WESTFIELD Mass – Five Westfield State women's cross country runners were formally named to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference team, the league announced on Thursday.

The Owls owned fully half of the All Conference positions, placing five runners in the top ten at last Friday's conference championship meet at Devens, Mass.

Sophomore Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.), sophomore Julianna Kelly (Natick, Mass.), sophomore Eliza Lee (Walpole, Mass.), junior Molly Kennedy (West Springfield, Mass.), and junior Ariann Lecours (Haverhill, Mass.) were named to the All-Conference team.

For Hamel, her recognition comes after she ran a 19:32.65 time finishing second in the MASCAC Championship this past weekend. Hamel's sophomore season has been full of awards, receiving MASCAC Runner of the Week twice during the course of the season.  It's the second straight All-Conference honor for Hamel, who was the league's co-rookie of the year in 2022.

Junior duo Lecours and Kennedy both gained All Conference recognition after Lecours' sixth place finish (20:24.22) and Kennedy's seventh place finish (20:43.01) at the MASCAC Championship.

For Kelly, her All Conference recognition comes after running a time of (20:50.02) and finishing ninth in the MASCAC Championship. 

Kelly and LeCours each make their second straight appearance on the all-conference team.

For Lee, her time of  21:10.27 gave her a 10th place finish, granting her the last All Conference recognition for MASCAC.

The five runners all placing within the top ten secured the MASCAC Championship for the Owls. With the MASCAC Championship win, it marks the Owls third consecutive MASCAC Championship.