ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Brandeis University men's cross country team placed five runners among the top 25 finishers today to earn second-place honors at the 42nd annual University of Albany Invitational. The Judges were tops among Division III teams and bested numerous Division I squads.

Leading the charge for the Judges was local product, sophomore Kerwin Vega (Waltham, Mass.). Vega covered the eight-kilometer course in 25:26.7 to finish in 13th place overall, third among Division III runners. Vega just edged teammate Mike Stone (E. Falmouth, Mass.). The senior captain finished 0.9 seconds behind Vega in 25:27.6, 14th overall and fifth among DIII competitors. Rounding out Brandeis's scorers, who finished just 21 seconds from first to fifth, were rookies Marc Boutin (Westford, Mass.) and Chris Brown (No. Chelmsford, Mass.), who placed 17th and 22nd respectively with times of 25:35.9 and 25:41.1, and sophomore Zach Schwartz (Newtown, Conn.) who came in 25th in 25:47.3.

With 91 points, the Judges were behind only Division I Marist College, who placed four of the top five runners and five of the top 11. Among the teams the Judges defeated was the University of St. Thomas, the No. 32-ranked team in Division III.