Hughes leads men's cross country to its best finish

BIDDEFORD, Maine – Sophomore Sean Hughes (Old Saybrook, Conn.) finished fifth overall to lead Salve Regina to third place in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship on Saturday.

The Seahawks posted a team score of 100 to place behind Roger Williams (22) and the University of New England (60). The third-place finish is the best since the men's cross country program was reconstituted in 2005, and improves on a fourth-place finish in 2012.

Hughes made some well-timed moves to earn a spot on the all-conference team for the second consecutive year. With the lead pack bunched together on the first, short loop around Rotary Park, Hughes sat in tenth place as the race unfolded. On the final 3,000-meter loop, Hughes picked up the pace and picked off several opponents. He finished in 26:53.4, his fastest 8K of the season.

Four freshmen – Billy Martin (West Islip, N.Y.), Anthony Tandy (Hopedale, Mass.), Tyler Torelli (Ledyard, Conn.) and Daniel Regan (Westford, Mass.) – handled the rest of the scoring for Salve Regina, with all finishing under 29:45. Martin finished 18th in 28:28, while Tandy (29:01), Torelli (29:18) and Regan (29:42) all placed inside the top 50.  Freshman Jay Brennan (North Haven, Conn.) and sophomore Slater Roosa (Woodbury, Conn.) were the Seahawks' sixth and seventh runners, crossing the finish line in 29:52 and 30:02.

Other Salve Regina finishers included:

Freshman Kevin Onofreo (Middlefield, Conn.) – 30:49
Senior James Weselcouch (East Haddam, Conn.) – 30:55
Sophomore Ben Campbell (Carolina, R.I.) – 32:06
Sophomore Matt Sinkewicz (Colchester, Conn.) – 32:09
Junior Jack Simpson (Lynn, Mass.) – 32:18
Freshman Matt Mascari (Bordentown, N.Y.) – 33:40
Sophomore Dean Wollenberg (Hopkinton, R.I.) – 37:05
Sophomore Dan LaBrie (East Providence, R.I.) – 38:30

The Seahawks return to action on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the ECAC Division III Championships at Colt State Park in Bristol, R.I.

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Courtesy of Rob McGuinness