WESTFIELD, Mass. - Sophomore Shea Hamel was the first Owl home as she placed fifth individually at the 27th Annual James Earley Invitational Cross Country Meet at Stanley Park on Saturday.
Hamel finished in a time of 23:02.79 on the 6,000-meter course, running in about the 10th spot in the first mile on the upper field before the runners dipped into the wildlife refuge trails.
When the group returned to the field, Hamel had advanced into the top five, helping Westfield to a seventh place team finish in the meet which included 25 complete teams and 184 competitors in the women's "white" (varsity) race.
Junior Molly Kennedy was next for Westfield in 34th in 24:25.72. Grace Poplawski (47th, 24:56.56) Ariann Lecours (49th, 257 4:57.93), and Brynne Lecours ( 57th, 25:15.21) rounded out Westfield's scoring five.
Tess Drury, a first-year student from NCAA D2 Saint Michael's College won the race in a time of 22:19.99, 23 seconds ahead of Jordan Walter from Wesleyan. Smith College's Lyda Martin and Hanna Case finished in tandem at 23:00, just ahead of Hamel. Westfield State alumna Amy O'Sullivan '22, who set the course's 5k record in the 2019 running, ran eighth today in 23:13.88 after setting the pace early in the race.
Smith College won the women's team scoring with 57 points, placing five runners in the top 22 finishers. Wesleyan was second (80), followed by St. Michael's (133), Salve Regina (161), St. Anselm (165) , Trinity (170) and Westfield (184).
Springfield College junior Sophie Curcio won the women's blue (JV) race, in a time of 24:20, getting past recent WSU grad and current assistant coach Mia McDonald, who ran second in 24:27.
Rebecca Patel was the top finisher for the Owls women's entry, in 11th place in 26:07. Alison Downin (26:27) was 16th and Erin Vasu 19th (26:39).
The Owls were fourth in the team scoring with 105 points in the blue race, which Springfield won with 46 points.
The day was in the mid-60's with overcast skies and intermittent showers throughout the four races.
The Earley meet was conducted at the 6,000 meter distance for only the fourth time, as a prelude to the Owls hosting the 2023 NCAA Division III Mideast Regional meet on November 11.
Westfield will split their team next weekend, with athletes competing at both the Conn College Invitational and the Western New England Invitational meets.