Owls XC Hosts 29th James Earley Invitational Saturday
The men’s 8-kilometer race begins at 10:30 a.m., with the women’s race following at 11:30. The awards ceremony follows the women’s race.
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State University cross country will host the 29th annual James Earley Invitational cross country meet at Stanley Park on Saturday, Oct. 11.
The men's 8-kilometer race begins at 10:30 a.m., with the women's race following at 11:30. The awards ceremony follows the women's race.
Twenty-two men's teams and 24 women's teams are slated to attend.
The race is annually one of the largest events on the Westfield State athletics calendar with several hundred participants, plus coaches, families and fans coming to Westfield to compete on the high-quality course at Stanley Park.
"We are excited to take on our home course," said Marlee Berg-Haryasz, who coaches the Westfield State men's and women's teams and serves as the race director." We will to try to get as many people into our top-50 list as we can, as well as it is a chance for our newcomers to learn the course in advance of the conference championships that we will host later this year."
This year's race will also serve as a preview for the 2025 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships, which will compete on the course on Saturday, Nov. 1.
The race drew Williams College, which has the number-eight ranked men's team in the nation in NCAA Division III , and the number-two ranked women's team. The highly competitive field also includes a Connecticut College women's team that is ranked fourth in the Mid-East region, and Suffolk is 10th-ranked in the Atlantic region.
Williams won the women's race in 2024, with Wesleyan, which is not participating this year, winning the men's race.
The Owls will be looking to compete with the out-of-town firepower.
The Westfield State women edged Conn College at the George Suitor Invitational earlier this season. The Owls top four of Reese Stevens, Julianne Kelly, Tealei Chandonnet and Shea Hamel all have experience over the course, and each is capable of being the first Owl across the line at any given meet. Their ability to run in a pack with tight time gaps sets the Owls up for a strong performance this weekend.
The Owls roster includes seven seniors in Hamel, Kelly and Chandonnet, along with Brynne LeCours, Faith MacCormack, Erin Vasu and Amanda Walsh.
Westfield State's Amy O'Sullivan '22 set the meet record in 2019 with a time of 18:01.97. The Owl women have been snakebit at their own meet – finishing as the runner up team on four different occasions.
The Westfield State men were led by junior Nathan Sylven last weekend at the Keene State Invitational, where he stopped the clock in 25:57. Owls' first-year Andrew Organ set a personal best time at 27:11, and seniors Gordon Johnson, Colin Mahoney, Rowan Gottschall and Sean Jacobsen will be looking to turn in best efforts on their home course.
The Westfield State men last won the meet in 2014. Middlebury College's Jack Davies set the men's meet record in 2012 with a time of 24:40.96.
The race is named in memory of Westfield State runner James Earley, who lost his life in a motorcycle accident in 1995 just weeks before his senior year at Westfield State.
The race courses start and finish in the great field of Stanley Park, adjacent to Western Ave. The men's 8,000-meter race does several laps of the field before descending into the trails of the wildlife sanctuary. The runners climb back up for a half-lap of the field before finishing alongside Western Ave., opposite the Woodward Center fieldhouse. The women's 5,000-meter course starts with a half lap of the great field, then descends into the trails, before returning to the upper field with a half lap to the same finish line. The course has been host to multiple NCAA Regional Championships and several NJCAA national championships.
Live results and timing are provided by www.IC4ATrack.com
Spectator parking is available at the Westfield State commuter lot, a short walk from the park.