LEOMINSTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's cross country team placed second out of six teams Saturday morning at the 8K Jim Sheenan Memorial Alumni Invitational - hosted by Fitchburg State at the Doyle Conservation Center.
Leading the way for the Lancers was freshman Robert Davis (Acton, Mass.) who placed seventh overall with a time of 29:28. Following Davis was freshman Michael Ricci (Peabody, Mass.) at 10th place and freshman Joseph Grider (Hopedale, Mass.) at 11th place, with times of 29:44 and 29:45, respectively.
Worcester State's next runners up were sophomores Devin Luce (Milford, Mass.) with a time of 30:16, sophomore Jeffrey Davis (Old Lyme, Conn.) with 30:30, and freshman Christian Vera (Worcester, Mass.) with 30:31, all coming in 16th, 17th, and 18th places.
Rounding up for the Lancers was sophomore Patrick Scheeler (Wakefield, Mass.) with a time of 31:05 and notching 20th place overall in the meet.
With a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores, head coach Al Halper said, "I was excited with the overall team effort, focus, and the aggressiveness of the team as a whole. The youth of this team insures some good races ahead of us, especially as they all gain a little more experience and knowledge as to how to run the 8K distance."
"The team's enthusiasm and their work ethic so far are strong positives upon which the team can build," said Halper. He looks to see the talent show itself as the season progresses.
Next Saturday (Sep. 12) the men's cross country team will travel to Biddeford, Maine to compete in the University of New England Invitational at Rotary Park.
Overall Team Scores:
- Fitchburg State (15)
- Worcester State (55)
- Lassell College (85)
- MCLA (104)
- UMass Boston (148)
- Framingham State (160)