For the fourth year in a row, the Amherst Men’s Cross Country team qualified for the NCAA DIII Cross Country National Championship.
The Mammoths placed second to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with 91 points to the 81 scored by the Engineers. The top two teams at every regional meet automatically qualify for nationals.
The University of Southern Maine hosted the meet, but the race took place at the Gorham Country Club, a golf course in Gorham, Maine. The course had a few moderate hills, but the more striking factors were the cold temperatures and occasional gusts of wind.

For the second time this season, Clark Ricciardelli ’20E led the Mammoths. The sophomore placed fifth in the 370-person field with a time of 25:34, moving up the field throughout the race.
With his finish, Ricciardelli earned All-Region honors in his debut cross country season.

With his eighth place finish, Mo Hussein ’18 earned his fourth consecutive All-Region honor, having helped the Mammoths qualify for nationals in all of his four seasons at Amherst.
Next weekend at nationals, Hussein looks to earn another All-American honor in cross country, as he earned All-American honors in his first year and sophomore seasons.

Coming in third for the Mammoths was Cosmo Brossy ’19, who placed 18th overall. This is the junior’s first All-Region honor and will be his second trip to Nationals.
Just behind his classmate Brossy was Tucker Meijer ’19 who placed 21st and also garnered All-Region honors.

Last year, Meijer was the team’s alternate for both Regionals and Nationals, and his success and persistence this year have been key for the Mammoths.
The fifth scoring runner for the Mammoths was Spencer Ferguson-Dryden ’20, who had a solid race to place 39th.

Though the sophomore just missed All-Region honors, as only the top-35 finishers earn that honor, his improvement this year has brought him to Amherst’s top seven, and he has contributed to the Mammoths’ success as a team.

Finishing as the team’s sixth runner was Kristian Sogaard ’19, who placed 50th.

The 800-meter All-American has had a solid season on the trails, and looks to continue that next weekend for his second trip to cross country nationals.

The team’s seventh and final runner was Jack Wesley ’18, who finished 87th. The senior has had a stellar season, factoring into Amherst’s top 7 for the first time in his collegiate career.

Captain Justin Barry ’18 will travel to Elsah, IL, with the team for nationals as the team’s alternate and eighth runner. Barry has also had a stellar senior season alongside his classmates Hussein and Wesley.

“It was a great team effort and everyone ran like they needed to.” Ricciardelli said “We’re excited we qualified and are moving onto Nationals, and we can hopefully keep performing at Nationals and make something happen”
The Mammoths will travel to Elsah, Illinois for nationals this Saturday, where they seek to defeat regional rival MIT and best their previous highest team finish. The team placed ninth in 2014, 10th in 2015, and 12th in 2016.