WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore runner Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.) earned conference recognition this past week as the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Runner of the Week after posting a strong performance at the James Earley Invitational on Saturday.
In the 27th annual James Earley Invitational hosted by Westfield State, Hamel placed fifth out of a total of 184 competitors in the women's "white" (varsity) race.
Hamel finished in a time of 23:02.79 on the 6,000-meter course at Stanley Park, 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 teams, some of which that were ranked within the top-ten of the USTFCCCA Regional Rankings.
For Hamel, it was the second time this season that she was named the league's Runner of the Week as she received the award earlier in the season at the first Keene State Invitational race where she finished fourth and led the Owls to a team victory.
Westfield State women's cross country has a pair of meets this upcoming weekend at Connecticut College and Western New England on Saturday.