Seahawks look for improvement in CCC Championships
Summary: Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's cross country championships
Event date, time and site: Sat., Oct. 31, 2015; 1 p.m. at Colt State Park (Bristol, R.I.)
Directions: http://bit.ly/1PPZOyQ
Free shuttle from campus: Salve Regina provides free transportation to Colt State Park for students with ID; Ocean State Transit bus departs Rodgers Recreation Center at 11 a.m., and returns at 2:30 p.m.
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NEWPORT, R.I. – The Salve Regina men's cross country team carried a lot of unfinished business into this season. After struggling to a seventh-place finish in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship last fall, the team knew it had work to do in 2015.
With months of training and racing behind them and this year's edition of the conference championship meet on the horizon, the Seahawks will soon find out where they stand. The 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship is set for Saturday at Colt State Park in Bristol.
Senior captain Sean Hughes (Old Saybrook, Conn.) battled injuries during the second half of the 2014 campaign but has regained his old form this fall, running at No. 1 in all six invitational meets and setting a positive tone in workouts.
"Sean leads this team, day in and day out, on the course and off. There's no better example of a captain. With him, it's a personal investment in the program," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "Sean challenges his teammates and refuses to let them give anything less than their best. The energy at practice has been incredible."
The Seahawks have seen significant varsity contributions from sophomore Andrew Sardelli (Hope Valley, R.I.) and freshman Tyler Lancaster (Warwick, R.I.). Sardelli's 8K performances have improved by 45 seconds or more as he assumed the No. 2 role on the team, while Lancaster has been consistent in his first college season.
"Andrew has been outstanding this fall. He was often among the top seven as a freshman, but he made a dramatic improvement this year, dropping 60 seconds at UMass-Dartmouth, almost a full minute at Williams and more than a minute at CCRI," McGuinness said. "The best part about Andrew and Tyler is that they're still getting better. This season has been a step in the right direction for both of them."
Salve Regina will look for scoring from senior captain Slater Roosa (Woodbury, Conn.), junior captains Billy Martin (West Islip, N.Y.) and Jay Brennan (North Haven, Conn.), and sophomores Austin Sattler (Guilford, Conn.), Dave Napierkowski (Chester, Conn.) and Scott Brewer (Palmer, Mass.). Sophomore John Lutz (Ringwood, N.J.), junior Kevin Onofreo (Middlefield, Conn.) and freshman Dan Donnelly (Portsmouth, R.I.) could also factor into the lineup.
"We've developed a solid core of contributors, and I don't think we've seen everyone at their best just yet. We just need to close the gap between Sean, Andrew and Tyler and our fourth and fifth men," McGuinness said. "If we can do that, we'll fare far better against the rest of the CCC."
The Wentworth Institute of Technology and the University of New England will vie to unseat Roger Williams University, the 14-time defending conference champion. The Leopards boast a trio of sophomores – Dan McSolla, Patrick Hopkins and Alex Robbins – who pack a formidable scoring punch, while UNE is led by senior CJ Vallie and junior Paul Mangiafico. The Leopards and the Nor'easters tied for the title at the Pop Crowell Invitational on Sept. 26. Wentworth has since claimed two invitational titles of its own.
Seniors Chris Busby and Doug Sasso and sophomore Luke Emby lead the pack for Roger Williams. Salve Regina and Roger Williams have raced four times this season, at Roger Williams, UMass-Dartmouth, CCRI and Connecticut College, though neither team entered its full lineup in all four meetings. Salve Regina nipped Roger Williams at UMass-Dartmouth, but the Hawks claimed a victory in the more recent meet at Connecticut College.
Gordon College, Endicott College and Western England University all figure prominently in the team scoring. Star sophomore Damon Kilgore leads the Scots of Gordon College. A four-time CCC Runner of the Week this fall, Kilgore is the likely favorite for the individual title.
A sophomore – Zach Marshall – also leads the way at Endicott, with freshmen Austin Landry and Patrick Finocchario also contributing. Sophomore Jonathan Ricciardi leads Western New England, with Chris Goymer, Adrian Barber and Justin Zorn also among the varsity regulars.
"Having so many teams that are evenly matched will make for an incredibly competitive race," McGuinness said. "Projecting the team scoring is difficult. It'll be a dogfight for the title, and for every team score down to sixth or seventh place. We have our entire lineup healthy and prepared, and we're ready to go."
The 8,000-meter men's championship race starts at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
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Courtesy of Rob McGuinness
