The Middlebury men's cross country team secured seventh place out of 34 programs in the Blue Race at the Connecticut College Invitational. Third-ranked Johns Hopkins earned the team title with 96 points, followed by #9 Tufts with 111 points for a second-place finish. Seventh-ranked SUNY Geneseo rounded out the top three, accumulating 118 points. Before the race, the Panthers recognized seniors Lachlan Bishop, Harry Griff, Owen Johnson, George Madison, Zach Utz and Shef West.

COURSE INFORMATION

• Location: New London, Conn. (Harkness Memorial State Park)
• Host School: Connecticut College
• Distance: 8 kilometers (8K)
• Weather: 59 and clear
• Finish In Blue Race: 7th/34

HIGHLIGHTS

• Benjamin Hughes headlined the Middlebury contingent, passing 14 runners in the final split to claim 19th with a clocking of 24:29.04.
• Johnson crossed the line next for the Panthers, surging up 91 spots from the initial 1.65 kilometers for 43rd at 24:53.22.
• Ethan Sholk crossed the line in 24:58.89 to nab 51st place.
• Cameron Miles finished in 80th (25:15.39), while Utz took 89th (25:23.37) to close out the scoring for Middlebury.

NOTES

• Hughes cut his 8K career time by exactly five seconds in the race.
• Johnson shaved 6.2 seconds off his prior 8K record set in his initial season at the Connecticut College Invitational.
• Miles knocked 15 seconds off his prior collegiate record from the Paul Short Run, while Utz improved his best time in navy and white by 20.2 seconds.
• Nathan Szubin finished 12th in the White Race with a personal-record time of 25:35.65.
• Ian Larkin rounded out the top 20 in the event at 25:46.84.

Middlebury has the next weekend off before returning to Connecticut College to race for the program's second NESCAC Championship on Saturday, November 1.