BOSTON – Suffolk men's cross country is set to take the course for the first time in 2024 Saturday, Aug. 31 at the 10th Annual Wheaton & Babson Season Opener at the Mark Coogan Cross Country Course at Highland Park in Attleboro, Massachusetts. The men's 5,000-meter run opens the day at 10:00 a.m. precedes the women's 3,000-meter race at 10:45 a.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Don't miss any of the action from the first race of the 2024 season as both races will be streamed live with results provided as well.
SOCIALIZE
Ram Nation has a chance to keep up with all the latest news and notes on Suffolk Athletics, its student-athletes and teams by following the Rams on Facebook, Instagram and X. Fans are encouraged to use the hashtag #RamNation a behind-the-scene look at Suffolk Athletics.
RAPID REWIND
Suffolk's 2023 season was one for the record books. The team finished as conference runner-up for the third consecutive campaign and went on to put together a program-best team finish at regionals with an eighth-place showing.
Individually, four Rams ran to all-league honors in Tim Barry, Hayden Green, Thomas Novy and Luke Sikora. The four all-conference distinctions in a single season marks a Rams record, upstaging the previous mark of three, which was achieved in 2021.
Regionally, Barry and Novy claimed All-East accolades for the first time in their collegiate careers with their top-35 regional finishes. They became the first Rams pair to take home the accolade in the same season in Suffolk men's cross country history.
Things did not stop there as Barry became the second-ever member of Suffolk's men's cross country to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
RAMS RINGLEADERS
For the first time since 2021, Suffolk men's cross country will see three Rams share the captain role as Tim Barry, Jacob Dubin and Thomas Novy have been named captain by head coach Will Feldman.
MORE READING: Tri-Captains to Lead 2024 Men's Cross Country
RAMS ROOKIES
For the second straight season, Suffolk men's cross country head coach Will Feldman brought in a pair of true freshmen in Declan Shannon and Sebastian Vickers-Richard to compliment his veteran-heavy roster.
MORE READING: Men's Cross Country Welcomes Two from Class of 2028
GEOGRAPHY 101
Nearly half of the Rams' 14-runner roster hails from the Bay State with six Massachusetts locals. California and Connecticut are represented by a pair apiece, while one student-athletes hails from Arizona, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Washington.
CLASS CATEGORIES
Suffolk's squad has a wealth of experience with a five-member senior class and two graduate students. There are three juniors as well as a pair of sophomores and true freshmen, respectively.
COACH'S CORNER
Will Feldman returns for his eighth season at the helm of the Suffolk cross country and track & field programs.
He has brought the Rams to regional and national success in his short term at the helm. His cross country highlights feature back-to-back CCC Women's Cross Country Championships and the University's first USTFCCCA All-American in cross country, Matyas Csiki-Fejer, who raced to the feat in 2021.
To aid Feldman on a full-time basis, the program added Associate Head Coach Kerstin Darsney over the off season.
Josh Brodin is back on Feldman's staff for his seventh season as an assistant coach, while former Rams runners Cole Bolduc, Justin Turner and Sarah Roberts came back to the team in a coaching position this season.
THE FIELD
The field features representatives from NCAA Division I in Holy Cross and Stone Hill and numerous NCAA Division III counterparts in Babson, Brandeis, Bridgewater State, UMass Dartmouth, Wheaton and Suffolk's Conference of New England foe Wentworth.
THE DISTANCE
Things will be kept short and sweet in the season debut. The women will run 3,000 meters, while the men will compete a 5,000 meter.
TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
Suffolk, who sits seventh in the east of the U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Rankings, has stiff competition come Saturday as Babson and Brandeis sit sixth and ninth in the East as well.
COACH'S QUOTE
"This meet will be very competitive on the men's side with four teams who all have the potential to be top 10 in the East Region this season," head coach Will Feldman said. "Our goal is to be the second Division III team behind Babson."
RAMS TO WATCH
- Tim Barry will look to run with the leaders, while teammates Jacob Dubin, Sean Jacobsen, Hayden Green and Cam Fredette will aim to round out the Rams top five.
- Freshmen Sebastian Vickers-Richard and Declan Shannon will make their collegiate debuts.
REGIONAL RANK
Less than a week from its first race of the 2024 season, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) unveiled the preseason edition of the NCAA Division III Men's Cross Country Regional Rankings with the Rams ranked seventh in the east.
MORE READING: Men's Cross Country Ranked Seventh in East USTFCCCA Preseason Ranking
SUFFOLK'S SCHEDULE
The Rams are idle until Saturday, Sept. 21 when they compete at Cardinal Invitational at The Wes Furhman '05 Trails Cross Country course in Middletown, Connecticut.
