The Middlebury cross country teams took part in the NESCAC Championship races Saturday hosted by Colby College at Quarry Road Trails. The 21st-ranked Panther men finished in a tie for third with Tufts, scoring 126 points in the 11-team race, while the eighth-ranked women turned in a fourth-place effort with 113 points. Middlebury returns to action on November 12 at the NCAA Regional Championships hosted by Westfield State.

In the women's race, Abigail Nadler grabbed the individual title with a time of 22:33.8 over the 6K course. Her time was nearly 19 seconds faster than runner-up Natalie Bettez of Tufts. Nadler becomes Middlebury's second women's individual champion in the last three years, joining Alison Maxwell, who accomplished the feat in 2014.

Meg Wilson was next for the Middlebury women in 17th place, crossing the line with a time of 23:35.79. Read Allen followed in 29th place (23:55.36), while Sasha Whittle was just seconds behind in 32nd (23:58.43). Rounding out the team's five scorers was Katherine MacCary, who came in 35th with a time of 24:04.57.

On the men's side, the Panthers were paced by Ascencion Aispuro, who placed 13th in the 8K event with a time of 26:30.07. Right behind Aispuro in 18th place was Brian Rich with a time of 26:30.76, while Harrison Knowlton was 24th (26:40.31). Connor Evans placed 31st overall at the race in 26:57.65, while Brendan Wood crossed the line in 27:02.32, good for 36th place.