Win at Blazer Classic starts with 1-2-3

CHICOPEE, Mass. – Junior Alex Demeo (Burlington, Mass.), senior Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) and sophomore Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) finished first, second and third overall to lead Salve Regina to the team title at the Elms Blazer Cross Country Classic on Saturday.

The Seahawk trio took the early lead against the field of 64 runners, splitting the first mile in 5:54 before encountering some of the more challenging terrain on the 6,000-meter course at Chicopee Memorial State Park. While their pace slowed over the narrower and more technical sections of the course, they never lost ground to their next closest competitors.

Demeo crossed the finish line at 25:00 to claim her first individual collegiate win. Wilson and Owen were one and two seconds behind. Senior Alexa Cipkas (Granby, Conn.) ran in the No. 4 spot, finishing eighth overall, and sophomore Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) rounded out the scoring. Freshman Sydney DeCesare (Johnston, R.I.) and junior Annie Mozzer (Agawam, Mass.) ran at No. 6 and No. 7 for the Seahawks.

"We executed very well on our race plan today. I was pleased to see our packs communicating and working together throughout the race," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "Given the challenging course layout, this was not the day to expect a personal-best time. Our focus was on running for position, and we got the job done."

The Seahawks finished with a team score of 27. Hampshire College finished second with 64 points, and Western New England University was third with 69. There nine complete teams in the field.

The meet marked Salve Regina's first appearance at Elms since 2011, when the Seahawks had a similar result. That day, Salve Regina placed four runners in the top 10 and captured the team title on a 5,000-meter version of the course at Chicopee Memorial State Park.

Saturday also marked the first time in program history that both sets of Salve Regina harriers won their races in an invitational. The men's team claimed their team title with a score of 26.

Salve Regina results, 6K

1. Alex Demeo – 25:00
2. Olivia Wilson – 25:01
3. Olivia Owen – 25:02
8. Alexa Cipkas – 25:55
13. Cianna Lynch – 26:58
15. Sydney DeCesare – 27:07
18. Annie Mozzer – 27:24
19. Kat Bruce – 27:28
21. Francesca Moore – 27:48
26. Ashley Schafer – 28:46
27. Emily Riley – 29:30
28. Jillian LeBeau – 29:31
37. Aoife Duffy – 31:02
46. Katie Gillespie – 34:19

Salve Regina returns to action on Sept. 30 at the Tri-State Invitational in Lincoln, R.I.