Brunswick, Maine- Junior co-captain Ryan Bak (Suffield, Conn.) won the men's race with a career-best time of 24:54 to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a best-ever, third-place finish in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men's Cross Country Championships at Bowdoin College this afternoon. Bantam junior Leeann Rheaume (Pittsfield, Mass.) and freshman Christina Kane (Springfield, Mass.) placed 15th and 16th one second apart to help Trinity finish fifth as a team in the women's meet.

The Bantam men’s team, ranked No. 6 in New England and No. 19 in the nation entering the race, finished third with 75 points, which was two points ahead of third-place Williams, which was ranked No. 5 in New England and No. 21 in the nation, and four points behind second-place Tufts. The Bantam women, ranked No. 4 in New England and No. 24 in the nation, came in fifth with a score of 142 points, nine behind fourth-place Hamilton, ranked No. 20 in the nation, and 12 ahead of sixth-pace Bowdoin.

Bak shattered his previous career-best time of 25:00 by six seconds and crossed the finish line nine seconds ahead of the second-place runner to become the first Trinity male runner to capture the NESCAC title. Classmate James Emord (Bridgewater, Mass.) ran a career-best time of 25:11 to finish in third place in the meet.  Bak and Emord were both named to the All-NESCAC First Team for their outstanding performances and Bak won the NESCAC Most Outstanding Performer Award for his first-place finish in the men's race.

 Sophomore Jon Drappi (West Boylston, Mass.) and freshman James Sullivan (Sterling, Mass.) finished 21st and 23rd, respectively, for Trinity at 26:06 and 26:10.  Rheaume paced the Bantam women at 18:43 and Kane finished in 18:44. Sophomore Kristina DePeau (Stafford, Conn.) also ran a strong race with a 24th-place showing at 19:02.

TEAM RESULTS

Women
1. Middlebury 48
2. Williams 59
3. Amherst 98
4. Hamilton 133
5. TRINITY (CONN.) 142
6. Bowdoin 154
7. Connecticut College 173
8. Wesleyan 177
9. Tufts 217
10. Bates 249
11. Colby 256

Men
1. Bowdoin 46
2. Tufts 71
3. TRINITY (CONN.) 75
4. Williams 77
5. Bates 146
6. Amherst 175
7. Colby 186
8. Connecticut College 211
9. Wesleyan 226
10. Hamilton 281
11. Middlebury 310

TOP TRINITY INDIVIDUAL FINISHERS

Women
15. Leeann Rheaume, 18:43
16. Christina Kane, 18:44
24. Kristina DePeau, 19:02
39. Karen Roy, 19:27
51. Kate Klein, 19:42
58. Shannon Brennan,19:49
79. Liz Brown, 20:08

Men
1. Ryan Bak, 24:54
3. James Emord, 25:11
21. Jon Drappi, 26:06
23. James Sullivan, 26:10
27. Ryan Lerner, 26:15
37. Steven Coakley, 26:32
97. Geoff Long, 28:32