Varone, Ofria pace Seahawks in ECAC Championship

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Junior captain Victoria Varone (Providence, R.I.) and senior captain Jackie Ofria (Manchester, Conn.) led Salve Regina to a 17th place finish in the ECAC Division III Cross Country Championship on Saturday.

With most of the regular Seahawk scorers taking time to prepare for the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship next week, Varone and Ofria led a lineup drawn from the team's formidable "second seven" on the challenging grass-and-trail 6K layout at Mt. Greylock Regional High School.

Varone finished 58th in the field of 311 runners, crossing the finish line at 24:57.22. Ofria was not far behind, finishing 73rd in 25:13.28. Varone and Ofria were faster – by 27 seconds and 12 seconds, respectively – on Saturday than they were in their previous appearance in Williamstown in September.

"I've always been able to count on Victoria and Jackie for a consistent effort, and today they were essential in leading the scoring charge," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "Both looked strong today. This bodes well for next weekend."

Senior Joelle Ross (Simsbury, Conn.) ran at No. 3, finishing in 25:54.58 in what was likely her final race in a Salve Regina uniform. Sophomore Alexa Cipkas (Granby, Conn.) and junior Alannah O'Rourke (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring, finishing at 26:24.48 and 26:42.19.

Senior Lea Cure (Altamont, N.Y.) made a final postseason appearance for the Seahawks, crossing the finish line at 26:51.64, while sophomore Hannah Lussier (Belchertown, Mass.) ran her first postseason race, finishing at 27:15.53.

"Joelle and Lea earned one more postseason appearance, and they represented our program well today, just as they have for the last four years," McGuinness said. "And while we closed one chapter with the seniors, we opened another with Hannah Lussier's first postseason race. Hannah has the potential to be a significant contributor in the next two years, so this was valuable racing experience."

Tufts University placed all five of its scorers in the top 15, including two in the top 10, to take the title with a team score of 45. The University of New England finished second with 63 points, followed by Williams (73), Middlebury (78) and NYU (125.) There were more than 50 programs – and 46 complete teams – in the meet. UNE junior Tiana Thomas won the individual title with a time of 22:54.20.

Salve Regina will conclude the 2015 cross country campaign at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship on Nov. 14.

Results: http://coolrunning.com/results/15/ma/Nov7_ECACDi_set1.shtml