Rams finish third at New England Championships
Eric Zulkofske was Rhody’s highest finisher, crossing the finish line in sixth place. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
The Rhode Island Men’s Cross Country team hadn’t claimed a podium finish at the New England Championships in 58 years, with a second-place finish in 1964. That streak ended over the weekend when the Rams finished third in Boston behind a quality group effort.
The team’s 113 total points trailed only second place Northeastern University (107 points) and eventual champions the University of Massachusetts (92 points), with three Rams reaching the top 12. Central Connecticut State University (127 points) and the University of Maine (128 points) rounded out the top five at the championship.
Leading the way for Rhody was graduate student Eric Zulkofske, who finished sixth with a time of 24:50.8, which was enough to earn him Atlantic 10 Performer of the Week. Zulkofske felt it wasn’t about his accolade but the team’s success on this special day.
“It’s nice to know the hard work is paying off,” Zulkofske said. “But I am definitely more happy for the team, everyone did really well.”
Right behind him was senior Ben Fleischer, who finished seventh with a time of 24:53.3. The duo scored higher than any other team’s best two runners, combining for just 13 points on the day.
Senior Tyler Rubush rounded out Rhody’s top three, crossing the finish line in 12th with a time of 25:13.6. Coach Brian Doyle said he was proud of Rubush’s finish, citing his improvement as a sign that the work they have been putting in is providing results.
“When the young guys see Tyler Rubush finishing 12th and almost running a five-minute mile, it’s just a sign to them that our process works,” Doyle said.
That process has not been an easy one, according to Zulkofske.
“We have been doing double practices a lot,” Zulkofske said. “It’s been a lot of late nights and early mornings, so it’s nice to see the whole team doing well.”
This process paid dividends for the Rams as first-year Lars Hogne (25:58.0), third-year Nathan Masi (26:02.1), first-year Tyler Sheedy (26:09.4) and fourth-year Cole Baker (28:18.7) rounded out the top seven for the best team score in nearly six decades. Both Hogne and Masi finished in the top 50 in 42nd and 46th, and Sheedy finished 54th.
The process is not quite over for Rhody, however, as they will have a tune up before competing in the Atlantic 10 Championships in Richmond, Va. on Oct. 29 to start their postseason campaign. Zulkofske hopes that his team can continue to run as a group when the Atlantic 10 Championship meet comes around.
“I just hope we can keep doing what we have been doing,” Zulkofske said. “Put a good race out there as a team.”
For Doyle, there is a lot of time left in the season and much work still to be done.
“We just have to keep working,” Doyle said. “Hopefully we can keep seeing the results.”
The Rams will travel to Attleboro, Mass. for their final regular season meet as they look to build off their historical performance in the Rothenberg-Brown Invite on Oct. 21.