Terriers Take Second at Season-Opening Minuteman Invite

Saturday, September 11

Amherst, MA

11 AM

Boston University

Minuteman Invite

Matt Mason and Mike Hagen running side-by-side

Photo by: Jon Crispin

Terriers Take Second at Season-Opening Minuteman Invite

September 11, 2021 | Men's Cross Country

Results

AMHERST, Mass. - Paced by three top-five finishes, the Boston University men's cross country team opened its 2021 season with a second-place performance at the Minuteman Invite on Saturday morning at the UMass Cross Country Course.

BU went out to a controlled start and moved up well as the race progressed. The Terriers totaled 34 points, just five back of UMass. BU was well ahead of Amherst (77 points) and Sacred Heart (120), the other two schools competing on Saturday. Seven Terriers were in the top 20 on Saturday.

"Today was a really strong opener for both groups", first-year associate head cross country coach Jordan Carpenter said. The goal was to get out controlled and work on competing well over the closing kilometers of the race. With this being our first true cross country race in nearly two years, it was incredible to be back out on the grass. I am excited about where we are as a group in early September and look forward to see both of our squads progress as the season moves along."

Sophomore Matthew Mason, the reigning Patriot League Most Outstanding Rookie, led the pack until the final mile and ultimately finished second with an 6.2K time of 19:22. Junior Mike Hagen was right behind Mason in third with a time of 19:31, followed by junior Kevin Murphy (19:41) in fourth. Murphy moved up well over 15 spots to earn his place in the top five

Senior Aksel Laudon (19:51) and sophomore Alex Brown (19:52) were 12th and 13th, respectively, to round out the Terriers' top five. Sophomore Robert Hannon turned in a time of 19:56 to finish 15th, with junior Alec Block (19:57) a second behind Hannon in 16th place.

Junior Charlie Hammel was 21st with a time of 20:20, followed by juniors Aidan Norris (20:31) and Jack Jeffrey (20:34) in 24th and 25th, respectively. Freshman Drew Fenton was 30th in his collegiate debut with a time of 20:58. Sophomore Nate Somers (21:19), junior Kathan Shenoy (21:31) and senior Diego de la Torre (21:48) were all in the top 40. Junior John O'Connor (22:07) and sophomore Luke Hanratty (22:59) also competed on Saturday.