Cross Country at the Smith Ellen O'Neil Invitational
Saturday, September 19 | 11:00 a.m. (Women), 12:00 P.m. (Men)
Smith Cross Country Course | Northampton, Mass.
THE SETUP
• The Babson men's 8K and women's 6K cross country teams will compete in the Ellen O'Neil Invitational at Smith College on Saturday.
• The men's and women's races will be on the site of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship races on October 31.
ELLEN O'NEILL INVITATIONAL
• Saturday's race is named as a tribute to Ellen O'Neil, who was the Smith cross county coach for 22 years before stepping down in the summer of 2025.
• O'Neil led Smith to two NCAA Championship appearances (2021, 2022) and a program-best runner-up finish at the 2022 NEWMAC Championship. She coached the 2007 NEWMAC Runner of the Year, the 2021 NEWMAC Rookie of the Year, and numerous All-Conference and All-Region selections. O'Neil and her staff were named the NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year in 2022.
LAST TIME AT THE SMITH INVITATIONAL
• The Babson men placed third out of eight schools, and the women were sixth among nine schools at the Smith Invitational on September 9, 2023.
• Anthony Rodriguez '24 took third place out of 68 men's runners in a time of 16:14 on the 5K course, and Julian Ivarra '25 was the next Babson finisher in 19th place in 17:07. Senior
Ethan Jina (17:32) and Max Gregoire (17:34) placed 24th and 25th, respectively, while seniors
Brian Gall (17:43),
Almond Nickerson IV (17:51) and
Jack Gramer (18:00) came in 27th-28th-29th, respectively.
• Alexandra Kirkpatrick '26 (21:16) was Babson's top finisher in 31st place out of 102 competitors in the women's 5K race. Alyssa Keith '24 (22:20) and Eujin Shin '25 (22:29) placed 47th and 48th, respectively, followed by Avery Butt '26 (22:45) in 54th place and senior
Colleen Corman (24:42) in 69th.
ABOUT THE BABSON MEN
• Junior
Nick Yacoub captured the individual title to lead Babson to a second-place finish behind New Hampshire at the season-opening Suffolk Short Course Classic on September 5 at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass.
• Yacoub crossed the finish line first among the 205 runners in the 5K race in a time of 15:30. First-year
Luca Masolo (16:22) was the second finisher for the Beavers, coming in 14th place and sixth among Division III athletes, and sophomore
Arthur Boulot (16:39) and senior
Brian Gall (16:41) were 26th and 27th, respectively. Junior
Daniel Garcia (16:43) rounded out the top five for the Green and White in 30th place.
• Seniors
Ethan Jina (16:55) and
John Hanscom (16:59) were 36th and 39th, respectively, and sophomore
Connor Andrews (17:02) came in 42nd and first-year
Lucas Gonzalez (17:32) crossed the line 63rd.
ABOUT THE BABSON WOMEN
• Babson placed its top five runners in the top 50 among the 202 competitors on the way to a fifth-place team finish at the at the season-opening Suffolk Short Course Classic on September 5 at Highland Park in Attleboro, Mass.
• First-years accounted for the top two and three of the top five Babson finishers in the 3K race.
Anastatia Marich (12:23) was the first Beaver across the finish line in 28th place while
Sumaria Charron (12:29) finished 32nd. Junior
Sophia Draxler (12:34) placed 37th, sophomore
Ali Meyers (12:38) was 42nd, and first-year
Tory Meran (12:49) was 48th in 12:49.
• Sophomore
Sophia Nakakura (13:26) finished 87th for the Beavers, while seniors
Taijah Harvey (13:36) and junior
Ava Newton (13:37) were 96th and 98th, respectively.
NEWMAC RUNNER OF THE WEEK
• For his performance at the Suffolk meet, Yacoub was selected as the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Men's Runner of the Week.
• Yacoub captured the individual title in a field of 205 runners with a time of 15:30. He finished 20 seconds ahead of his closest competitor while recording the best time by a Babson harrier and the second fastest by any competitor in the history of the meet at Highland Park, which dates back to 2021.
• A two-time NCAA All-East Region and All-Conference honoree, Yacoub posted his first career cross country victory and his fourth top-10 finish in 13 career races.
HISTORY AT SMITH
• Rodriguez's time of 25:00 at Smith for the 2023 NEWMAC Championships is the 10th-fastest 8K time in men's program history.
• Marina Capalbo '15 ran a 19:01 in the 5K race at the 2014 NEWMAC Championships, which is tied for 10th-fastest in women's program history. She also clocked in at 19:07 at the 2012 NEWMAC meet at Smith, which ranks 16th in program annals.
• Matthew Dynan '19 ran a 25:55 at the 2016 NEWMAC Championships at Smith, which is 54th in men's program history.
REGIONAL RANKINGS
• The Babson men are ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III East Regional rankings released this week.
• The Green and White trail Tufts, MIT, WPI, Bates, Brandeis and Bowdoin and rank ahead of Colby, Keene State, and UMass Dartmouth in the top 10.
UP NEXT
• Babson will return to the trails on Saturday, September 26, at the RPI Fairgrounds Showdown in Greenwich, N.Y.
