West Deptford’s Jacob Cobb is off to the NCAA Championships after placing 7th as MIT’s 3rdfinisher in the Division 3 East Region race in Hopkinton, Mass.
Cobb ran 24:43.5, a lifetime best for 8,000 meters on any course. His fastest previous 6K was a 25:05.3 in September at a meet in Middletown, Conn.
MIT upset Tufts of Medford and Somerville, Mass., 42-49 to win its 5th straight team title. The top two teams qualify automatically for Nationals.
Tufts was ranked No. 1 in the East Region and No. 4 national in Division 3 and MIT No. 2 in the region and No. 11 going into the race, so this is an impressive result for Cobb and the Engineers from Cambridge, Mass.
Cobb was MIT’s 3rd finisher. Their top three finished 4-6-7, all finishing within eight seconds of each other. MIT’s five scorers had a 36-second gap.
Cobb, a junior, was an NCAA qualifier in the steeplechase last spring after running 8:53.62 in a meet at Williamstown, Mass.
The NCAA Division 3 cross country championships are scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Roger Milliken Cross Country Course in Spartanburg. S.C.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 