WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State freshman Nathan Sylven (Wrentham, Mass./King Phillip) was the individual winner as the Owls ran to a third-place team finish at the season-opening Keene State Alumni Invitational in Keene, N.H. on Saturday.
Sylven traversed the 5-kilometer course in 16:07, 11 seconds ahead of his closest competition and matching his personal best time.
Junior Will Buckley (Plymouth, Mass./North) was next for the Owls in sixth place in 16:34, and the Owls had a tight grouping as John Nekitopoulos (West Springfield, Mass.), Matthew Hall (Duxbury, Mass.), Abdi Nassir (New Braintree, Mass./Quabbin) and Gordon Johnson (Hanson, Mass./Whitman-Hanson) took 15th through 19th place.
The Owls had seven personal-record or course-personal-record times.
The Owls placed third in the team rankings behind Southern Maine and the Keene State alumni squad.
Westfield will next be in action at the Trinity College Invitational next Saturday.