Behind All-American performances from senior Christina Crow and juniors Rujuta Sane and Kate Sanderson, the MIT girls’s cross nation crew claimed its first NCAA Division III Nationwide Championship on Nov. 23 on the LaVern Gibson Cross Nation Course in Indiana.
MIT entered the race because the No. 1 ranked crew within the nation after successful its seventeenth straight NEWMAC convention title and its fourth straight NCAA East Regional Championship in 2024. The Engineers accomplished a historic season with a run for the report books, taking first within the 6K race to win their first nationwide championship.
The Engineers acquired out to an early benefit over the College of Chicago by means of the opening kilometer of the 6K race, with Sanderson among the many leaders on the course in seventh place. MIT had all 5 scoring runners inside the highest 30 early within the race.
It was nonetheless MIT and the College of Chicago main the best way on the 3K mark, however the Maroons closed the hole on the Engineers, as senior Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel moved towards the entrance of the pack. MIT’s high seven unfold from 14th to thirty second by means of the 3K mark, displaying off the crew depth that powered the Engineers all through the season.
Regardless of MIT’s early benefit, it was Chicago that had the crew lead on the 5K mark, as the highest 5 Maroons on the course unfold from third to thirty fourth place to drop Chicago’s crew rating to 119. Sanderson and Sane discovered the tempo to guide the Engineers in 14th and seventeenth place, whereas Crow was in a decent race for the ultimate All-American spot in forty first place, giving MIT a rating of 137 on the 5K mark.
The ultimate 1K of Crow’s collegiate profession pushed MIT’s lone senior into an All-American end with a thirty fifth place efficiency in 21:43.6. With Sanderson ending in 21:26.2 to take sixteenth and Sane in nineteenth with a time of 21:29.9, sophomore Liv Girand and junior Lexi Fernandez closed in forty seventh and 51st place, respectively, rallying the Engineers previous Chicago over the ultimate 1K to clinch the nationwide title for MIT.
Sanderson is now a two-time All-American after ending in thirty fourth place through the 2023 Nationwide Championship. Crow and Sane earned the dignity for the primary time. Sanderson and Sane every recorded collegiate private information within the race. Girand completed with a time of 21:54.2 (forty seventh) whereas Fernandez had a time of 21:57.6 (51st).
Sophomore Heather Jensen and senior Gillian Roeder helped MIT end with all seven runners inside the highest 55, as Jensen was 54th in 21:58.2 and Roeder was fifty fifth in 21:59.6. MIT completed with a median time of 21:42.3 and a diffusion of 31.4.
