Owls WXC Matches Best-Ever Finish at James Earley Invite
Westfield State senior Julianne Kelly was the first Owl across the finish line, placing fifth in 18:53.07
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State women's cross country matched their best-ever team performance with a second-place result at the 29th Annual James Earley Invitational meet, hosted by the Owls at Stanley Park on Saturday.
The Owls placed second with 45 points, 11 behind Williams College, which entered the meet ranked number two in the nation in Division III.
As has been their practice all season the Owls ran tightly grouped, with their top five runners in the finishing fifth through 14th, and their top seven all finishing in the top 24.
Westfield State senior Julianne Kelly (Natick, Mass.) was the first Owl across the finish line, placing fifth in 18:53.07, five seconds ahead of teammate Reese Stevens (Agawam, Mass.) in sixth.
"I had a really good race today, the weather was perfect," said Kelly. "Just took it out in the meadows and finished on the field. We did really well as a team today … we packed up really nicely.""
Westfield's Tealei Chandonnet (Dracut, Mass.) was the third Owl in the top 10, placing 10th in 19.14.77, steps ahead of Shea Hamel (Longmeadow, Mass.) in 11th. Brooke Soucy (Methuen, Mass.) rounded out the Owls scoring five in 14th place in 19:22.44.
It's the fifth time that the Owls have placed second at their home meet, since it began in 1996 in memory of James Earley, an Owls runner who passed away in a motorcycle accident in 1995, weeks before his senior year. The Owls last finished as high as second in 2011.
Kelly and Stevens' performances make them 6th and 7th fastest runners in the history of the Owls programs on the course at Stanley Park, and six of the Owls runners performances today are in the top 50 Owls performances on the course.
"It really shows how hard we have worked throughout the season so far, and how awesome MASCAC's and Regionals could be," said Kelly.
Williams College first-year Estella Laird won the individual race, stopping the clock in 18:22.11, and the Ephs placed three runners in the top four in securing the meet title with 34 points.
A total of 13 teams, and 167 runners contested the race. Springfield College was third with 97 points followed by Connecticut College in fourth with 131.
Westfield State will host the MASCAC Championships at Stanley Park on Nov. 1.