Much-improved Seahawks race at UMass Dartmouth

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Salve Regina sophomore Sean Hughes (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and freshman Billy Martin (West Islip, N.Y.) set the pace in a much-improved invitational finish at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday. The Seahawks placed 15th of 29 teams in a meet where they were 30th of 39 just a year ago.   

Hughes and Martin used a similar strategy on the 8,000-meter course, taking a measured approach to the early miles and gradually improving their position in the closing stages of the race. Hughes mounted a furious finishing kick over the final 800 meters to finish at 27:10, while Martin crossed the finish line at 27:49.  Hughes was 38th and Martin was 58th in the field of 210 runners. 

Freshman Anthony Tandy (Hopedale, Mass.), sophomore Timothy Roosa (Woodbury, Conn) and freshman Tyler Torelli (Ledyard, Conn.) ran in the third, fourth and fifth spots for Salve Regina, finishing at 28:53, 29:08 and 29:14. Senior James Weselcouch (East Haddam, Conn.), freshman Jay Brennan (North Haven, Conn.) and freshman Kevin Onofreo (Middlefield, Conn.) also represented the Seahawks in the varsity race, crossing the finish line at 29:37, 29:52 and 30:31. 

Franklin Pierce University, ranked No. 3 in the East Region in the USTFCCCA Division II cross country rankings, won the race with a team score of 57. Keene State College, ranked No. 7 in the Division III New England Region, was second with 66 points, and Wilmington University, ranked No. 5. in the Division II East Region, was third with 77. 

"This was an excellent meet in terms of the quality of the field. Look at the results. The first five teams have regional rankings. That really raises the bar for everyone else," said head coach Dave Kraszewski. "Our guys worked together on the course, which is especially important in a meet like this. Each week, we're making good progress." 

In the sub-varsity race, sophomore Ben Campbell (Carolina, R.I.) and sophomore Matt Sinkewicz (Colchester, Conn.) were the top finishers for Salve Regina, crossing the finish line at 31:29 and 31:46. Sinkewicz was more than one minute faster than his previous performance at UMass Dartmouth, a 32:56 in 2012.  

Other Salve Regina finishers included: 
Junior Jack Simpson (Lynn, Mass.) – 32:24
Freshman Matt Mascari (Bordentown, N.Y.) – 32:42
Sophomore Daniel LaBrie (East Providence, R.I.) – 34:39
Sophomore Dean Wollenberg (Hopkinton, R.I.) – 39:14
 
Click here for the results of the varsity race. 

Click here for the results of the sub-varsity race.

Salve Regina returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 5 at the Paul Short Invitational.

Courtesy of Rob McGuinness