Westborough’s Wilfert scores college cross-country win

The former Westborough High cross-country, indoor and outdoor track captain recently recorded the first cross-country victory of her college career in the season-opening Trinity Invitational in Hartford.

The junior completed the 4-kilometer course in 15:56, 16 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

Wilfert’s effort resulted in her selection as the New England Small College Athletic Conference Performer of the Week in women’s cross-country.

As a sophomore, she finished 48th in a field of 279 runners at the NCAA cross-country nationals.

A Central Massachusetts district champion in cross-country at Westborough High, Wilfert was originally recruited as a distance runner, and competed in the mile and 1,000 meters as a Tufts freshman after a rocky start for the Medford school’s cross-country squad.

“Amy actually dropped out of her first college race at Trinity after not being able to train after her senior year of high school,’’ said Tufts coach Kristen Morwick. “She’s come a long way since then, winning the same race two years later. With her classmate, Steph McNamara, out with an injury, Amy’s our No. 1 runner and she’s taken on the challenge very well so far.’’

Also finishing the Sept. 12 Trinity Invitational for Tufts, which was second among seven teams, were sophomores Anya Price of Natick (8th, 17:09) and Callie McHugh of Arlington (57th, 18:43). Tufts will compete Saturday at the Connecticut College Invitational.

Local players lift Harvard soccer

Sophomore midfielder/forward Ben Tsuda of Shrewsbury and freshman midfielder Scott Prozeller of Sudbury have cracked the starting lineup for the Harvard University men’s soccer team that was off to a 5-0 start and was 12th nationally in the NCAA Division 1 rankings.

Prozeller, a U18 national team member who was a team captain at the Noble & Greenough School, kicked the game-winning goal against Boston College, and also had notched an assist with five shots on goal overall going into yesterday’s game at the University of New Hampshire.

Tsuda, was a team captain and MVP at Shrewsbury High, where he led the boys’ soccer team to its best record in 30 years as a senior.

“Hopefully, a year from now, both Scott and Ben will be combining in the midfield together,’’ said Harvard head coach Jamie Clark. “Scott has all sorts of international experience and, when healthy, he’s a 90-minute player. He’s played both left back and center midfield and he’s incredibly steady and tough. Ben was a walk-on last year and he’s exceeded all expectations. He’s giving us 55-65 minutes a game and he’s a very creative player.’’

Higgins joins Vana at USGA team event

Bellingham resident Brian Higgins entered this week’s USGA Men’s State Team Championship at the Country Club of St. Albans in St. Louis on a high. Last year’s Massachusetts Golf Association Player of the Year, Higgins won his second consecutive Massachusetts Mid-Amateur Championship by a tournament-record 12 strokes last week at Haverhill Country Club.

“It was by far my best collective three days of golf I have ever played in my life,’’ said Higgins, who shot a 196 over three days, averaging 65.3 strokes per round, and was the only player to break par every day. “It was fun. I felt like I wasn’t going to make any mistakes.’’

The Franklin Country Club member is joined on the Massachusetts squad by team captain Frank Vana Jr., out of the Marlborough Country Club, competing in the state team tourney for the eighth straight time, and John Hadges of Thorny Lea Golf Club in Brockton. The biennial event concludes tomorrow.

McNamara kicks 3 against New Haven

Bentley University senior place-kicker Tyler McNamara of Medway tied a single-game program record Saturday with three field goals (22, 25 and 26 yards) in the Falcons’ 23-15 victory at the University of New Haven. Bentley puts its 4-0 record on the line tomorrow at 7 p.m. against visiting American International, the defending Northeast-10 Conference champion.

“He doesn’t make them all, most kickers are going to miss every now and then, but he has a great leg,’’ said Bentley head coach Thom Boerman. And he trusts the veteran kicker for knowing his range, based on the conditions that day. “I go up to him every game and say, ‘What have you got? Where’s the yard line . . . that we’ve got a good shot at a field goal?’ ’’

Last weekend’s game was the eighth time Bentley kickers have hit three field goals, and the second time for McNamara, who managed the feat two seasons ago against Assumption.

He is 4 for 5 this season and 32 for 47 over his career at the Waltham school. He has also converted 79 of 84 career extra-point attempts.

Marvin Pave can be reached at 508-820-4223 or marvin.pave@rcn.com.