Seahawks open with win at Colt State Park

BRISTOL, R.I. – Junior Alex Demeo (Burlington, Mass.), sophomore Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) and senior Alexa Cipkas (Granby, Conn.) placed among the top 10 to lead Salve Regina to victory in the Roger Williams Invitational on Saturday.

Demeo, Owen and Cipkas finished third, fifth and seventh in the two-mile race at Colt State Park. Demeo and Owen battled with the leaders and each briefly held the outright lead before Suffolk University sophomores Emily Manfra and Emma Weisse took control in the closing mile. Manfra and Weisse finished 1-2 overall. Manfra crossed the finish line at 12:38 to claim the individual title.

Sophomore Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) and freshman Kat Bruce (Dalton, Mass.) rounded out the scoring for Salve Regina. Junior Ashley Schafer (Manorville, N.Y.) and freshman Fran Moore (Old Saybrook, Conn.) ran at No. 6 and No. 7.

The Seahawks took the team title with a score of 70. Roger Williams finished second with 75.

"Alex, Liv and Alexa did an outstanding job for us today. They put themselves in a competitive position from the start, and put our team in a position to win. I could not have asked for much more from them," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "I was encouraged, too, to see Kat and Fran running among our top seven. They will only get better as the season goes on."

Salve Regina's performances included:

3. Alex Demeo – 12:45
5. Olivia Owen – 12:48
7. Alexa Cipkas – 12:51
23. Cianna Lynch – 13:30
34. Kat Bruce – 13:58
41. Ashley Schafer – 14:07
42. Francesca Moore – 14:08
44. Annie Mozzer – 14:10
47. Sydney DeCesare – 14:15
55. Hannah Lussier – 14:23
61. Rachel Sandri – 14:34
66. Molly Kittler – 15:00
71. Jillian LeBeau – 15:17
80. Katie Gillespie – 16:06

There were 98 runners, nine complete teams and one incomplete team in the field.

The Seahawks return to racing action on Sept. 16 at the UMass Dartmouth Invitational.