For the second time this season, junior Matt Rand earned the title of NESCAC men's cross country Performer of the Week, this time for his finish at the All New England Championships on Saturday.
Rand crossed line of the 8,000?meter course in sixth place overall among New England's top Div. I, II and III athletes. He was the first NESCAC and Div. III athlete to finish, and he logged a new personal best time of 24:55 - his first ever under 25 minutes.
Rand edged out Middlebury's Michael Schmidt by just one second to secure the spot as the top runner in the conference, a showing that led Tufts to an eighth?place finish among 43 teams and third among Div. III schools behind Middlebury and MIT.
Rand's sixth?place finish matched the Jumbos' best individual result in the last five years and was a huge jump from past two results - 54th and 103rd, respectively. Just four weeks into the season, Rand holds half of the Performer of the Week honors - the first for his victory at the Maine Invitational on Sept. 17 with his previous best 8k time of 25:05 - and looks to be in top form as the Jumbos prepare for their championship season, which begins with the NESCAC Championships on Oct. 29.
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