Sardelli, Rancourt set pace at ECAC Championships
MILTON, N.Y. – Junior captain Andrew Sardelli (Hope Valley, R.I.) and freshman Riley Rancourt (Warren, R.I.) led Salve Regina to a 14th place finish among 20 teams in the ECAC Division III Cross Country Championship on Saturday.
Sardelli and Rancourt worked together through the opening miles of the challenging 8K course at the Hudson Valley Sports Dome, splitting the first mile around 5:40 and 5K at 17:45. The two held steady throughout the race and finished inside the top half of the field of 113 runners."
Andrew and Riley worked very well together on a challenging course," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "We knew that the focus of this race would be on placement and tactics, and they executed well."
Freshman Chandler Da Cruz (Middletown, R.I.) ran in the No. 3 spot for the Seahawks, with junior Neil Sheehan (Methuen, Mass.) and senior Kevin Onofreo (Middlefield, Conn.) rounding out the scoring. Freshman Brendan Kelly (Lynbrook, N.Y.) also represented the Seahawks in the race.
"Chandler and Neil gained some valuable postseason experience, and I'm pleased to see them make the most of this opportunity to race," McGuinness said. "We had three freshman among our six entrants today, and they're going to play an essential role in the future of our team."
New York University placed its five scorers inside the top 15 to win the team title with a score of 35. The United States Merchant Marine Academy finished second with 62, and the Stevens Institute of Technology was third with 127. Castleton University junior Grandon Smith won the individual championship with a time of 27:07.6.
Salve Regina performances:
46. Andrew Sardelli – 30:05.6
52. Riley Rancourt – 30:22.0
70. Chandler Da Cruz – 31:12.3
83. Neil Sheehan – 31:56.6
86. Kevin Onofreo – 32:16.4
91. Brendan Kelly – 34:15.4
The Seahawks will return to action on Saturday at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship at Westfield State University.
Results: http://www.ecacsports.com/documents/2016/11/5//D3_ECAC_Men_s_Results.pdf?id=733
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Courtesy of Rob McGuinness
