Hughes runs his fastest 8K at NCAA regional

GORHAM, Maine – Sophomore Sean Hughes (Old Saybrook, Conn.) ran his fastest 8K of the season in leading Salve Regina to a 31st place finish in the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship on Saturday. Hughes finished at 26:38.77 and placed inside the top 100 in the field of 366 runners.

Hughes ran his opening mile in 5:00 and had positioned himself around No. 100 by the time the race reached the longer loop on the Narragansett Elementary School course. He held his ground as the race progressed, steady around No. 100 to No. 105, and using his finishing kick to move up to 97th place.

The Seahawks' other scorers – freshman Billy Martin (West Islip, N.Y.), freshman Tyler Torelli (Ledyard, Conn.), sophomore Slater Roosa (Woodbury, Conn.) and freshman Jay Brennan (North Haven, Conn.) – helped lift the team to its highest regional placement since the men's cross country program was reconstituted in 2005. The Seahawks improved 10 spots over their finish in 2012, placing ahead of 19 teams. 

Martin, Brennan and Torelli ran their opening mile in 5:25, with Roosa and freshman Anthony Tandy (Hopedale, Mass.) not far behind in 5:30. As the race progressed, Martin (28:19.84) worked his way inside the top 200, while Torelli (29:00.04) held steady between No. 200 and No. 225. Roosa (29:22.27), Brennan (29:22.56) and Tandy (29:24.83) settled in around No. 250. Freshman Daniel Regan (Westford, Mass.) was the Seahawks' seventh man, finishing at 29:59.95.

Buoyed by a 2-3 finish from Colin Cotton and Chris Lee, Williams College pulled off a one-point win over Middlebury College – 77-78 – to take the regional championship. MIT (113) and Tufts (142) finished third and fourth. Michael LeDuc of Connecticut College won the individual title in 24:21.03.

Click here to view complete results from the meet.

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