Cross country heads to Central Connecticut for 15th annual Ted Owen Invitational

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University cross country team heads to Connecticut on Saturday for the 15th annual Ted Owen Invitational, hosted by Central Connecticut State University.

The men's run, an 8K course, will be run through Stanley Quarter Park in New Britain, Connecticut, beginning at 11 a.m. The women will follow at Noon, running a 5K race that circles Quarter Pond.

"This is our first big test of the year in terms of a high-quality meet," said Bryant cross country head coach Noah Carroll. "At the Ted Owen, there will be about 50 more athletes on the line for each race than there was for the Nassaney.

"My hope is that we go in a little tired, we run as well as we can," Carroll continued. "Maybe bait some of the other NEC teams to show us their cards before they should. We just need to learn from this weekend, we're a young team with big goals."

In Bryant's last meet, the Nassaney Invitational, saw several members finish with impressive times. Melissa Lodge (Hopkinton, Massachusetts) finished 14th in the women's race, running a 5K in 18:35.1. Jacklyn Sullivan (Plymouth, Massachusetts) and Olivia Weiss (Newton, N.J.) each also finished in under 20 minutes, with Sullivan finishing in 18:55.0 and Weiss crossing the finish line with a time of four-tenths of a second later.

On the men's side, Noah Tellier (North Kingstown, Rhode Island) finished 13th and won NEC Rookie of the Week honors for his time of 26:58.8 over an 8K course. Ryan Poholek (North Attleboro, Massachusetts) (27:03.0), Matt McGovern (Long Beach, New York) (27:18.5) and Jordan Dagrin (Providence) (27:31.6) all finished in under 28 minutes.

Last season at the Ted Owen Invitational, McGovern finished the highest of all returning Bryant men, crossing the line 30th out of 108 runners. Sullivan had the best time among returning women, finishing 43rd out of 156 finishers.