Top Five Flashback: Men's Cross Country #4 (November 15, 2014)
Top Five Flashback
Men's Cross Country #4 - Never give up: Martin, Hughes battle back at regional meet (November 15, 2014)
NEWPORT, R.I. - To say that Salve Regina had a bad start in the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship would be an understatement. The Seahawks were boxed in – badly – off the starting line and all seven runners funneled, literally, to the back of the pack.
"It was an awful start. If you scored that race at a mile, we would have been last. Dead last," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "That's one meet where a team really pays for a tactical error off the starting line."
Sophomore Billy Martin (West Islip, N.Y.) and junior Sean Hughes (Old Saybrook, Conn.) worked to salvage the effort, moving up constantly through the first three miles. Each gained more than 100 spots through 5K, and they kept driving until they reached the middle of the pack. Then, they held on.
Martin finished 186th of 391. Hughes was 190th.
"Billy and Sean just kept pushing, looking for openings and passing as many runners as they could. They made the best of a bad situation," McGuinness said. "What's most important is that they never gave up the fight. They could have easily given up and chalked the race up to a bad day and a bad start, but they didn't. They fought to the finish."
Hughes and Martin will serve as captains in 2015.