Westfield, Mass. - The Westfield State University men's cross country team finished seventh overall amongst some of the top teams in the region on Saturday, October 1st in the Purple Valley Classic hosted by Williams College. The competition featured some heavy-hitting teams such as nationally ranked Williams (11) and Amherst (33) as a total of 11 teams and 143 athletes participated in the meet.

Owls junior John Nekitopoulos (West Springfield, Mass.) crossed the finish line first for the Owls and 37th overall with a finishing time of 28:15.5. Other standout performances from the Owls include senior Michael Maher (Attleboro, Mass.) with a finishing time of 29:10.9 (46th overall), and sophomore Will Buckley (Plymouth, Mass.) finished in 28:21.1 while crossing the line 39th overall.

Williams College swept the meet overall with 15 points. All ten of the top finishers came from Williams College. Williams' senior Elias Lindgren won the meet overall with a time of 24:43.3.

The Owls will compete again on Saturday, October 8th at their home course Stanley Park in Westfield Massachusetts as they stride into the James Earley Invitational meet.