Boston, Mass. - Running on a course slowed by
heavy winds, the Clark men and women finished seventh and tenth
respectively at the 2009 New England Women's and Men's Athletic
Conference (NEWMAC) Cross Country Championship held on Saturday at
Boston's Franklin Park.
MIT took home the team title in both the men's and the women's
races for the third consecutive season. The 2009 win is the
12th-straight for the MIT men, who had won every NEWMAC
Championship contested, while the MIT women pick up their sixth
overall title.
In the women's race, the Engineers' placed six runners in the top
seven, with their final scoring runner placing 11th overall. In
total, they finished with 18 points, surpassing second-place
Wellesley, who recorded 75 points. MIT senior Maria Monks, who
covered the five-kilometer course in a time of 18:32, captured
Runner of the Year honors. Monks edged out the second-place
finisher, teammate Jacqui Wentz, 2008's Runner of the Year. MIT's
Brooke Johnson was the first freshman to cross the finish line,
with her fourth-place time of 19:20 earning her Rookie of the Year
honors.
For the Cougar women, three runners finished in the top 50, paced
by freshman Zoe Greenberg (Arlington, Mass.) in
40th place (21:52). She was followed by classmate Erika
Roth (Saco, Maine), who was 48th and junior
Heather Goodale (Middletown, Conn.), who rounded
out the top 50.
On the mens side, MIT placed all seven of its scoring runners
in the top-10, finishing with 24 points to edge second-place
Springfield by 17 points. Engineer Hemagri Arumugam was the first
finisher, recording a time of 25:50 on the eight-kilometer course,
earning him the Runner of the Year Title. Springfield's Zach
Pietras earned Rookie of the Year honors, placing fourth overall in
a time of 26:31.
Graduate student Caleb
Evanter (Marblehead, Mass.) was Clark's top finisher
on the men's side, turning in a 15th place finish with a time of
27:25. Sophomore Joe Kennelly (New Windsor, Conn.)
finished second for the Cougars in 32nd place with a time of
28:51.
