Despite starting the cross country season with several dual meet losses, the boys cross country team traveled to Fort Devens military base on Nov. 16 to compete in the Meet of Champions against the top teams in the state.

To automatically qualify for the Meet of Champions, teams needed to finish in the top seven in their heat at the Cross Country Championships meet, which was also held on Nov. 9 at Fort Devens.

At the Cross Country Championships meet on Nov. 9, the team placed seventh, qualifying for the Meet of Champions for the first time in the program’s history.

Twenty-three teams returned to Fort Devens on Saturday, Nov. 16 to compete in the final race of the season.

When the Dartmouth athletes ran at Fort Devens for the first time on Nov. 9, they were not yet familiar with the course, but head coach Hilary Sousa said, leading up to the Meet of Champions, that the team now knew what to expect.

“The first two miles are OK, but then it gets into a very hilly area, so you really got to be prepared for those hills and down hills,” Sousa said prior to the meet.

“Now we already know where the mile mark is, the two mile mark, and what to expect,” she added.

Senior Tyler Amaral was the first Dartmouth athlete to cross the finish line, coming in at 25th place overall with a time of 17:03.

Team captain and senior Jared Mendonca was the second Dartmouth athlete to finish, coming in with a time of 17:59.

Senior Jacob Anuszczyk, junior Finn Sperry, sophomore Joseph Oliver-Wong, junior William Walker and senior Adriano Sousa also competed on Saturday.

The team finished in 19th place overall.

“It was a great experience for the boys team to compete at the state championship,” Sousa said. “[I’m] proud of this year’s team accomplishment to come this far.”