By Chris Judd, News Correspondent

Under the direction of a new coaching staff, the men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the season with second and 14th place finishes, respectively, at the Nassaney Invitational hosted by Bryant University on Saturday.

The men beat Bryant by 30 points, but lost to Boston University (BU) by nine points. Sophomore Stephen Sollowin and freshman Wesley Gallagher both earned top ten finishes in the race. The women’s cross country team lost to Bryant 45-16 and lost to BU 43-16.

“I was really excited about our team’s performance,” Catherine Erickson, director of track and field and cross country, said. “I’m excited that our top three finishes were by sophomores and freshmen because it’s good for the future of our program.”

Sollowin, the Colonial Athletic Association Runner of the Week, finished third in the 8k with a time of 25:45.00, while Gallagher posted a time of 25:46.20 to earn a fourth place finish. Zachary Fraeilli finished third with for Northeastern and 16th overall with a time of 26:36.00.

In women’s cross country, junior Danielle Klein led Northeastern with a time of 19:51.20 in the 5k, for 54th place. Freshman Nolene Power finished second for Northeastern with a time of 20:48.90, and Jocelyn Hubbard was third for Northeastern with a time of 20:55.60.

“This is the first top five finish I’ve had in cross country,” Sollowin said. “I had no idea during the race since I started slow and was steadily improving but I had no idea I was close to finishing in the top ten, and I was surprised that I did so well in my first race of the season. Now, our coach is having us work on training, so I should be prepared for the next meet.”

Erickson recently replaced former head coach Sherman Hart after he retired in May. Erickson, who was previously an associate head coach at Harvard University for five years, has mentored 33 NCAA qualifiers and 13 NCAA and USA Track and Field All-Americans in her coaching career. She was also heavily involved in recruiting athletes at Harvard and helped bring in the No. 5 men’s recruiting class in 2011-2012.

“It’s been a great transition,” Erickson said. “The athletes have been gracious, and they have great spirit. I am really excited to get to know everyone’s potential. I want to finish this season strong, and we still have a lot to learn, but we started off well this weekend.”

The Huskies will return to the trails and lace up their shoes September 22 at the Ted Owen Invitational in New Bintain, Conn.