BOSTON, Mass. - The Lesley University men's and women's cross country teams raced at Franklin Park for the Saints Invitational this past week in preparation for the NECC Championships.  Both teams had impressive finishes as they worked to get ready for a competitive race with the rest of their conference opponents. 

The men's race was highlighted by Fran Cusick (Lexington, Mass.) who finished with one of his better times of his career, crossing the finish line at 26:59.  Cusick was 55 seconds behind the winner of the race as he claimed fourth place overall and just 13 seconds behind Herrell Siller of Newbury College. 

Brian Axelrod (River Vale, N.J.), in just his sophomore season racing for Lesley, finished in 29^th overall out of 85 competitors at 29:21.  Matthew (Dracut, Mass.) and Sam Hunt (Washington Depot, Conn.) clocked in at 32:09 and 32:24, respectively.  Lesley did not factor into the team scoring.

On the women's side, Charlotte Goff (Osterville, Mass.) maintained her tremendous pace towards NECC Runner of the Year as the sophomore took fifth place overall with a time of 19:55.  Heather Peng (Palo Alto, Calif.) crossed the finish line in 17^th place at 21:12 as Lesley's number two runner. 

Janice Catalano (Sandwich, Mass.), Elise Huebner (Washington, Mass), Rachel Federico (Salem, Mass.), and Anna Pless (Atlanta, Ga.) all recorded personal bests in the 5K race. 

As a team the Lynx took 3^rd place, just one point behind 2^nd place finisher Johnson & Wales University.  The top five teams were Wheaton (25), Johnson & Wales (104), Lesley (105), Emmanuel (116), and Emerson (116).

"Franklin Park is a historical place in the running world," commented Head Coach Dan Flynn.  "It is so special to see our runners run well at such a special course.  This race will give us the confidence and information we need to run well next week when we return to Franklin Park for our NECC Championships.  3rd place is the best we have ever done at the Saints Invitational.  I don't know if I can ask anymore out of my team than that."

Lesley will next race in the NECC Championships at Franklin Park on October 26 starting at 2:00 pm.

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