Men's Cross Country Places First & Women Second at Mount Ida Mustang Cross Country Invitational
Newton, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 2nd Annual Mount Ida Mustang Cross Country Invitational on Saturday morning with the men placing first in their race and the women taking second.
Mount Ida welcomed five schools (Simmons College, Pine Manor College, Framingham State University, Curry College and Wheelock College) to campus for a men's 8K and a women's 5k race.
In the women's division Simmons College placed 1st in overall team points (29) followed by Framingham State (43), Curry (69), Mount Ida (95) and Pine Manor (139).
In the men's division there were three schools competing, Wheelock did not qualify due to lack of runners while Framingham State (19) would take first and the Mustangs (36) snatched second place.
In the women's 5k, Simmons College freshman Tiffany Pierce (Ballston Lake, NY) captured first place (21:30) followed by Framingham State junior Elena Cox (Rowley, Mass.) taking second (21:58). Simmons junior Bre Glynn (Marshfield, Mass.) would finish in third place with a time of 22:17.
The first Mount Ida women's runner to finish was freshman Emily Bernotas (Sunderland, Mass.) in 14th place with a time of 24:30.
Curry College's first finisher, freshman Leigha Sweeney (Braintree, Mass.), came in fifth place with a time of 22:41 while Pine Manor College junior Eunice Freire (Roxbury, Mass.) was the first to come in for the Gators in 24th place with a time of 26:47.
On the men's side (8k), the first three runners to cross the finish line were from Framingham State led by senior Greg Hartwich (Holliston, Mass.) (24:51) followed by freshmen teammates Ben Martin (Chelmsford, Mass.) (31:41) and Robert Wheeler (Ashland, Mass.) in a time of 31:49.
Mount Ida junior captain Daniel Rubin (Staten Island, NY) was the first Mustang to come in with a time of 31:54 in fourth place. Host junior K.J. Ross (Charlotte, NC) (33:30) and freshman Aaron Kelly (Norwalk, Conn.) (34:24) were the next two finishers for the Mustangs in sixth and seventh place.
Although Wheelock College did not have enough runners to field a full squad, two Wildcat runners competed led by senior Paul Collins (Hyde Park, Mass.) in 10th with a time of 42:40 while Wheelock junior Patrick Holland (Reading, Mass.) (47:42) finished in 12th.
The FSU women's cross country team will be off next weekend, but the men will return to action at Southern Vermont.
Release courtesy of Mt. Ida Sports Information.