SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 17, 2026) – The Western New England men's and women's cross country teams raced in their final tune up events ahead of the Conference of New England Championships in two weekends, racing a home meet this morning, seeing the men's squad take third place, while the women came in fourth. 

Top Performers (Men):

• Lucas Franco topped the Golden Bears on the men's side, racing a 27:13.2, taking ninth place overall in the event. 
• Nicholas Smith was right behind Franco, taking 13^th place overall in the race, coming away with a time of 27:45.0.
• Pablo Tapion improved his personal best for the third week in a row, crossing the finish line in 28:09.5, which is 12 seconds faster than his race from last week at Westfield State. Tapion took 21^st overall in today's WNEU Invitational.
• Gianni Santagata took 36^th place for the Golden Bears on Saturday, crossing the finish line in 28:51.1.
• Christian Goranson came away with a new career-best for Western New England, picking up a time of 32:54.4.

Top Performers (Women):

• For the first time this season the Golden Bears were led Caitlin Reilly, who bested her career best 6K race time by nearly 25 full seconds on Saturday, finishing in 14^th place for Western New England in a time of 24:29.2.
• Lia Pouliot crossed the finish line in 18^th place for the Golden Bears in 24:41, her top 6K time of the season. 
• Olivia Kay crossed right behind Pouliot, taking 19^th place overall, picking up a time of 24:42.2 in the race.
• Fallon Lynch had an impressive run for Western New England on the day, crossing the finish line in 25^th place in a time of 24:56, just three seconds off her personal best, but a best run for the season. 
• Kenna O'Brien bested her previous 6K time by 24 seconds on Saturday morning, racing in 26:32.4, taking 53^rdplace. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears head to the Conference of New England Championships on Saturday, October 31 at Keney Park, hosted by the University of Hartford. Race starts for the women will be 12:00 PM, followed by a 1:00 PM start on the men's side.