Seahawks soar, place sixth at Corsair Invitational

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The Salve Regina scoring five posted sub-20:00 times for the first time as the Seahawks earned a sixth-place finish in the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday.

Sophomores Amy Irving (Bohemia, N.Y.) and Victoria Varone (Providence, R.I.) and junior Aubrey Palmquist (Bristol, Conn.) led the way for the Seahawks, crossing the finish line at 18:37, 18:56 and 19:00. Irving and Varone are the first Salve Regina runners to break 19:00 since 1994.

Freshmen Alexa Cipkas (Granby, Conn.) and Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) rounded out the scoring five, finishing at 19:42 and 19:43. Junior Jackie Ofria (Manchester, Conn.) and sophomore Taylor Ricker (Rocky Point, N.Y.) were the Seahawks' sixth and seventh at 20:01 and 20:25. Junior Rachel Gedansky (Tolland, Conn.) also represented Salve Regina in the varsity race, finishing at 20:48.

"The entire varsity lineup had some impressive performances against a high-quality, competitive field," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "It is encouraging to see so many personal- and collegiate-best performances from this group. Amy, Victoria and Aubrey put us in position to score well, and Alexa and Olivia did a stellar job at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots."

Irving and Varone found themselves inside the top 20 in the opening mile, even as the leaders set a blistering pace on the 5K grass course on the UMass Dartmouth campus. The lead pack of Allison Decker (East Stroudsburg University), Ashley Curran (Connecticut College) and Chelesa Conover (East Stroudsburg) would all go on to break 18 minutes.

East Stroudsburg University captured the team title with 93 points. SUNY New Paltz finished second with 113, followed by Connecticut College (143), Holy Cross (166) and Brandeis (180). Salve Regina was sixth with 195 points, finishing ahead of 32 scoring teams.

The Seahawks' combined five-woman team time of 1:36:00.61 is the fastest 5K mark in program history. Irving, Varone, Palmquist, Cipkas and Wilson were the first Salve Regina scoring five to break 20:00 in eclipsing the previous mark of 1:39:11 set at the Pop Crowell Invitational in 2011.

Click here for full results of the women's varsity race:
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/14/ma/Sep20_UMassD_set3.shtml

Holden, O'Rourke lead sub-varsity to fifth-place finish

Junior Shannon Holden (Hingham, Mass.) and sophomore Alannah O'Rourke (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) led the way as Salve Regina claimed a fifth-place finish in the sub varsity race at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.

Holden and O'Rourke placed inside the top 20 in the field of 172 and finished at 20:24 to lead the scoring effort for the Seahawks. Junior Joelle Ross (Simsbury, Conn.), sophomore Nicole Schafer (Manorville, N.Y.) and freshman Laura Cooper (Pearl River, N.Y.) rounded out the scoring five, crossing the finish line at 20:35, 20:40 and 20:44.

Freshman Hannah Lussier (Belchertown, Mass.) ran in the No. 6 spot, finishing at 21:18, and junior Lea Cure (Altamont, N.Y.) ran at No. 7, finishing at 21:26.

Other Salve Regina finishers included:

Sophomore Jessica Graham (Lowell, Mass.) - 21:33
Junior Tori Maxson (Old Saybrook, Conn.) - 22:31
Junior Rachel Pyne (Foxboro, Mass.) - 22:49
Sophomore Casey Devaney (Mahwah, N.J.) - 22:56
Junior Sam MacCallum (Northwood, N.H.) - 23:42.19
Junior Samantha Stratford (Littleton, N.H.) - 27:43.40

Click here for full results of the women's sub varsity race.
http://www.coolrunning.com/results/14/ma/Sep20_UMassD_set4.shtml

Salve Regina returns to action at the Pop Crowell Invitational on Sept. 27.

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Courtesy of Rob McGuinness