WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State women's cross country split their efforts between a pair of meets on Saturday, competing at the Connecticut College Invitational and the Western New England Invitational.

The Owls top unit went to the Conn College meet at Harkness Park in Waterford, Conn., a meet that serves as a preview of the course for the NCAA Mideast Regional later this fall.  The meet featured nine of the top 30 teams in the country, with the Owls placing 25^th among 37 scoring teams.

National number 1 MIT won the meet, with Middlebury's Audrey Maclean hitting the tape first in 20:44.6

Tealei Chandonnet led the Owls, placing 105^th in 23:05.8 on the six-kilometer course, setting a personal best time for the distance and was more than a minute faster than her time on the course last year.  Shea Hamel was next in 141^st in 23:28.7.   A total of 277 runners competed in the varsity "blue" race.

At Western New England, Westfield was led by Alison Downin who placed 18^th in 24:54, followed by  Ariann LeCours in 28^th in a time of 25:23 on the 6k course.

Westfield placed sixth among 14 scoring teams.  UNE won the meet, with RIC's Haley Oliver taking top honors in 22:11.

The Owls will take next week off from competition while prepping for the 2024 MASCAC Championships on Nov. 2.