Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Men's and Women's Cross-Country team began their season this afternoon at the Suffolk Short Course Classic at Franklin Park. The teams raced against a collection of Division I, II and III programs from across New England.
The Women's team finished in 12th place overall, lead by Leah Berg's strong time of 13:37 on a 3.1 Kilometer course. The women were initially expected to compete in a straight 3K course, but pushed through the extra distance for a strong finish. Following Berg was Seniors Erica Hanlon (13:47) and Caitlin Conneely (13:49). Freshman Jillian Bolster and Senior Angela Nigro rounded out the top five for the Lancers.
The Men placed 13th overall, and were led by a strong performance by another Freshman, James Riley, who completed his 5k in a time of 18:13. Fellow freshman teammate Alex Lucier crossed the finish line not far after, with a time of 18:48 at a challenging Franklin Park course. Senior Dan Clark and freshmen Matt Talbot and Will Demers rounded out the top 5 for Worcester State.
Both teams are back in action on September 17th when they travel to the UMass Dartmouth Invitation on Sept 17.