.2. The meet was also the debut race for Woltz, who didn't compete as a freshman in 2016.
- Junior Aidan Gilson (Florence, Mass.) was the No. 4 runner for the Engineers in 42nd place in a time of 27:25.3, followed by senior Ben Freed (Frederick, Md.) as the final scoring runner in 56th place in 27:41.3.
- Rounding out the top seven for the Engineers was senior Nicholas Waltman (Lexington, Ky.) in 60th at 27:44.9, along with senior David Walter (Middleville, Mich.) in 91st in a time of 28:07.6.
UP NEXT:
- MIT is back in action on Saturday, October 7th as the Engineers head to nearby Franklin Park for the 2017 NEICAAA Championships.
STAY CONNECTED:
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
