Men’s Cross Country Takes Third at Worcester City Meet
PAXTON, Mass. – The Worcester State University men’s cross country team took a third place finish at the 50th Annual Worcester City Meet Friday (Sep. 23) afternoon at Moore State Park.
PAXTON, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's cross country team took a third place finish at the 50th Annual Worcester City Meet Friday (Sep. 23) afternoon at Moore State Park.
WPI captured their 43rd title, as the eight of the top ten runners were Engineers. WPI's Jason Bugarin (Fitchburg, Mass.) earned the top spot with a five-mile time of 28:04.
Assumption placed second in the meet as their top runner, Ian Flanagan (N. Attleboro, Mass.) came in sixth place, following the WPI pack.
Worcester State captured third place as sophomore Michael Ricci (Peabody, Mass.) paced the team with a 10th place finish in 29:13.
"Mike ran a solid race today to lead the Lancer squad against some strong competition," commented head coach, Al Halper.
"Mike went with the top group from the start and stayed there throughout the race. He was aggressive on this very hilly course and he and it paid off," mentioned Halper. "He has been working on this aspect of his race and he is now seeing the results of his efforts."
The Blue and Gold's next runner to cross the finish line was freshman Richard Custodio (Wakefield, Mass.) who came in 16th in a time of 29:40. Overall, he was the third freshman to place in the meet.
"He is gaining confidence each week as he races more 8k races and adjusts his training," said Halper. "He is learning from his teammates and doing some of the little things better each week and then adapting better each race."
Worcester State's trio of Patrick Scheeler (Wakefield, Mass.), Christian Vera (Worcester, Mass.), and Robert Davis (Acton, Mass.) came in 18th, 19th, and 20th places, respectively, to help the Lancers capture third place. The three finished in 29:51, 29:59, and 30:03, respectively.
"We, as a team, had a tight pack with our top five under a minute apart on this challenging course," concluded Halper. "We are making significant progress each week."
Next weekend, the Lancers travel to Lincoln, R.I. for the Community College of Rhode Island College Invitational.