Amid autumn's first yellowing leaves on the trails and fields of Southborough, the youthful but intrepid Middlesex varsity boys cross country team held off a talented St. Mark's squad, edging out a thrilling 27-29 victory on the Lions' home course. The Zebras also picked up wins over Belmont Hill and Lawrence Academy to run their season record to an ISL-best 7-0.

Junior co-captain Justin O'Toole led the way for Middlesex, cruising to the finish in 17:15, with sophomore Caleb Gartner close behind in 17:30. Senior co-captain Connor Page and freshman Cooper Austen raced in ahead of the third runner from St. Mark's, and senior Jack Audett and junior Jack Starobin once again sealed the victory for the Zebras by holding off the home team's fifth runner. Sophomore Andrew Harris rounded out a varsity top seven that also defeated Belmont Hill 24-33 and Lawrence Academy 15-50.

Junior Logan Tonra was the frontrunner for the junior varsity, finishing 4th overall in 18:53, nearly a two minute improvement over his previous PR. He was followed closely by sophomore David Latham, with sophomore Connor Cross, sophomore Cannon Caspar and senior Sam Ferrone accounting for the rest of the scoring as Middlesex fell to the hosts 35-20 but defeated Belmont Hill 24-32 and Lawrence Academy 17-46. Sophomore Trent Loughery and sophomore Gavin Cassidy were the sixth and seventh Middlesex finishers on the day.

As the regular season nears its midpoint, the boys of Middlesex will next travel to North Andover, putting their undefeated record on the line against Brooks School, Governor's Academy and St. Sebastian's.