Women finish second in opening race

NASHUA, N.H. (September 16, 2005) – The Franklin Pierce University men's and women's cross country teams participated in the 2005 Daniel Webster Invitational, hosted by Daniel Webster College, this afternoon. Overall, the women finished in second place, while the men did not qualify. Suffolk University emerged as the team champion on the women’s side of the meet.

Franklin Pierce had two competitors finish in the top ten of the race. The top finisher for Franklin Pierce on the women’s side was junior Michelle Frazer (Braintree, Mass./Weymouth), who placed fourth with her time of 22:29. Freshman Courtney Garrity (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) finished sixth overall with a time of 23:17 in her first collegiate race.

The top performer on the men's team was junior Burket Farquhar (Marlborough, Conn./RHAM) finishing fourth with a time of 27:21. Also finishing in the top ten was sophomore Thomas Merkt (Enfield, Conn./Cathedral), who finished ninth with a time of 28:19.

The teams participate next in the Pop Crowell Invitational hosted by Gorden College on September 24 with the women's race starting at 10:30 a.m. and the men's race starting at 11:30 a.m.