AMHERST, Mass. – The No. 20 MIT men's cross country team opened the 2026 season on Saturday, competing head-to-head against No. 13 Amherst College in the "Battle of Massachusetts" Relays at Book and Plow Farm.

The exhibition event included 3x3k relays, with teams of three runners running 3k legs. In the men's event, the top five relay teams were scored with the lowest score winning, as in typical cross country scoring. The Engineers earned a 24-36 win over Amherst.   

THE BASICS:

• Score: MIT 24, Amherst 36 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Martinez's 8:33 split was the fastest time for either team. Amherst's Carter Bengtson was second in 8:37 and Stan Craig of Amherst was third in 8:40. 

UP NEXT:

• MIT will return to action on October 3 at the "Running of the Cows" Pre-Nationals Meet hosted by Carleton in Northfield, Minn.

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