General

MIT Sweeps Major Awards After Winning 25th-Straight NEWMAC Men's Cross Country Title

WESTWOOD, Mass – Following MIT’s 25th consecutive NEWMAC Men's Cross Country Championship title on October 28, MIT student-athletes Lowell Hensgen (Raleigh, N.C.) and Yichen Sun (Chapel Hill, N.C.) earned major awards for their performance at the competition. 

Hensgen was named NEWMAC Athlete of the Year after clocking in a time of 24:49.3 to win the 8K race at Smith College.  Sun was tabbed Rookie of the Year, as he finished ninth in the race, first amongst rookies, with a time of 25:31.0.

The Engineers' coaching staff was recognized as the 2023 NEWMAC Coaching Staff of the Year as MIT recorded a winning score of 20 points with eight finishers in the top 10 of the race. The Engineers have claimed all 25 conference titles in the 26-year history of the NEWMAC, excluding a possible 26 crowns with the cancellation of the 2020 race due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Riley Macon heads up the MIT staff in his fourth year, and is joined by Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Julie Heyde and assistants Reid Kovacs and Whitney Macon. This is the second-straight Coaching Staff of the Year award for the Engineers. 

In addition, the top 14 finishers at the NEWMAC Championship earned All-Conference honors. MIT saw 11 athletes honored, while WPI placed two and Babson one. 

2023 NEWMAC Men's Cross Country All-Conference Team 
  1. Lowell Hensgen (Gr., Raleigh, N.C.) - MIT - 24:49.3
  2. Sam Acquaviva (Gr., Newburyport, Mass.) - MIT - 24:56.8
  3. Anthony Rodriguez (Sr., Prairie View, Ill.) - Babson - 25:00.1
  4. Vedang Lad (Sr., Plainsboro, N.J.) - MIT - 25:04.4
  5. David Reynolds (Gr., Andover, N.H.) - WPI - 25:16.1
  6. Jacob Hansen (Gr., Bountiful, Utah) - MIT - 25:16.8
  7. Henry Hardart (Sr., Annapolis, Md.) - MIT - 25:28.1
  8. Pablo Arroyo (Jr., Richardson, Texas) - MIT - 25:30.2
  9. Yichen Sun (Fy., Chapel Hill, N.C.) - MIT - 25:31.0
  10. Jaxson Miller (Fy., Goshen, Ind.) - MIT - 25:35.9
  11. Matt Schofield (Gr., Shorewood, Ill.) - MIT - 25:40.7
  12. Avi Bissoondial (Sr., Millbury, Mass.) - WPI - 25:55.6
  13. Jacob Cobb (So., West Deptford, N.J.) - MIT - 26:05.0
  14. Samir Amin (Jr., Olympia, Wash.) - MIT - 26:07.5
About the NEWMAC
The NEWMAC is an association of 12 selective academic institutions: Babson College, Clark University, U.S Coast Guard Academy, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mount Holyoke College, Salve Regina University, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute, that are committed to providing high quality competitive athletic opportunities for student-athletes within an educational and respectful environment that embodies the NCAA Division III Philosophy. The conference also partners with four Associate Members: Norwich University (Football), Simmons College (Rowing), SUNY Maritime College (Football), and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Football), while sponsoring 20 sports.