SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers men's cross country team placed 4^th out of 15 total (11 complete) teams at the Western New England Invitational, placing just behind 3^rd place Gordon College, 2^nd place Southern Vermont, and 1^st place Westfield State on the 8K course.

"The men's cross country team ran some of the fastest times of the season at the invitational. With the team just two weeks away from the MASCAC Championships, team members have been added back into the lineup and have been gaining valuable experience," said head coach Al Halper.

The Lancers' first runner to cross the finish line was freshman Michael Ricci (Peabody, Mass.) who came in 10^th place out of the 122 runners at the invitational with a time of 27:44. "Mike had his fastest 8K time of the season and continues to impress each week as one of the top freshmen in our conference and overall in each of his races," said Halper. "This week Mike was a little more conservative than usual, but moved up steadily throughout the race."

Slightly behind Ricci was freshman Robert Davis (Acton, Mass.) with a time of 28:24 at 17^th place. Davis ran his fastest time of the season and had a very strong race.

Finishing up 22^nd and 23^rd were freshman Christian Vera (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Will Whearty (Wapole, Mass.) with times of 28:48 and 28:54, respectively. Vera and Whearty also ran their fastest time of the season, each marking their personal record. Halper stated, "Christian ran a solid race. He is still working on the balance of starting out aggressively and holding back until the later stages of the race."

"Will got a late start racing this season. Now with a few races under his belt, he is getting comfortable with pushing the pace early on," said Halper. "He will need to continue to step up as we get to the conference meet."

At 38^th place was sophomore Patrick Scheeler (Wakefield, Mass.) with a finish time of 29:51. "Pat in just his second race since coming off a foot injury continues to be aggressive throughout his race," said Halper. "As Pat regains his mileage base, he will be able to sustain a strong effort throughout the race."

Freshman John Newcomb (Chelmsford, Mass.) placed 68^th with a time of 30:58, while freshman Mitchell Cupp (North Attleboro, Mass.) came in 69^th with a time of 31:03. Also competing in the meet was Carlos Nieves (31:30), Eric Sanford (33:26), and Tyler Royek (33:51).

"With most of the team being freshman and sophomores there are surprises each week and great amounts of improvement overall. Couple that with the fact the quite few have missed a meet or more and are still adjusting to the 8K distance," said Halper. "It is our hope that we all have anticipated breakthrough race at the MASCAC's in two weeks.

Next weekend the men's cross country team will take a break before they compete in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships on their home course at Moore State Park in Paxton, Mass. on Oct. 31.

Team Scores:

1. Westfield State (30)
2. Southern Vermont (80)
3. Gordon (81)
4. Worcester State (110)
5. Western New England (113)
6. Mass. Liberal Arts (142)
7. Bard (228) Nichols (228)

       9. RIC (232)

      10. WNE Alumni (273)

      11. Framingham State (277)

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