Owl Men Place Third at James Earley Invitational
Junior Nathan Sylven placed seventh individually to lead a good team performance for the Owls
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior Nathan Sylven (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip) placed seventh individually to lead a good team performance for the Owls as they finished third in the team results at the 29th James Earley Invitational at Stanley Park on Saturday morning.
Sylven covered the 8,000-meter course in 26:13.53, 50 seconds behind race-winner Ryan Hardiman from Williams College.
Westfield was edged for second place by a single point, 144-145 by UMaine-Farmington.
Drew Organ (Suffield, Conn.) was the next Owl in in 33rd place in 27:45.65, followed by Colin Mahoney (Plainville, Mass./King Phillip) in 39th, Braeden Ramsey (Plainville, Conn.) in 41st, and Reid Sunshine (Suffield, Conn.) in 48th.
"The time wasn't great, but the placing was very good, seventh is the best I have ever done at this meet," said Sylven. "I think it was 40 seconds faster than last year. The team did really, well, probably the best we have done since I have been here, which is really good, so it's exciting with how close it is to championships season with everyone getting better."
Williams College, ranked eighth in the nation going into the event, won the meet with a team score of 19, taking five of the top six placings. Fitchburg State's Paulino Guevara Mateo was second in the individual placings to break up the Ephs' landslide.
Eighteen teams scored at the meet, which featured193 individual competitors.
Westfield State will host the 2025 MASCAC Championships at Stanley Park on November 1.