WALTHAM, Mass. – Franklin Park will be the course when the Bentley University cross country teams make their 2022 debut in the Suffolk University Short Course Invitational.

The 3,000-meter women's race is slated for an 11:30 am start and the 5,000-meter men's race will follow at 12:15 pm.

The men's team returns four of last year's top five and projects to be much improved from 2021 when they were ninth in the Northeast-10 Championships and 14^th in the NCAA Division II East Regional.

At the top of the list is sophomore Sam Capobianco (North Reading/Phillips Andover Acad.), who was the team's first or second finisher in each race as a freshman. He placed 39^th in the NE10 and 54^th in the East Regional.

Senior Nick Ondr (Ozark, Mo./Glendale HS) was Bentley's best in the two championship meets, crossing the line 23^rd in the NE10's and 29^th in the regional.

Others to watch include senior co-captains Brian Tolan (Abington/Abington HS) and Jack Deehan (Westwood/Westwood HS). Juniors Finn Power (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme HS) and Cole Duval (Tolland/Mount Everett HS) could also be among the top seven for coach Kevin Curtin.

The women's team projects to be led by sophomore Caitlin Burmester (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Dublin HS) and senior captain Audrey Christo (Belmont/Belmont HS). Burmester was Bentley's top finisher in all five meets last fall and Christo, after a pair of lost seasons, will be looking to return to the form she displayed as a freshman in 2019.

Bentley's top five could also include senior Anna Jones (Ipswich/Ipswich HS) and sophomore Brooke Neri (Westbrook, Conn./Westbrook HS).

The other meet for the Falcons in September is on the 24^th, the Central Connecticut State-hosted Ted Owens Invitational.