POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's cross country team opened its 2021 season at the Ron Stonitsch Invitational at Vassar College and the Engineers boasted the top two finishers in Matt Lecky and John Reed. As a team, RPI finished second among the seven schools with 35 points. The host Brewers were victorious with 30 points, while SUNY Delhi was third with 92.

Lecky, a junior, was the only runner to eclipse 19 minutes on the 6k course, finishing in 18:53.5 for a 5:05 mile and a 25-second edge over Reed. A graduate student, Reed crossed the finish line in 19:18.5, a 5:11 pace, to edge Jack Casalino of Vassar (19:21.5). The Brewers had three of the next four finishers.

Jason Gibbons was third on the Engineers with a time of 19:37.9, which was just 0.2 from eighth place and 0.6 from seventh. He was followed on the team by Owen Szabo in 11th with a time of 19:41.6, Vince Simonetti in 12th with a 19:46.6 and Mitchell Dailey in 14th with a time of 19:51.8.

Eight others from Rensselaer finished in the top 25 in the race, which included 88 runners.

The next event for RPI is the Saratoga Invitational at the Saratoga Springs State Park on September 25.