Posted: Nov 11, 2017

Seahawks tee up personal bests in regional championship meet

Olivia Wilson, one of five Seahawks with a personal best on Saturday in NCAA Regional Championships at Gorham, Maine (Photo by Jen McGuinness)

GORHAM, Maine – Five of seven Seahawks posted personal-best times for 6,000 meters in the NCAA Division III New England Regional Cross Country Championship at Gorham Country Club on Saturday.

Senior Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) and junior Alex Demeo (Burlington, Mass.) again led the scoring charge for Salve Regina, cruising over the fairways and cart paths to place inside the top 100 in the field of 393. Wilson crossed the finish line at 22:44.9, 31 seconds faster than her previous best. Demeo finished at 23:21.9, an improvement of 27 seconds.

Sophomore Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) and freshman Sydney DeCesare (Johnston, R.I.) continued the trend, finishing at 24:01.8 and 24:55.2. Owen dropped 29 seconds from her previous best at 6K, while DeCesare improved by 1 minute, 22 seconds. Junior Annie Mozzer (Agawam, Mass.), running in the No. 6 spot, finished at 25:30.1, an improvement of 1 minute, 23 seconds.

The scoring five combined for a team time of 2 hours and 10 seconds, an average of 24:02. The performance stands as the sixth-fastest aggregate time in team history and the second-fastest regional meet performance ever by a Salve Regina squad.

"I could not have asked much more of our team. To see so many personal-best performances in our most significant meet is a credit to the team and a validation of the work that we've done this season," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "The final score was higher than we would have liked it to be, but it was not for lack of effort."

Salve Regina placed 25th in the team scoring in the regional championship. There were 56 complete teams and more than 60 programs represented in the field.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology placed all five of its scorers in the top 20 to win the team title with a score of 58. Tufts University finished second with 92 to claim the other automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. Coast Guard freshman Kaitlyn Mooney won the individual championship with a time of 20:22.9.

Salve Regina performances:

64. Olivia Wilson – 22:44.9
99. Alex Demeo – 23:21.9
159. Olivia Owen – 24:01.8
222. Sydney DeCesare – 24:55.2
236. Cianna Lynch – 25:06.9
258. Annie Mozzer – 25:30.1
269. Alexa Cipkas – 25:37.9