Women’s Cross Country Finishes Ninth at Jim Sheehan Memorial Invitational

Townsend places 24^th, Crisafulli & Baptista finish 69^th and 70^th

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (September 7, 2019) – The Western New England University women's cross country team posted a ninth place finish on Saturday at the Jim Sheehan Memorial Invitational, hosted by Fitchburg State University at Doyle Conservation Area.

The Golden Bears posted a team score of 253 to place ninth in the 12-team field. Mount Holyoke placed its top four runners inside the top ten en route to the team title (34), while the University of New England (76), Bridgewater State (84), Bentley (107) and UMass Dartmouth (145) rounded out the top five.

Senior Brooke Townsend (Portland, Conn.) paced the Golden Bears with a strong performance, as she placed 24^th in the 126-runner field with a time of 20:42 on the five-kilometer course.

Freshman Marissa Crisafulli (Weymouth, Mass.) and senior Edelinda Baptista (Pawtucket, R.I.) crossed the finish line consecutively in 69^th and 70^th place, respectively, clocking in with times of 22:32 and 22:40.

Freshman Katie Burnham (Monson, Mass.) followed in 80^th place (22:57), while sophomore Gracyn Rothschild-Shea (Wilbraham, Mass.) finished 88^th (23:25).

Up Next
The Golden Bears are off next weekend, before returning to action on Saturday, September 21st at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.