For the second straight year, Rensselaer Polytechnic Instiute (RPI) senior Grant O'Connor won the NCAA Division III Atlantic Region Cross Country Championship individual title, finishing the 8K race in 26:00.8, a victory of nearly five seconds ahead of the runner-up (26:05.5). He ran the first mile in 5:07.8 and finished with an average pace of 5:14.0 despite stopping to assist a teammate who had fallen at the 5K mark. The win, which came in a field of 307 competitors, was Grant’s first of the season and it helped the Engineers finish first (26 points) and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship next Saturday in Wisconsin.