SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Paced by senior Rujuta Sane's 12th place finish the MIT women's cross country team finished fifth in the team standings at the 6k 2025 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Milliken Research Park in Spartanburg, S.C.
Sane was one of three MIT runners to earn All-America honors at this year's NCAA Championships, as classmate Kate Sanderson finished 25th and junior Liv Girand added a 39th place finish for the Engineers.
THE BASICS:
- Winning Team Score: NYU, 79 points
- MIT Team Score: 5th place, 232 points
- Top Finisher: Audrey Maclean, Middlebury (20:16.8)
- Top MIT Finisher: Rujuta Sane, 12th Place (21:25.9)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Engineers had a hold on first place in the team standings through the midway point of the race.
- Sanderson got out fast for MIT, taking the overall lead at the 1K mark.
- Sane and graduate student Gillian Roeder were also inside the top ten in the early stages, holding 7th and 8th place, respectively.
- MIT continued to lead the field at the halfway point, with Sanderson running in the top five, Roeder in 11th, Sane holding 18th place, Girand in 22nd and Lexi Fernandez in 31st.
- By the 4K mark, eventual national champion NYU started to make a move, moving four runners into the top 13 to take over first place in the team standings, while Sanderson, Sane and Girand continued to run inside the top 25 for the Engineers.
- Sane continued to hold 13th place through the 5K mark, going on to finish 12th in 21:25.9.
- Sanderson followed, finishing in 21:39.1 to take 25th place, while Girand was 39th in 21:59.
- MIT's remaining scoring runners finished outside the top 50. Fernandez was 52nd in 22:11.4 and Ava Hartman was 175th (23:19.2) while Roeder was 215th in 23:39.5.
- NYU held the top spot in the team standings for the 4K mark on to claim the national title, while Williams passed MIT at the 5K mark and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Johns Hopkins moved past MIT at the finish.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Sane earned All-America honors for the second consecutive season after finishing in 19th place at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
- Sanderson concluded her remarkable cross country career with a third All-America honor.
- Girand earned the first All-America honor of her career in her third appearance at the national championships.
USTFCCCA ALL-AMERICA (Top 40 Finishers):
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