Wellesley, MA --- It was a runner-up finish for the WPI men's cross country team as the Engineers competed at the 2024 NEWMAC Championships on Saturday at Wellesley College. The Engineers, ranked fifth in the USTFCCCA East region, have now finished second in the conference event for the 10th-straight season.
 
WPI was led by an outstanding fourth place finish by graduate student Avi Bissoondial (Millbury, MA), who recorded his third career All-NEWMAC honor. Bissoondial traversed the Nehoiden Golf Course 8k course in a time of 24:44.2, leading five Engineers in the top 30 of the field. His fourth place finish is the best for an Engineer since David Reynolds '23 placed third in 2019.
 
Also earning All-NEWMAC honors for WPI was Ryan Fischer (Merrimack, NH). The senior earned his first conference accolades with a 14th place finish, clocking in at 25:39.9.
 
Sam Couts (Pacific Grove, CA) of MIT nabbed individual honors, leading the #22 Engineers to their 26th-straight team title with 25 points. Babson (73), Coast Guard (106), and Springfield (129) completed the top five teams at the event.
 
Junior Brinson Wyche (Corvallis, MT) and first-year Drew O'Reilly (Syracuse, NY) narrowly missed All-NEWMAC, taking 15th and 16th places overall. Wyche finished in 25:48.5, while O'Reilly came in at 25:52.7.
 
Senior Sean Corman (Waterford, CT) wrapped up the scoring runners, taking 28th overall in 26:21.1. First-year Jackson Sobelman (Redding, CT) and junior Thomas Skerry (Dedham, MA) were next across the line, serving as key pushers to keep the Engineers in second as a team. Sobelman was 32nd in 26:36.8 and Skerry was 33rd in 26:40.6.
 
Also for WPI, junior Nathan Barry (Newburyport, MA) took 38th place in 26:54.5, while freshman Calvin Allaband-Gamble (Chicago, IL) had a strong showing in his first conference event, taking 44th in 27:00.5. Sophomore Ryan Coceano (Cinnaminson, NJ) was 5pth in 27:16.8 and graduate student Ben Trantanella(Westford, MA) took 55th in 27:26.1.
 
Wrapping up the Engineers' highlights, freshman Colin Britner (Hampton, CT) was 57th (27:27.1), graduate student Jarrett Gulden (Walpole, ME) was 59th (27:31.9) and freshman Alden Betterley (Bow, NH) was 60th (27:33.3). 
 
The Engineers will now look ahead to the NCAA D3 Regional Championships on November 16 at noon in Contoocook, NH.
 
Results