WATERFORD, Conn. – The Haverford College men's cross country team turned in a strong performance against a loaded field at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, placing sixth in the Blue Race at Harkness Memorial State Park. Simon Lane led the way with a seventh-place finish as Haverford put three runners among the top 25.
The Fords totaled 203 points, finishing ahead of five nationally ranked programs: No. 19 WPI, No. 22 Colby, No. 24 Lebanon Valley, No. 25 Middlebury and No. 26 Lynchburg. Haverford was just six points behind fifth-place Bates and seven back of fourth-place Tufts, posting an average time of 24:53.3 over the eight-kilometer course. MIT captured the team title with 57 points.
Lane crossed the finish line in 24:16.5 to take seventh in the 241-runner field. Owen Bluman followed in 16th with a time of 24:36.6, while Luke de Valpine finished 25th in 24:41.5, giving the Fords a strong trio at the front of the race. First-year Ezra Kleinbaum was Haverford's fourth finisher, placing 82nd in 25:24.6. Daniel Gordon followed just 2.7 seconds later, taking 87th in 25:27.3 to round out the scoring five.
Torin Pelton-Flavin finished 118th in 25:46.7, followed by Cole Branstrom in 129th at 25:51.9. Wade Garoutte placed 133rd in 25:53.8, Oliver Barr was 137th in 25:56.4, and Nico Oshunrinade completed Haverford's Blue Race contingent in 140th at 25:56.9.
Earlier in the day, Haverford placed 13th with 460 points in the eight-kilometer White Race, led by first-year Kaison Aizawa's 69th-place finish in 26:33.5.
Kieran Berna followed in 95th at 26:52.8, with Gopal Patel taking 102nd in 26:55.6. Gabriel Bernstein finished 112th in 27:02.3, and Wyatt Grace rounded out the scoring five in 151st at 27:30.8. Cullen Worth placed 153rd in 27:32.0, just ahead of Raine Guidarelli in 156th at 27:33.1. Nicky Elias-Gillette crossed in 174th with a time of 27:50.5, while Ethan Baloyo finished 190th in 27:58.3.
Gideon Rosinplotz took 208th in 28:10.3, followed by Liam Deimler in 225th at 28:21.3 and River Capek in 261st at 28:53.4. Tate Sheehy placed 293rd in 29:23.1, and Yupei Sun finished 299th in 29:35.2. Eli Coffey finished 311th in 30:03.6, followed by Aaron Groverman in 321st at 30:36.2, Benjamin Aaron in 322nd at 30:41.3 and Garrett Miyagawa in 326th at 30:48.6.
With a big test now complete, men's cross country returns home with a strong chance at a national ranking in the next USTFCCCA Poll as prep for the Centennial Conference Championships ramps up. Haverford hosts its second home invitational of the season at 5 p.m. on Friday, October 23 at the Fran Rizzo Cross Country Course at Haverford College.
