Cross Country Has Season-Best Finish at Westfield State
WESTFIELD, Mass.—The Anna Maria College cross country teams competed at the James Early Invitational on Saturday morning, hosted by Westfield State University at Stanley Park.
On the women’s side, the team posted a remarkable 27th-place finish out of 44 competing teams. It marks the first time this season that the AMCATS have finished in the top 60 percent in a race with 20 or more teams.
Leading the way for the AMCAT women was sophomore Maureen Moore (Newbury, Mass.), who ran the 5-kilometer race in 21:06.26 and was the 113th runner to cross the finish line. Sophomore Ashley Eccleston (Playmouth, Mass.) crossed 30 seconds later with a time of 21:36.19, while freshman Ashley Bricault (Cumberland, R.I.) rounded out the top three with a time of 21:48.46.
Senior Kelsey Donnelly (Lakeville, Mass.) was the fourth AMCAT to finish and recorded a time of 23:02.43. Shannon Latour (Millbury, Mass.) and freshman Kayla Odegaard (Milton, Mass.) rounded out the top-six for Anna Maria with times of 24:32.25 and 24:53.98, respectively.
Williams College won the race on the strength of the top two race finishers. All five of their scoring racers finished in the top 25. Vassar College finished in second, followed by the University of New England, Smith, and Westfield State.
On the men’s side, the AMCATS were paced by freshman Patrick Clarke (Pomfret, Conn.) with a time of 29:14.05 in the eight-kilometer race. Freshman Dan Jodrey (Paxton, Mass.) finished the race in 31:17.10, followed by freshman Brandon Andexler (Enfield, Conn.) with a time of 35:45.13.
The men’s race was won by Westfield State, as they had three of the top-10 finishers. Williams, Vassar, Southern New Hampshire, and the University of New England rounded out the top five.
The AMCATS will be back in action on Saturday, November 1st at the GNAC Championship, hosted by Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. The women’s race will start at 1:00 p.m., followed by the men’s race at 2:00 p.m.
