Men’s Cross Country Takes Crown At Elms College Blazer Classic, Women Finish Second Overall In Successful Saturday

CHICOPEE, Mass. (September 12, 2026) – The Western New England men's cross country team picked up the victory at the Elms College Blazer Classic on Saturday afternoon, while the women's squad finished in second place overall at the event. Olivia Kay led the women with a third-place finish, while Lucas Franco led the men's squad, taking second place.

Key Highlights:

Women:

The Golden Bears women's team saw four of their own in the top-ten in Saturday's 6K race. Olivia Kay paced the squad with a third-place finish, coming away with a time of 25:34 at the event.
Lia Pouliot was right behind Kay, taking fourth place, finishing the race in 26:06.
Caitlin Reily finished the 6K event at an even 27:00, coming away with a seventh-place finish for the Blue and Gold.
Ava Bulmer clocked in at the finish line with a time of 28:07, taking tenth place overall at the event.
Fallon Lynch (11^th-place) and Kenna O'Brien (13^th-place) also raced for Western New England, helping the team come away with a second-place finish, just 13 points behind Emmanuel College, who took the victory.

Men:

The men's side saw Lucas Franco lead the way for the Blue and Gold, finishing just short of a first-place finish, coming away with second, completing the 8K race in 28:38.
Nicholas Smith picked up a third-place finish for Western New England, finishing the race in 28:58.
Five total Golden Bears were in the top ten, seeing Gianni Santagata coming away with fifth place, running in 29:54. Pablo Tapion crossed the finish line just ten seconds later, picking up sixth place overall, ending in 30:04.
Alejandro Rivera (10^th place), Jack Gibbs (11^th place), Jamie Hosier (12^th place), Kyle Cichowicz (14^th place), Travis Ryley (15^th place), Austin Vale da Serra (16^th place), Frank Kelly (21^st place), and Christian Goranson (29^th place), all contributed to the success on Saturday, leading to a first-place finish for WNE.