Cross Country at the Hopkinton XC Festival
Friday, October 10 | Women's 5k – 3:45 p.m. | Men's 8k – 4:30 p.m. 
Hopkinton Fairgrounds | Hopkinton, N.H. 

WHAT TO KNOW
•    The Babson men's and women's cross country teams return to action on Friday afternoon at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds in Hopkinton, N.H.
•    The women's 5k will get underway at 3:45 p.m. and the men's 8k will follow at 4:30 p.m. as the Hopkinton Runners Society is set to host nine races over two days beginning on Friday afternoon. 
•    The Hopkinton Fairgrounds course will host the NCAA East Regional Championships for the third consecutive season on November 15. 

LAST TIME AT HOPKINTON FAIRGROUNDS
•    The Babson men finished a program-best sixth with their lowest point total (207) in school history, while the women's squad placed 16th with their fewest points in program annals (444) at the NCAA East Regional Championships on November 16, 2024. 
•    Anthony Rodriguez '24 M'25 came in 10th with a time of 25:03, Julian Ivarra was right behind him in 13th place with a time of 25:15, and sophomore Nick Yacoub placed 32nd in a time of 25:53 on the 8k course as the Babson men earned three all-region selections for the first time in school history. 
•    Senior Chloe Clifford came in 67th with a team-best time of 24:20 in the women's 6k race, while Ali Thomas '25 (24:59) and senior Alexandra Kirkpatrick (25:12) finished 91st and 102nd, respectively, for the Beavers. 

ABOUT THE BABSON MEN
•    The Beavers finished ninth overall and first among Division III teams at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational back on September 20. 
•    Yacoub placed 16th overall and second among Division III harriers with a time of 24:57 that ranks seventh in program history, first-year Oliver Jones (26:00) came in 55th in his first career 8k race and sophomore Brian Ronayne finished a second behind him in 57th place. 
•    Junior John Hanscom came in 73rd with a time of 26:21, first-year Calvin Volkmann was 75th in a time of 26:22 and classmate Arthur Boulot crossed the finish lin in 26:28, which was good for 81st overall. 
•    Yacoub, Ronayne, Hanscom and junior Brian Gall (26:39) all recorded the top times of their respective careers on the Bob Dowd Course at UMass Dartmouth. 

ABOUT THE BABSON WOMEN
•    The Beavers placed 18th overall and seventh among Division III programs at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational back on September 20. 
•    Sophomore Sophia Draxler was Babson's top finisher with a time of 23:56 on the 6k course and five other runners were separated by just 40 seconds. 
•    Clifford posted a time of 24:40, while junior Taijah Harvey (25:06), first-year Sophia Nakakura (25:07) and fellow rookie Ali Meyers (25:10) were separated by just four seconds. 
•    Draxler and Harvey both recorded the best 6k times of their respective careers while each cutting more than 30 seconds off their fastest previous times.

PREPARING FOR REGIONALS
•    Friday's races will give Babson its first look this season at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds course, which will host the NCAA East Regional Championships on November 15. 
•    Just five of Babson's 13 men and six of its 14 women have competed at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds at regionals over the last two seasons. 

RISING IN THE REGIONAL RANKINGS
•    After starting the season at No. 7 in the USTFCCCA East Region rankings, the Babson man jumped to up one spot to sixth on September 23 and have maintained that position over the last two weeks. 
•    The Beavers are one of four NEWMAC squads to appear in the regional rankings along with MIT (No. 2 East), WPI (No. 3 East) and Coast Guard (No. 8 Mideast). 

TOP TIMES
•    In addition to ranking seventh in program history, Yacoub's time of 24:57 is the Beavers' second fastest at UMass Dartmouth's Bob Dowd Course behind only Anthony Rodriguez's '24 M'25 mark of 24:29 in 2021. 
•    Rodriguez also recorded the top 8k time at the Hopkinton Fairgrounds course last November (25:03). 
•    Clifford owns the women's top 6k time at Hopkinton (24:20), although Friday's race will be a 5k. 

UP NEXT
•    The Beavers travel to Waterford, Conn., to take part in the Connecticut College Invitational next Saturday at Harkness Park.