On a crisp and beguiling autumn afternoon in Weston's Burchard Park, the boys of Middlesex Cross Country showed their depth and talent by surpassing three more ISL opponents and setting the stage for a dramatic homecoming showdown of undefeated teams.

Junior Caleb Gartner led the way with his fastest race of the season, setting a new course record with a 16:31 finish, followed within seconds by senior co-captain Justin O'Toole, whose 16:37 finish also broke the old course record. Sophomore Cooper Austen took the third overall spot to make it a clean sweep for the Zebras. Junior Mac Hadden (7th overall) and freshman Matt Wing (9th overall) scored the rest of the points, and juniors Connor Cross and Zan Danoff displaced opposition runners as a new-look top seven outraced host Rivers 19-40, overcame Belmont Hill 17-44, and outlasted BB&N 16-45.

Senior co-captain Jack Starobin made a triumphant return to the course, winning the junior varsity race in 18:42, with freshman Peter Favero and junior Caleb Krueger a second behind in a photo finish. Junior Sean McLaughlin and sophomore Stone Shen ran season-best times to round out a dominant JV top five, with junior Gavin Cassidy and freshman Henry Horvath also affecting the final scoreline. The second seven went 3-0 on the day, beating Rivers 17-45, Belmont Hill 15-45 and BB&N 15-50.

Undefeated on this season's long road trip, Middlesex returns to the campus course on Saturday to face off against St. George's, Nobles and defending NEPSTA Division III champions Roxbury Latin.