Cross Country Competes at UMass Dartmouth Invitational

North Dartmouth, Mass. - The Framingham State cross country team competed in the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday. Rowan captured the women's race with 45 points as the Rams finished 27th with 802 points. Four Framingham State harriers participated in the men's portion of the event.

Sophomore Emma Hazen (Framingham, Mass.) led the Rams with a 146th-place 22:32.  Freshman Courtney Torres (Westminster, Mass.) clocked a 22:08 for the 156th spot. Sophomore Jenna Anan (Littleton, Mass.) crossed the finish line 172nd (23:49), 18 seconds quicker than in her 2013 debut. Rookie Jillian Preman (Wilbraham, Mass.) was 185th (26:06) and sophomore Philomena Nessralla (Marshfield, Mass.) finished 187th (26:30). Sophomore Fiona Coughlan (Quincy, Mass.) broke the tape with a 26:36 for 189th place.

On the men's side, senior Chris Baza (Milford, Mass.) paced Framingham State with a time of 30:31 (151st), seven seconds quicker than his time in the season opener. Freshman Dan Stevens (Holliston, Mass.) crossed the finish line 163rd (31:03), an improvement of 12 ticks and classsmate Richard Wertz (South Easton, Mass.) posted a 33:41 (187th) in his inaugural race. Sophomore Thomas Rainsford (Holliston, Mass.) shaved 1:01 off his initial time for a 38:53 (201st).

The Rams venture to the Elms College Blazers Cross Country Classic on Saturday for an 11:30 start.