WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State men's cross country team got new head Coach Marlee Berg-Haryasz's head coaching career off to a sensational start, winning the short-course Keene State alumni invitational on Saturday.
The Owls placed first among the five scoring teams with 44 points, seven fewer than runner up Division II Assumption.
Berg-Haryasz '09 took over the reins of the Owls program this spring following the retirement of longtime head coach Bill Devine '73, in the process becoming the first female head coach of a men's sport at Westfield State. Berg, who was an XC and track and field athlete at Westfield as an undergraduate herself and won an NCAA Divison III title in the high jump, has been part of the Owls coaching and administrative staff since 2016.
The Owls runners delivered, with sophomore Will Buckley (Plymouth, Mass./North) was the first Owl runner to cross the line, finishing fourth overall in a time of 16:21 on the 3.1 mile course.
Sophomore Matthew Hall (Duxbury, Mass.) was sixth, Mike Mahar (Attleboro, Mass.) seventh, and junior Brandon Hager (Agawam, Mass./Whitman-Hanson Reg.) 10th to help fuel the Owls win.
"Our men's team showed a lot of promise today," said Berg-Haryasz. "They improved their spread from last year, closing the time gap. We're a young team and I'm looking to see how they will improve over the season as their bond strengthens."
Westfield will be back in action on September 17, traveling to the UMass Dartmouth Invitational Meet.