Posted: Aug 07, 2017

Top Five Flashback: Women's Cross Country #2

NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina University athletics resumes its summer series with a daily flashback to the top five moments of 2016-17 for each of its 19 varsity sports. Beginning with Memorial Day (Monday, May 29, 2017) and finishing with the final day of August, 95 moments (19 x 5) will be shared to relive the most exciting happenings of the most recent Seahawk season.

There is no doubt that the Connecticut College Invitational was a highlight for Salve Regina in 2016. The team finished eighth amid a loaded field that included three of the top 10 teams in New England and two ranked teams from outside the region.

A competitive finish among the region's top teams is one thing. A new program record for combined team time at 6,000 meters is another. Four of the five Seahawk scorers posted personal bests at 6K in breaking a record that had been set a year before at the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship.

Seniors Amy Irving (Bohemia, N.Y.) and Victoria Varone (Providence, R.I.) led the scoring charge, finishing inside the top 40 in the field of 250. Senior Taylor Ricker (Rocky Point, N.Y.), junior Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) and freshman Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) rounded out the scoring five. The group's aggregate time was 1:57:24.1, a 21-second improvement over the previous mark.

Amy Irving – 22:35.3
Victoria Varone – 23:10.3
Taylor Ricker – 23:41.7
Olivia Wilson – 23:49.9
Cianna Lynch – 24:06.9

"Our aggregate time records are becoming more difficult to beat," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "I thought the record set in 2015 would stand for some time, in light of the personnel and the level of performance on that day. I am glad to be wrong. This group made its mark on the all-time performance list."

Salve Regina University
Salve Regina athletics sponsors 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports for men and women. The Seahawks compete in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC - baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, field hockey, football, men's ice hockey, men's and women's lacrosse, men's and women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, women's track and field, women's volleyball), New England Hockey Conference (NEHC - women's ice hockey), New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (NEISA - sailing). Beginning in 2017-18, Salve Regina will also sponsor equestrian as a varsity sport, and adds junior varsity programs for baseball and men's lacrosse.