BOSTON, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology cross country team kicked off the 2022 campaign by competing at the Suffolk Short Course Classic Friday afternoon in Franklin Park.

Nine Leopard student-athletes were among the 167 runners who competed in the five-kilometer race, which included 15 institutions across all three NCAA divisions.

Freshman Ryan Ballard (Norwalk, Conn.) led the Leopard pack, finishing with a time of 17:12.8 to finish 48th and earn 40 points in his collegiate debut. Junior Jack Chausse (Newport, R.I.) was behind him with a 59th-place (49 points) finish, crossing the line in a time of 17:31.7. Sophomore Christian Vallerand (Woburn, Mass.) picked up 74 points when he finished with a time of 18:38.0, which was good for 105th place. In his collegiate debut, freshman Jacob Thomas (Kingston, N.H.) was 111th (78 points) with a time of 18:51.4. Classmate Evan McIntire (Mansfield, Mass.) rounded out Wentworth's scoring runners, with a 113th-place finish (79 points) after finishing with a time of 18:58.0.

Junior William Carpenter (Salisbury, Vt.) placed 117th (19:21.2), sophomore Donovan DiMaria (Dover, N.H.) placed 134th (20:42.1), sophomore Nick Whitcomb (Plymouth, Mass.) was 138th (21:20.4), and sophomore Robbie McCue (Weymouth, Mass.) was 150th (23:24.6).

Wentworth is at the Ron Ouellette Invitational in Biddeford, Maine, next Saturday.

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