BF
Benjamin Fazio
  • Materials Engineering
  • East Greenwich, RI

Benjamin Fazio Named Performer of the Week Yet Again

2016 Nov 15

For the fourth time this season, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Benjamin Fazio of East Greenwich 02818 has been selected as the conference's Men's Cross Country Performer of the Week.

In the NCAA Atlantic Regional, Fazio (East Greenwich, RI / East Greenwich) finished second overall to lead the Engineers to a second place finish and an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship Meet. The senior captain ran the 8K course at a 4:54 pace for a total time of 24:20.5, which was just five seconds from the winner. Fazio was named All-Region for his effort, which helped RPI earn a score of 87, trailing only SUNY Geneseo's 51.

Fazio is a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier as an individual, both times earning National All-America. This year he will be joined by his teammates, marking the first time since 1996 the Engineers qualified as a team. RPI, which is coached by John Lynch, enters Saturday's national champioinship meet, which will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, ranked ninth in the latest coaches poll.

In seven meets this season, Fazio has finished in the top 5 in each, including three victories. He helped the team to three wins, two runner-ups, a third and a fifth place finish.

Founded in 1824, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is America's oldest technological research university. For nearly two centuries, the Institute has been a driving force behind breakthroughs in engineering and science in virtually every arena-from transportation and infrastructure to business, medicine, outer space, and cyberspace.

As it approaches its bicentennial anniversary, the Institute continues to define The New Polytechnic, a new paradigm for teaching, learning, and research that uses advanced technologies to enable fresh collaborations across disciplines, sectors, and regions, in order to answer the global challenges of our day.