Mariners Sweep NECC Weekly Men's XC Honors

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The Mitchell College men's cross country team had a pair of runners honored by the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) on Monday morning.

Sophomore Drew Castagna was named NECC Runner of the Week while freshman Sherif Ali  was tabbed NECC Rookie of the Week. The duo helped the Mariners to a fourth-place finish at the Wesleyan Invitational last week.

Castagna garnered runner of the week honors for the first time in his career. He finished 28th overall in the field of 71 runners and clocked in with a time of 30:59.90 for the 8k race. His time was nearly a minute faster than the time he posted last season on the same course.

Ali earned rookie of the week honors for the second time in three weeks. He paced the Mariners at the Wesleyan Invitational and finished eighth overall in a time of 28:37.30. It marked the third time this season he has led the Mitchell squad and his second straight top-10 finish.

The Mariners will next compete at the Tri-State Invitational on Saturday, October 1 at the CCRI Flanagan Campus in Lincoln, R.I. Races begin at 10 a.m.