2024 NEWMAC Cross Country Championships
Saturday, November 2 
Women's 6k – 11 a.m. | Men's 8k – 12 p.m. 
Nehoiden Golf Club | Wellesley, Mass. 

WHAT TO KNOW
•    Eight men's teams and 12 women's squads will travel to Wellesley for the 2024 NEWMAC Cross Country Championships at Nehoiden Golf Club on Saturday. 
•    The women's 6k will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the men's 8k race at 12 p.m. 
•    The NEWMAC Championships return to Nehoiden Golf Club for the second time since 2021 and third time in league history. 

2023 NEWMAC CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
•    Graduate student Anthony Rodriguez recorded the highest individual finish in program history to help the Babson men place third, while the women's squad came in 11th at the Smith XC Course in Northampton, Mass., on October 28, 2023. 
•    Rodriguez came in third overall with a time of 25:00 on the 8k course to earn his third straight all-conference honor, while senior Julian Ivarra placed 16th overall with a time of 26:19 as the Beavers finished with 92 points on the way to finishing third for the third year in a row.
•    Sophomore Ethan Jina added a 26th-place result with a time of 27:20 for the men, while senior Ali Thomas recorded a career-best 6k time of 24:30 to lead the Babson women. 

ABOUT THE BABSON MEN 
•    The Beavers are coming off a 16th-place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational (Blue) back on October 19. 
•    Rodriguez shattered his own school record and finished second overall with a time of 24:11, while Ivarra came in 57th with a career-best time of 25:20 on the 8k course at Harkness Park. 
•    Rodriguez boasts an average time of 24:41 in three meets this fall, which includes placing sixth in a time of 24:35 at the Division III Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Ind., back on October 4, Ivarra is second on the team with an average time of 25:39 in three races and first-year Nick Yaccoub posted his top time of the year (25:29) at the Pre-Nationals.
•    Sophomores Almond Nickerson IV (26:40) and Jonathan Hanscom (27:05) both recorded career-best times at the Connecticut College Invitational, while graduate student Ryan Wilson crossed the finish line in 26:54. 

ABOUT THE BABSON WOMEN
•    The Beavers continued their success by finishing eighth among 25 teams at the Connecticut College Invitational (White) back on October 19. 
•    First-year Shriya Peddi came in 21st with a time of 23:09 in the first 6k race of her collegiate career, while Thomas (23:52) and junior Chloe Clifford (24:11) both recorded career-best times on the way to placing 51st and 64th, respectively, at Harkness Park. 
•    Peddi has been the team's top finisher in all four meets this fall and is one of five Babson harriers set to make their conference championship debut on Saturday. 
•    First-year Sophia Draxler posted a time of 24:29 at the Connecticut College Invitational, junior Alexandra Kirkpatrick recorded her fastest 6k time in over two years (24:51) and first-year Annabelle Svenson crossed the finish line in 25:11 in her first 6k race. 

EXPERIENCE AT NEHOIDEN
•    Four men and one female will compete in their second NEWMAC Championships at Nehoiden Golf Club on Saturday. 
•    Rodriguez came in ninth and earned all-conference honors with a time of 25:37, Wilson (27:03) and Ivarra (27:03) were separated by just four seconds in 30th and 31st position, and graduate student Matthew Campbell placed 51st with a time of 28:20 on the 8k course. 
•    On the women's side, senior Eujin Shin finished the 6k course in a time of 27:23. 

CHASING HISTORY
•    The Babson men have put together the three best scores in program history over the last three seasons at the conference championship meet, which includes finishing with a then-school-record 90 points at Nehoiden in 2021. 
•    In addition to the 2021 result, the Beaver men also placed third at Nehoiden with 114 points back in 2002.
•    The Babson women finished ninth at Nehoiden in 2022 and 11th in 2021. 

RUNNING INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
•    Rodriguez, who has been selected as the league's runner of the week three times this fall, is looking to become the program's first four-time All-NEWMAC selection. 
•    He has improved his finish each of the last three seasons going from ninth (2021), to seventh (2022) to third (2023) and can match the four straight all-conference accolades earned by Eric Sullivan '94, who posted four consecutive top-10 results when the Beavers were a member of the Constitution Athletic Conference (CAC) prior to joining the NEWMAC from 1990-97
•    Rodriguez also owns the top three men's times in NEWMAC Championship history running 25:00 at Smith in 2023, 25:12 at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass., in 2022 and 25:37 at Nehoiden in 2021. 

BABSON'S BEST FINISHES

MEN
Year	Finish	Points	Location
2022	3rd	89	Highland Park
2021	3rd	90	Nehoiden
2023	3rd	92	Smith
2016	3rd	96	Smith
2002	3rd	114	Nehoiden
WOMEN
2010	6th	152	Moore Park (Worcester)
2011	6th	168	Franklin Park

WHAT TO KNOW
•    The 12th-ranked MIT men have won every NEWMAC cross country title dating back to 1998 and are once again heavy favorites on Saturday. 
•    MIT (2nd), WPI (5th) and Babson (7th) are all ranked in the latest USTFCCCA East Region poll and have taken the top three spots in three consecutive conference meets. 
•    The MIT women, who are currently ranked No. 1 in Division III, have captured 15 straight NEWMAC titles going back to 2007. 
•    Coast Guard enters Saturday's meet ranked 30th nationally and seventh in the Mideast Region, Wellesley is ranked sixth in the East Region and Smith is two spots behind the Bears in the Mideast Region. 

UP NEXT
•    The Beavers will travel to Hopkinton, N.H., to compete at the NCAA Esat Regional Championships on November 16 at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds.