Franklin Pierce sweeps, men claim fifth-straight home event

RINDGE, N.H. (October 7, 2004) – The Franklin Pierce men and women’s cross country teams swept the 2004 Franklin Pierce Invitational held on campus this afternoon.

The Franklin Pierce men won their own event for the fifth-consecutive season, posting a team score of 36, as they claimed two of the top five spots. The Ravens outdistanced Rivier College (50 points), Landmark College (59) and Daniel Webster College (67) in the four-team event.

The Franklin Pierce women also earned a first place finish, as they took five out of the top six spots to post a team score of 16. The Lady Ravens topped River (54) and Daniel Webster (58).

Franklin Pierce senior Adam Marsh (Rutland, Mass./Wachusett Regional) earned medallist honors at the men’s event as he completed the five-mile course with a time of 32:12. Rivier’s Tim Hogan placed second with a time of 33:10, while Landmark’s Justin Carbe rounded out the top three with his time of 33:47. Tom Tollefson of Rivier and Burkett Farqaher (Marlborough, Conn./RHAM) of Franklin Pierce finished with times of 34:10 and 34:24 respectively, good for fourth and fifth place, while Edward Crellin led all Daniel Webster runners with a time of 34:50 to finish seventh.

In her first collegiate cross country meet, Franklin Pierce graduate student Anumari Ylesmaki (Vantaa, Finland) earned medallist honors in the women’s event, as she completed the 3.1-mile course in 22:21. Sophomore Michelle Frazer (Braintree, Mass./Weymouth), junior Rachel Mitchell (Shirley, Mass./Ayer) and sophomore Lisa Zizza (Quincy, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) finished with times of 25:04, 25:06 and 27:16 respectively to take second, third and fourth place for the Lady Ravens. Daniel Webster’s Stacy Haines completed the course in 27:23 to take fifth place. Kristen Morey led Rivier with a time of 29:24 for seventh overall, while the lone runner representing Landmark, Marisa Smith, finished in tenth place with a time of 29:52.

The Franklin Pierce runners return to action on Friday, October 15, when they compete in the Rivier Invitational at 4 p.m.