Cross Country at the Connecticut College Invitational
Saturday, October 17 | 10 a.m.
Harkness Park | Waterford, Conn.
WHAT TO KNOW
• The Babson men's and women's cross country teams will compete against some of the top programs in the country on Saturday at Harkness Park in Waterford, Conn.
• The Babson women will compete in the 6k White race at 10 a.m., while the men's squad will take part in both the 8k White race at 11 a.m. and the 8k Blue Championship meet at 1 p.m.
• The Beavers will be competing in the Connecticut College Invitational for the fifth consecutive season and 16th time overall going back to 1990.
2025 CONNECTICUT INVITATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
• The Babson men finished 18th out of 34 teams in the Blue Championship race, while the Babson women came in 13th in the White race at Harkness Park on October 19, 2025.
• Junior
Nick Yacoub placed 48th overall with a career-best time of 24:56, classmate
Brian Ronayne finished 113th with a personal best of 25:46 on the 8k course, and sophomore
Oliver Jones came in 129th in a time of 26:01 to lead the Beaver men.
• Junior
Sophia Draxler posted a career-best time of 23:32 to place 45th on the 6k course,
Chloe Clifford '26 recorded a personal-best time of 23:55 to finish 76th overall and junior
Shriya Peddi came in 80th with a time of 24:01 in her only race of the season for the Babson women.
ABOUT THE BABSON MEN
• The Beavers, who are currently ranked seventh in the northeast region, are competing for the first time since September 19 after travel issues forced them to miss the RPI Fairgrounds Showdown on September 26.
• Seven competitors finished among the top 12 to help Babson finish in first place out of five teams at the Ellen O'Neil Invitational back on September 19 at Smith.
• Yacoub recorded his second victory of the season in a time of 25:48 in his first 8k race of the fall, junior
Daniel Garcia took fifth in 26:59, sophomore
Arthur Boulot placed sixth in 27:02, and first-year
Luca Masolo finished eighth in 27:04.
• Senior
John Hanscom (27:14), classmate
Brian Gall (27:34), and sophomore
Connor Andrews (27:57) came in 10th-11th-12th, respectively, for the Beavers, who recorded a runner-up finish in their only other meet of the season at the 5k Suffolk Short Course Classic on September 5.
ABOUT THE BABSON WOMEN
• The Beavers enter Saturday's meet coming off a 13th-place showing in the 6k Keene State Invitational back on October 3.
• Sophomore
Angelina Widmer came in 57th with a career-best time of 24:02, Peddi was 65th with a time of 24:07 and sophomore
Ali Meyers (24:20) and first-year
Sumaria Charron (24:35) both achieved new personal bests while finishing 83rd and 95th, respectively.
• Draxler (24:41), sophomore
Sophia Nakakura (25:10) and junior
Annabelle Svenson (25:58) rounded out the top seven for the Green and White, which finished third among six NEWMAC squads at Keene State.
• Junior
Ariana Van Ormer (27:36) narrowly missed the fastest her time of her career, while first-year
Mary Elizabeth Steinrotter crossed the finish line in a season-best time of 28:37 at the Owl Athletic Complex Course.
PERSONAL BESTS AT HARKNESS PARK
• In addition to Yacoub and Ronayne, Boulot (26:07) recorded the fastest 8k time of his career at last year's Connecticut College Invitational.
• Nakakura (24:49), Van Ormer (27:28) and junior
Brigid Kelly (28:54) all registered the best 6k times of their respective careers last October at Harkness Park.
HARKNESS PARK HISTORY
• Five of the top 24 women's 6k times in program history have been recorded at Harkness Park, highlighted by Peddi crossing the finish line in 23:09 in 2024, which is good for 11th all-time.
• Claudia Schulz '08 posted a time of 23:26 that ranks 19th in school history on November 10, 2007, and Draxler's mark of 23:32 last October ranks 20th.
• The Babson men have recorded four of the program's top 8k times in program history over the last four seasons, including the two best all-time by Anthony Rodriguez '24 M'25 in 2024 (24:11) and 2023 (24:22).
• Yacoub's time of 24:56 last October ranks seventh in program history.
TOP TEAMS TO COMPETE ALONG THE CONNECTICUT COAST
• The men's Blue Championship race features nine programs ranked between 10th and 25th in the latest USTFCAA poll, including No. 10 MIT and No. 19 WPI from the NEWMAC along with six nationally-ranked programs from the NESCAC.
• The women's White race will feature runners from seven nationally-ranked schools, a group that includes No. 1 Williams, No. 6 Tufts, No. 8 Middlebury and No. 9 MIT.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers travel to Northampton, Mass., on October 31 for the NEWMAC Championships hosted by Smith.
