Westfield, Mass. – In field of 40 teams and more than 400 runners, Clark University had a pair of top 50 finishes to lead the Cougars to a 14th place finish at the James Earley Invitational hosted by Westfield State at Stanley State Park on Saturday afternoon.

Junior Nathan Buck (Portland, Maine) crossed the finish line first for Clark, completing the 8K layout in 27:27.

Right behind him was freshman John Allard (Smithfield, R.I.) who continues to impress. Allard wrapped up the course in 27:41, good for 43rd place – the seventh-best time of any freshman on the course.

Graduate student Joe Kennelly (New Windsor, N.Y.) was the next Clark runner to finish, ending the race in 72nd place with a time of 28:14.

Robert Gammell (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and Will Walker (Falmouth, Maine) closed out the scoring contingent for the Cougars, posting times of 29:51 and 30:47 to finish in 137th and 168th places, respectively.

Clark will be back in action on Saturday when they take part in the Western New England Invitational.