WESTFIELD – Westfield State University junior Jessie Cardin defended home turf for the Owls, romping to a 22–second win in the 21st Annual James Earley Invitational Cross Country meet at Stanley Park on Saturday.
Cardin covered the 6,000-meter course in a time of 21:26.81, finishing ahead of Brandeis’ Emily Bryson, who was second in 21:49.07, while Michelle Lujan of Division II College of St. Rose (N.Y.) was third in 22:03.27.
Westfield State runner Jessie Cardin leads late in the race by a wide margin in winning the 2016 James Earley Invitational at Stanley Park on Saturday, October 8. (Photo courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
Cardin ran at the front of the pack of lead runners throughout the race. When the runners returned to the upper fields at Stanley Park with 1k to run, Cardin was well in command of the race. Cardin is the first Owl to win the race since Kerry Arouca in 2009.
The University of New England (Me.) won the team race with a score of 65, followed by Tufts (85) and Keene State (208). The Owls women finished sixth with 257 in the 41-team race.
For Westfield State, freshman Andrea Noland was the next runner across the finish line in 45th place with a time of 23:47.68. Senior Ashley Monahan was 51st in 23:58.38 , Julie Carroll placed 99th in 24:40.31 and Lindsey Wassung in 105th at 24:46.77 rounded out the Owls scoring five. Lauren Fitzgerald came across 127th in 25:06.09 and Molly Lewis placed 134th to complete Westfield’s top seven.
In total, 459 women competed in the meet. Westfield State will host the 2016 NCAA Division III Regional Qualifying meet at Stanley Park on November 12. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
