SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Sophomore Renne Cooper earned All-American honors with a 27th place finish as the MIT men's cross country team captured 9th place in the team standings at the 8k 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C.
THE BASICS:
- Winning Team Score: Wis.-La Crosse, 82 points
- MIT Team Score: 9th place, 259 points
- Top Finisher: Emmanuel Leblond, Johns Hopkins (23:35.0)
- Top MIT Finisher: Renne Cooper, 27th place (24:32.6)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- MIT put in a consistent performance at the national championship, with the Engineers holding on to the 9th spot in the team standings from the 1K through the 3K marks in the race.
- The Engineers briefly moved to 10th through the 5K mark but closed strong, jumping up 7th at the 6K and 7K marks before taking 9th at the finish.
- Junior Yichen Sun was second to Cooper among MIT runners. Sun finished just outside of the All-America spots, earning 43rd overall. He moved up 41 spots through the course of the race, going from 84th at the 2K mark to his finishing time in 24:44.9.
- Senior Tim Neumann was the top MIT runner in the field at the midway point in the race, holding 16th place through the 4K mark as the Engineers briefly dropped to 10th in the team standings.
- Neumann had a hold on an All-American spot through the first 6K of the race but dropped to 43rd at the 7K mark before finishing 85th overall in 25:12.9.
- Neumann was the fifth scoring runner for MIT, finishing just behind first year teammate Sam Hansen, as Hansen was 84th overall (25:12.9) at his first NCAA Championship.
- Sophomore Landon Hering added an 81st place finish for the Engineers, finishing the course in 25:09.7. Hering was as far back as 157th place at the 2K mark of the race but consistently moved through the field gaining 76 place over the final 6K to take 81st.
- Dylan Fiegener earned 134th overall (25:34.4) in his first NCAA Championship appearance while Jake Cobb was 142nd overall (25:37.9) in his final NCAA performance.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- The Engineers have finished in the top ten nationally in four of the past five years, including winning the 2022 NCAA Division III National Championship.
- Cooper earned his first All-American honor in his second NCAA appearance. He was 212th at last year's meet.
- Sun finished three spots from an All-American prize to end a tremendous season that saw him claim three top ten finishes, five top 20 finishes a strong performance at the NCAA Championships.
- Newmann, the NEWMAC Cross Country Athlete of the Year, was making his second appearance at cross country nationals. He improved on his 201st place finish at last years' meet.
USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICAN (Top 40 Finishers):
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