Posted: Oct 30, 2021

Hawks finish at top

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Roger Williams captured its first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Men's Cross Country Championship since 2014 on Saturday with all five of its scoring runners finishing in the top-15 giving the Hawks 35 points

Leading the way for the Hawks was sophomore Ryan Shea (Andover, Mass.) who finished third in today's eight-kilometer race with a time of 27:12. He was also named the CCC Rookie of the Year as the top first-year championship competitor to cross the finish line. Sophomore Alexander Kalber (Middletown, Conn.) also finished in the top-five with a fifth-place finish at 27:19. Roger Williams' three other scorers were Raffi Manzo (North Smithfield, R.I.) who finished seventh at 27:28, Ethan Boivin (Tolland, Conn.) who placed eighth at 27:33, and Luke Gillett (Wyoming, R.I.) who finished 12th at 27:56.

Junior Luke Strand (Hauppauge, N.Y.) didn't factor into the scoring, but his 14th place finish at 27:59 did earn him a spot on the All-Conference team.

Suffolk, which was competing in its first-ever CCC Championship meet, was the runner-up at this year's event with 55 points. Leading the way for the Rams was Matyas Csiki-Fejer (Manchester, Mo.) who dominated the field with a first-place time of 25:00, more than two minutes ahead of his closest competitor. As the top finisher in the event, he was named the 2021 CCC Runner of the Year. Additionally, he was voted the winner of the CCC Scholar-Athlete award following the race. Suffolk senior Nic Malm (Leominster, Mass.) finished fourth overall on Saturday with a time of 27:14, while freshman Thomas Novy (Simsbury, Conn.) finished 15th giving them both spots on the All-Conference team.

The third-place finisher in today's race was Gordon with 93 points. The Fighting Scots had two runners earn All-Conference recognition this year. They were 11th-place finisher Alexander Cravens (Woburn, Mass.) and Colin McGinn (Westford, Mass.) who placed 13th.

The University of New England earned 103 points in the championship race to take fourth place. They were led by silver medalist Tony Chase (Gorham, Maine) who finished with a time of 27:07. Sophomore Diego Fernandez (Byfield, Mass.) also earned All-Conference honors with a 10th-place finish.

Endicott and Nichols, which finished fifth and sixth respectively in today's race, each had one All-Conference honoree. Caleb Nye (Hinesburg, Vt.) finished sixth for the Gulls and Shawn Tobin (Bennington, Vt.) placed ninth for the Bison.

Wentworth and Western New England earned 186 and 204 points, respectively, to finish seventh and eighth in the championship meet.

Roger Williams head coach Sean Livingston was named the 2021 CCC Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year and Gordon was voted the winner of the Team Sportsmanship award.

TEAM SCORES

1. Roger Williams – 35
2. Suffolk – 55
3. Gordon – 93
4. University of New England – 103
5. Endicott – 130
6. Nichols – 145
7. Wentworth – 186
8. Western New England – 204
No Score – Salve Regina

INDIVIDUAL FINISHES (ALL-CONFERENCE)

1. Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk – 25:00
2. Tony Chase, University of New England – 27:07
3. Ryan Shea, Roger Williams – 27:12
4. Nic Malm, Suffolk – 27:14
5. Alexander Kalber, Roger Williams – 27:19
6. Caleb Nye, Endicott – 27:24
7. Raffi Manzo, Roger Williams – 27:28
8. Ethan Boivin, Roger Williams – 27:33
9. Shawn Tobin, Nichols – 27:36
10. Diego Fernandez, University of New England – 27:36
11. Alexander Cravens, Gordon – 27:49
12. Luke Gillett, Roger Williams – 27:56
13. Colin McGinn, Gordon – 27:58
14. Luke Strand, Roger Williams – 27:59
15. Thomas Novy, Suffolk – 28:02

MAJOR AWARDS

Runner of the Year/CCC Scholar-Athlete – Matyas Csiki-Fejer, Suffolk
Rookie of the Year – Ryan Shea, Roger Williams
Coach of the Year – Sean Livingston, Roger Williams
Team Sportsmanship – Gordon