WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State freshman Will Buckley Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North) was the first Owl across the line in 28th place to lead the Owls men's cross country team to a 13th place finish at the 25th Annual James Earley Invitational meet, hosted by Westfield State at Stanley Park on Saturday.
Buckley completed the 8,000 meter course in 26:54.38.
Trinity College junior Travis Martin took home the men's individual title in 25:11.29, followed by Vassar's Miles Takiguchi in 25:29.93. Trinity's Tim Lautenbach was third, outracing Vassar's Johnathan Dean to the finish line.
Vassar wound up with the team title with 34 points, outpacing Trinity (53) and Springfield (117). Westfield State finished with 317 points.
A total of 21 teams and 163 individual runners contested the men's white (varsity) race.
Owls' senior Mike Maher (Attleboro, Mass.) placed 42nd in 27:35.38, with Daniel Botte (Norfolk, Mass./King Philip), Brandon Pelkey(Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic), and Jarrod Ledvina (Fairhaven, Mass.)rounding out the Owls scoring five.
In the men's blue race, Vassar's Simon LaClair dominated from start to finish, posting a time of 26:49.34 and winning by almost 30 seconds. Vassar took the top three slots, and took the low score with just 17 points in the 10-team, 113-runner field.
Westfield State's entry was sixth with 153 points, led by Nick Hanley(Whitman, Mass./Whitman Hanson) in 23rd in 29:46.50 and Colin Benson (Medfield) in 25th in 29:55.79.
Westfield State will next compete at the Connecticut College Invitational meet next Saturday.