Seahawks cap season at regional championship meet

GORHAM, Maine – Salve Regina improved by three spots at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship on Saturday. The team, which was outside of the top 40 a year ago, moved up to No. 39.

Senior Andrew Sardelli (Hope Valley, R.I.) and sophomore Riley Rancourt (Warren, R.I.) led the scoring for the Seahawks on a bitterly cold day at Gorham Country Club. With the team's usual frontrunners slowed by illness and injury, Rancourt assumed the No. 1 job for much of the race. Sardelli moved in to the top spot in the closing mile and was the first Seahawk to cross the finish line.

Senior Dave Napierkowski (Cheshire, Conn.), sophomore Chandler Da Cruz (Middletown, R.I.) and senior Scott Brewer (Wilbraham, Mass.) rounded out the scoring for Salve Regina. Freshman Aidan Lynch (Little Silver, N.J.) and junior Dan Donnelly (Portsmouth, R.I.) also represented Salve Regina in the championship.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the team title with a team score of 81. Amherst College finished second (91) to claim the other automatic qualifying bid for the NCAA Division III Championship. Plymouth State junior Sam Brunnette won the individual championship with a time of 25:22.8.

There were 55 complete teams and more than 60 programs in the meet.

Salve Regina performances:

235. Andrew Sardelli – 29:58.2
237. Riley Rancourt – 30:00.8
259. Dave Napierkowski – 30:38.3
262. Chandler Da Cruz – 30:50.6
281. Scott Brewer – 31:17.9
286. Aidan Lynch – 31:38.2
291. Dan Donnelly – 31:48.9