SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 18, 2025) – WNE hosted the Western New England Invitational in sunny Springfield, Massachusetts, on Saturday morning. The women's team would place fifth out of 22 scoring teams, led by Olivia Kay and Fallon Lynch. The men's team would place fourth out of 19 scoring teams and was led by first-year phenom Lucas Franco.

Place:

Women's Team: 5th/22

Men's Team: 4th/19

How it Happened:

Women's 6k Race:

• The women's team was led by Olivia Kay once again. Kay picked up a career-best time of 24:31.29, which also placed Kay inside the top 25 women's 6k times in program history. Kay placed 21st in the invitational.
• Fallon Lynch also would earn a program top-25 women's 6k time, with a career-best 24:53.64. Lynch placed 24th overall in the invitational.
• Lia Pouliot placed third for WNE and 38th overall in the invitational. Pouliot finished with a time of 25:35.38.
• Nina Garofalo ran a time of 25:39.51 in her last home meet of her varsity cross country career. Garofalo placed 40th out of 175 runners in the 6k.
• Caitlin Reilly followed Garofalo with a season-best time of 25:53.13. Reilly placed fifth for WNE and 44th overall in the women's 6k.
• WNE placed fifth in the women's 6k out of 22 scoring teams. They accumulated 158 points.

Men's 8k Race:

• First-year standout runner, Lucas Franco, ran a top-15 time all-time in program history with a career-best 27:20.14 and placed 29th. Franco led the Golden Bears on their home course on Saturday.
• Joshua Farrell followed Franco with a time of 27:59.87 for Farrell's final time running the WNE home course as a varsity cross country runner. Farrell placed 41st out of 215 runners.
• Pablo Tapion was next through the finish line for WNE. Tapion finished with a season-best time of 28:23.50 and placed 47th in the 8k.
• Gianni Santagata placed 64th with a season-best time of 29:05.33. Santagata was the fourth finisher for WNE.
• Then, John Bieszczad finished fifth for WNE and 66th overall, with a season-best time of 29:07.03 as Bieszczad finished his final run on the home course with a bang.
• The men's team placed fourth out of 19 scoring teams in their final regular-season meet.

Coach's Corner:

First-year standout Lucas Franco spoke with the Sports Information team after the meet. Franco was asked what had worked for him this year after setting his fifth best time in as many attempts. "The training has definitely been working for me so far this season. I've been putting in a lot of work. I've been pushing myself in the workouts so far and just pacing myself and trying to set goals for myself throughout the season leading up to these meets," noted Franco. Franco was also asked what he thought went well for him on the course that led to his best time. "I think I started off pretty strong. I took all the turns pretty wide. I didn't start off too slow or get myself caught up in the big crowds. I think I set myself up pretty well in the beginning, leading into the woods. Giving myself enough space to watch my footing and hold onto my speed."

Seniors Nina Garofalo and Joshua Farrell were asked about today being senior day and how they felt after their final home meet as varsity athletes at WNE. Garofalo went first, stating, "It's a little bittersweet. I've run on this course a total of five times since we hosted conference last year. Today, especially, knowing it was my last time, with the goal in mind to make my team proud. I think we had some really great races today." Farrell followed, mentioning, "It wasn't my day today in terms of the actual race. I've been fighting some calf issues, and I rolled my ankle out there, but through the tough and the pain of it, I fought through it because I was appreciating the moment that this was my final time getting to be out here with my team as a student. That was a very special moment to me, even though I couldn't get it done the way I wanted to today. It was a great experience just to run out there one last time with my teammates."

Olivia Kay was then asked to take everyone through what went right for Kay out on the course that led to a career-best time in the 6k. "It was my fourth time running on the course. We ran on it all week, so I just wanted to go out fast and strong and keep up the pace. I wanted to go strong throughout the woods and then at the 1k mark, have a strong finish. It was all about being positive today, and it worked out," Kay answered.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The teams head to the postseason after today's triumphs. They will be in action on November 1, 2025, in Wenham, Massachusetts, taking on the Conference of New England Championships. The men will run at noon, and the women at 1:00 PM.