The 19th-ranked Middlebury men's cross country team finished in third place at the NESCAC Championships. Reigning champion and 14th-ranked Williams claimed its fifth-straight title with 76 points, followed by #17 Amherst (77 points), the Panthers (86 points) and #21 Tufts (87 points).  
 
COURSE INFORMATION

• Location: Brunswick, Maine
• Host School: Bowdoin
• Distance: 8 kilometers (8K)
• Weather: 47F
• Finish: 3rd of 11

HIGHLIGHTS

• Benjamin Hughes paced a trio of Panthers with top-eight efforts that finished just 0.28 seconds apart. Hughes was 22nd at the first split and rose to 18th at the third. The sophomore kicked it into high gear rising 13 spots on the final charge to finish in fifth place, clocking a 24:58.70.
• Right behind was Ziggy Goddard, placing sixth with a time of 24:58.83. He was 10th at the third split before climbing four spots.
• Drew Donahue stopped the clock in eighth place, crossing the line at 24:58.98.
• Rounding out the scorers with finishes in the top-53 spots were Shef West and Cameron Miles. West concluded the race with a clocking of 25:19.75 to finish 21st, while MIles picked off 11 runners to garner 53rd with a time of 26:00.55. 
• The sixth and seventh runners for Middlebury were Harry Griff and Tucker Jakobe, who clocked in at 26:04.27 and 26:04.87 to earn 56th and 57th places.  

NOTES

• The team finish was the closest in the event's history with the top-four programs separated by just 11 points. 
• The Ephs claimed their conference-leading 22nd championship and fifth consecutive.
• The field consisted of a quartet of top-25 nationally-ranked teams including #14 Williams, #17 Amherst, #19 Middlebury and #21 Tufts while Tufts was just outside the top-25 places at #26.

The Panthers are idle until November 16 when they compete at the NCAA MidEast Regional Championship hosted by Connecticut College with a trip to the national meet on the line.