BOSTON -- The talent in the first-year class for the Yale men's cross country team was on display Saturday afternoon at the 108th New England Championships, as the Bulldogs' top three finishers all were members of the Class of 2025. Varun Oberai led the way, finishing the 8K in 25:17.7 (21st overall). As a team, Yale placed sixth (180 points) in the 24 team field.
 
This marked the second straight race in which Yale let younger runners gain valuable experience -- particularly important at Franklin Park, a venue that the Bulldogs compete at three times this season. This was thus also a chance to see how much progress this group has made since last week's Paul Short Run.
 
"We took a big step forward today," said Paul Harkins, Yale's Head Men's Cross Country Coach/Middle Distance and Distance Coach. "We executed better and had a better approach. It showed the progress the entire group is making."
 
Oberai was followed by his classmates Calvin Katz (25:23.6, 26th) and Winslow Atkeson (25:24.7, 28th). Junior Richard Sturtevant (25:59.4, 52nd) and sophomore Ryan Smithers (26:00.3, 53rd) rounded out the Bulldogs' top five. Atkeson's time today was an improvement of nearly 90 seconds on his time at Franklin Park for the Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown two weeks ago (26:39). 
 
Oberai has finished in Yale's top five in each of the three races he has run this season. All told, the first-year class has combined for 10 top-five finishes.
 
"That absolutely bodes well for the future," said Harkins. "We talked about gaining experience on this course in particular, because we will run it again this year and in future years. It's good to have a positive experience. We are starting to put things together."
 
Dartmouth (60 pts.) finished first as a team, while Ezra Mutai of American International took the individual title (23:56.4). 
 
While ultimately planning for a return to Franklin Park on Nov. 12 for the NCAA Northeast Regional, Yale runs again next Friday at Virginia's XC23 Invitational.

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