NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The competition was fierce and the course was extremely challenging at the Smith Invitation on Saturday, but both the men's and women's cross country teams were impressive.  Sophomore Charlotte Goff (Osterville, Mass.) ran a personal best and Fran Cusick (Lexington, Mass.) was near the top of a powerful group of runners.

The Lady Lynx squad as a team scored 198 points, good for seventh place behind such competitive schools as Springfield, Smith, Westfield State, Wellesley, Coast Guard, and Mount Holyoke.  Goff led the team with her personal best in any 5K event (20:47.15) and she finished a full two minutes faster than a fellow NECC runner from Elms College.  She finished in seventh place overall.

Heather Peng (Palo Alto, Calif.) was Lesley's next best runner in the women's event as she finished with a time of 22:57.83, good for 45^th overall in a field of 179 runners.  Freshman Elize McKelvey (Baltimore, Ohio) in her first race of her collegiate career, crossed the finish line at 23:51.76 on this grueling course.

In the men's race, Coast Guard Academy swept the first seven places to easily win the event, but Lesley's Fran Cusick raced hard for 12^th place with a time of 17:40.28.  Brian Axelrod (River Vale, N.J.) came at 19:24.38 in 64^th place for the Lynx. 

Both teams will be back in action on September 20^th at the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational.

To learn more about the Lesley University men's and women's cross country teams, please visit their website.

Contact:          Rob Palardy
                        Sports Information Director
                        Lesley University
                        617.349.8627 (office)
                        617.349.8640 (fax)
                        rpalardy@lesley.edu