Hopkinton, NH - The Vermont State University Lyndon men's cross country team returned to competition for the first time in over a month on Friday afternoon, battling 13 other teams at the Hopkinton Cross Country Festival, hosted by New England College.  Fielding a team of all first-time racers, the Hornets finished 10th out of 11 scoring teams.  NCAA Division II Franklin Pierce University captured the team championship, while Albert Ferreras of the University of Massachusetts Boston took individual honors, completing the 8K course in 26:04.6.

Sophomore Luke Senecal-Lamothe (Benson, VT) was the first Lyndon runner to cross the finish line, finishing with a time of 38:29.6, good for 79th place overall and 56th place among scoring runners.  He was followed close behind by Sean Dunton (Quechee, VT) in 39:52.4 and Jeren Harrison (Charlotte, NC) in 40:32.0.  Travis Graf (Manchester, NH), Austin Bigelow (East Hampton, CT), and Griffin Lawson (Lunenburg, VT) were the other scoring runners for the Hornets.

Lyndon head cross country coach Chris Chichester was pleasantly surprised by his inexperienced team's performance.  "Today was everyone's first race at the 8k distance and all exceeded their own expectations.  Luke was locked in the entire race, he paced himself really well.  He and Sean's sub-40 minute finishes placed well for us and led a competitive group of athletes today."

The Hornets will look to continue building toward the North Atlantic Conference Championship on October 31st at the University of Maine at Farmington.