MIT Wins NEWMAC Men's Cross Country Championship

BOSTON, Mass. - MIT swept the 2009 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship held on Saturday in Boston's Franklin Park. The Engineers took home the team title in both the men's and the women's races for the third consecutive season.  The 2009 win is the 12th-straight for the MIT men, who had won every NEWMAC Championship contested, while the MIT women pick up their sixth overall title.

In the women's race, the Engineers' placed six runners in the top seven, with their final scoring runner placing 11^th overall. In total, they finished with 18 points, surpassing second-place Wellesley, who recorded 75 points.  MIT senior Maria Monks, who covered the five-kilometer course in a time of 18:32, captured Runner of the Year honors. Monks edged out the second-place finisher, teammate Jacqui Wentz, 2008's Runner of the Year.  MIT's Brooke Johnson was the first freshman to cross the finish line, with her fourth-place time of 19:20 earning her Rookie of the Year honors.  

On the men's side, MIT placed all seven of its scoring runners in the top-10, finishing with 24 points to edge second-place Springfield by 17 points.  Engineer Hemagri Arumugam was the first finisher, recording a time of 25:50 on the eight-kilometer course, earning him the Runner of the Year Title.   Springfield's Zach Pietras earned Rookie of the Year honors, placing fourth overall in a time of 26:31.

Women's Results
1. MIT  18
2. Wellesley    75
3. Springfield  113
4. Coast Guard  117
5. Smith        133
6. WPI  163
7. Babson       201
8. Wheaton      205
9. Mount Holyoke        248
10. Clark       260 

Men's Results
MIT     24
Springfield     41
Coast Guard     95
WPI     108
Babson  148
Wheaton 169
Clark   173 

Women's NEWMAC All-Conference
1. Maria Monks, MIT, 18:32             
2. Jacqui Wentz, MIT, 18:45
3. Amanda DiPaolo, Springfield, 19:09
4. Brooke Johnson, MIT, 19:20
5. Missy Showers, MIT, 19:21
6. Tania Morimoto, MIT, 19:31
7. Alina Gatowski, MIT, 19:33
8. Christine Dzialo, Smith, 19:34
9. Randelle Boots, Wellesley, 19:36
10. Victoria Hewey, WPI, 19:39
11. Katherine Eve, MIT, 19:53
12. Claire Cummings, Wellesley, 20:00
13. Lacy Cartier, Springfield, 20:04
14. Charlotte Margel, Babson, 20:10 

Runner of the Year: Maria Monks, MIT
Rookie of the Year: Brooke Johnson, MIT 

Men's NEWMAC All-Conference
1. Hemagiri Arumugam, MIT, 25:50
2. Brian Fuller, Springfield, 26:01
3. Bill Phipps, MIT, 26:22
4. Zach Pietras, Springfield, 26:31
5. Gihan Amarasiriwardena, MIT, 26:34
6. David Birdsall, Springfield, 26:40
7. Dawit Zewdit, MIT, 26:42
8. Dan Harper, MIT, 26:48
9. Paul Welle, MIT, 26:58
10. Stephen Serene, MIT, 26:59
11. Kevin O'Brien, Coast Guard, 26:59
12. Daniel Duffty, WPI, 27:10
13. Ben Mattocks, MIT, 27:10
14. Troy French, Springfield, 27:12 

Runner of the Year: Hemagiri Arumugam, MIT
Rookie of the Year: Zach Pietras, Springfield