Hughes leads Seahawks against elite field in Connecticut
WATERFORD, Conn. – Senior captain Sean Hughes (Old Saybrook, Conn.) led Salve Regina against high quality competition at the Connecticut College Invitational on Saturday, battling a field that included six teams with regional rankings.
Hughes crossed the finish line at 27:21 for his second-fastest 8K of the season. Sophomore Andrew Sardelli (Hope Valley, R.I.) also posted his second-fastest 8K of the season, running at No. 2 in 28:46.0. Senior captain Slater Roosa (Woodbury, Conn.) ran his fastest 8K of 2015 in the No. 3 spot, finishing at 29:02.0.
"Our scorers did what they could do today against a very good field. The pace, especially in the early miles, was faster than anything we've seen this season, and it required an adjustment just to keep up," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "There were still plenty of encouraging signs, especially with some of our contributors returning from illness or injury."
Sophomore Scott Brewer (Palmer, Mass.) was the fourth man for Salve Regina, finishing in a personal-best time of 29:08.5, a 10-second improvement over his previous personal record. Junior captain Jay Brennan (North Haven, Conn.) rounded out the scoring for the Seahawks at 29:15.2, while sophomores David Napierkowski (Cheshire, Conn.) and Austin Sattler (Guilford, Conn.) crossed the finish line at 29:38.7 and 29:43.4.
Additional Salve Regina finishers included:
Freshman Dan Donnelly (Portsmouth, R.I.) – 30:25.2
Junior Kevin Onofreo (Middlefield, Conn.) – 30:57.1
Sophomore Collin Travassos (Barrington, R.I.) – 31:00.4
Junior Anthony Tandy (Hopedale, Mass.) – 31:39.5
Junior Tyler Torelli (Ledyard, Conn.) – 31:55.9
Sophomore Neil Sheehan (Methuen, Mass.) – 32:13.2
Senior Matt Sinkewicz (Colchester, Conn.) – 32:46.3
Senior Daniel LaBrie (East Providence, R.I.) – 35:11.7
Senior Dean Wollenberg (Hopkinton, R.I.) – 40:37.8
Donnelly, Travassos and Sheehan all posted personal-best performances for 8K.
MIT, ranked No. 3 in New England and No. 12 in the nation in the most recent USTFCCA Division III cross country rankings, won the meet with a team score of 49. The Engineers had two scorers among the top 10 and all five among the top 15. Connecticut College finished second with 95 points.
Carleton College of Minnesota, ranked No. 8 in the Central Region, was third with 106 points, including a first-place finish by senior Hart Hornor, who crossed the line at 24:32.1. WPI, ranked No. 9 in New England, was fourth with 111 points, while SUNY-Oneonta, ranked No. 6 in the Atlantic Region, was fifth with 157.
Salve Regina finished 24th of 26 scoring teams.
The Seahawks will return to action on October 31 at the CCC Championship.
