Cross Country at the NEWMAC Championships
Saturday, October 31 | 11 a.m. (women) | 12 p.m. (men)
Smith Cross Country Course | Northampton, Mass. 

WHAT TO KNOW
•    The Babson men's and women's cross country teams travel to Northampton, Mass., for the NEWMAC Championships on the campus of Smith College on Saturday. 
•    The women's 6K race gets the day started at 11 a.m. with the men's 8K meet to follow at 12 p.m. 
•    The conference championships return to Smith for the first time since 2023 and sixth time dating back to 2012. 

LAST TIME AT SMITH
•    The Babson men placed first and the women's squad came in second at the Ellen O'Neil Invitational back on September 19. 
•    Junior Nick Yacoub came in first overall with a time of 25:48 on the 8K course, classmate Daniel Garcia (26:59) placed fifth, sophomore Arthur Boulot (27:02) came in sixth and first-year Luca Masolo (27:04) and senior John Hanscom (27:14) finished eighth and 10th, respectively, for the Beavers. 
•    Junior Shriya Peddi came in ninth with a time of 25:52 and was one of five runners separated by just seven seconds along with sophomore Angelina Widmer (25:53), junior Sophia Draxler (25:53), first-year Sumaria Charron (25:58) and sophomore Ali Meyers (25:59) on the 6k course. 

2025 NEWMAC CHAMPIONSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
•    The Babson men totaled their second lowest point total since 1998 (83) on the way to coming in third, while the women's squad finished with their fourth lowest point total in program history (199) on the way to placing seventh in the 2025 NEWMAC Championships on November 1, 2025, at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass. 
•    Yacoub earned his second consecutive all-conference honor by placing seventh with a time of 25:37 on the men's 8K course, while junior Brian Ronayne (26:29) and Boulot (26:42) finished 17th and 23rd, respectively for the Beavers. 
•    Draxler recorded a team-best time of 24:17 on the women's 6K course, which was good for 34th place, Chloe Clifford '26 came in 42nd with a time of 24:33 and Meyers logged a time of 24:59 to come in 54th overall. 

ABOUT THE BABSON WOMEN
•    The Beavers are coming off a 13th-place finish in the White Race at the Connecticut College Invitational on October 17. 
•    Widmer placed 60th with a career-best time of 23:51, Meyers (82nd) crossed the finish line with a personal-best time of 24:07 and first-year Anastasia Marich placed 87th with a time of 24:10 in her 6k debut for the Beavers. 
•    Widmer ranks first on the team with an average 6K time of 24:35 in three races this fall, Peddi registered a time of 24:13 at Connecticut College and is second on the squad with an average time of 24:44, and Meyers (24:49) and Draxler (25:02) have both finished their last two races in under 25 minutes. 
•    Sophomore Sophia Nakakura (24:52), senior Taijah Harvey (25:42), junior Annabelle Svenson (25:38) and first-years Tory Meran (25:57) and Mary Elizabeth Steinrotter (28:10) all produced season-best times, while junior Ariana Van Ormer (27:10) and senior Ava Newton (27:27) posted career-best times two weeks ago at Harkness Park.

ABOUT THE BABSON MEN
•    The Beavers placed 18th in the Blue Championship race at the Connecticut College Invitational on October 17. 
•    Yacoub crossed the finish line with the third fastest time in program history (24:28) to place eighth overall, Masolo (25:46) recorded his best time of the fall to finish 117th, Ronayne logged a time of 25:56 in his season debut and Boulot set a new personal best time of 25:58. 
•    Yacoub owns two victories and three top-10 finishes in three races this fall, Masolo is second on the team with an average time of 26:25, and sophomore Oliver Jones (26:01) and first-year Matteo Chiesara (26:14) both made their season debut two weeks ago at Harkness Park. 
•    Garcia (26:37), junior Ethan Jina (26:25) and sophomore Connor Andrews (26:22) also achieved new personal bests at the Connecticut College Invitational, while first-year Liam Deniau-Young (26:28) recorded his top time of the season.

NEWMAC CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY AT SMITH
•    The Babson men finished third in the NEWMAC Championship on the Smith XC Course in both 2016 and 2023, while also placing fifth three times (2012, 2014, 2018), sixth in 2005 and seventh in 2007. 
•    The best finish for the Babson women in seven conference championship meets at Smith was a seventh-place showing in 2018. The Beavers also placed ninth in 2012 and 2014 and came in 11th on the 6k course in 2023. 

PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP POLLS
•    The Babson men were picked to come in third, while the women were tabbed to finish sixth when the NEWMAC released its pre-championship polls earlier in the week. 
•    The Beavers have placed third in each of the last five men's championships, while the women are looking to crack the top six for the first time since 2010. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    Anthony Rodriguez '24 M'25 recorded Babson's men's top 8k time on the Smith XC Course (25:00) in the NEWMAC Championship on October 28, 2023. 
•    Matthew Dynan '19 posted the Beavers' only other sub 26-minute time in the 8k at Smith in the conference meet on October 29, 2016. 
•    The top women's 6K time at the Smith XC course was recorded by Ali Thomas '25 when she crossed the finish line in 25:51 at the 2023 NEWMAC Championship. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
•    The Babson men have recorded five straight third-place finishes and five of the seven lowest point totals of the NEWMAC era since 2021 under the direction of head coach Russ Brennen.
•    The Babson women have placed seventh in back-to-back seasons at the league meet while recording their two lowest point totals since 2018.
•    Including the Beavers, the men's race will feature four regionally-ranked squads highlighted by No. 10 MIT (No. 1 in the East Region) and No. 25 WPI (No. 5 in the East Region). 
•    No. 9 MIT is once again the top women's team entering the conference meet, while Coast Guard (No. 6 in the Mideast Region), Wellesley (No. 8 in the East Region) and WPI (No. 10 in the EastRegion) are all part of the USTFCCCA's latest regional rankings.

DID YOU KNOW?
•    The NEWMAC Championships are being run on Halloween for the first time since 2011 when a snowstorm forced the meet at Franklin Park in Boston to be rescheduled from October 29. 

UP NEXT
•    The Beavers travel to South Portland, Maine, for the NCAA East Region Championships on November 14.