CARLISLE, PA - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's cross country team set a new program standard on Saturday afternoon, as they put together a seventh-place team finish at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships held at Big Spring High School by host Dickinson College. The finish marks the highest team finish in program history, led by two top 10 finishers in Cory Kennedy and Vincent Simonetti.
Kennedy continued his torrid fall season, wrapping up the cross country year with a fifth place individual finish with a time of 24:32.0, while Simonetti came in with an eighth place finish with a time of 24:39.6. The duo combined for the highest 1-2 finish in the country, and were just one of two schools to place two runners in the top 10. With their finishes, the pair each earned NCAA DIII All-American honors.
Kennedy and Simonetti give RPI their 2nd and 3rd all-time individual finishes as well, as came in just behind a 4th place finish from Grant O'Connor in 2017. As a team, RPI's finish this season tops their previous high of 9th in last year's NCAA DIII Championship.
Justin Cascio, Mitchell Dailey, and Jason Gibbons rounded out the scoring five for the Engineers, as a late push gave RPI the edge over 8th place MIT. Pomona-Pitzer (158) came out on top in the meet, finishing just one point ahead of Wisconsin-La Crosse (159).