Posted: Oct 28, 2017

Seahawks third at CCC; Wilson, Demeo earn all-conference honors

Olivia Wilson finished second overall (out of 102 runners) at her final CCC Championships. (Photo by Jen McGuinness)

BIDDEFORD, Maine – Senior Olivia Wilson (Bethel, Conn.) and junior Alex Demeo (Burlington, Mass.) led Salve Regina to a third-place finish in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Cross Country Championship on Saturday.

Wilson finished as runner-up in the field of 102 to earn a spot on the All-CCC Team. The captain ran in third for much of the 6,100-meter race before passing Sarah Mawdsley of Roger Williams University in the final 300 meters. Demeo finished tenth, earning the last spot on the all-conference team.

The Seahawks held the lead – briefly – during the opening loop of the course at Rotary Park. With Wilson, sophomore Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) and Demeo running third, sixth and seventh, and sophomore Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) and senior Alexa Cipkas (Granby, Conn.) inside the top 15, it appeared as though Salve Regina might be in position to win its first CCC championship since 2011.

But the five-time defending champions from the University of New England gained control on the second loop. Senior Emma Robidoux led the race wire-to-wire, while Amanda MacDonald and Cat Moss also finished inside the top 10. Kiera Murray and Katie Correnty finished out the scoring to give UNE a sixth consecutive conference crown. Gordon College moved into second place, capitalizing on the gap between the third and fourth Salve Regina scorers.

As the fourth and fifth Seahawks slipped outside of the top 20 as the race wore on, freshman Sydney DeCesare (Johnston, R.I.) made a charge on the second loop in an effort to salvage the team score. Normally the team's No. 6 runner, DeCesare scored in the No. 4 spot on Saturday. Lynch finished the scoring for Salve Regina. Cipkas and junior Annie Mozzer (Agawam, Mass.) held the sixth and seventh spots.

Salve Regina results, 6.1K:

2. Olivia Wilson – 24:09.5
10. Alex Demeo – 25:12.5
11. Olivia Owen – 25:17.8
21. Sydney DeCesare – 26:17.0
24. Cianna Lynch – 26:28.5
30. Alexa Cipkas – 27:04.4
36. Annie Mozzer – 27:19.0
39. Hannah Lussier – 27:30.4
45. Francesca Moore – 28:02.3
46. Kat Bruce – 28:02.5
55. Emily Riley – 28:27.3
59. Jillian LeBeau – 28:43.5
65. Aoife Duffy – 29:21.1
67. Ashley Schafer – 29:36.0
77. Rachel Sandri – 30:23.8
78. Katie Gillespie – 30:51.1
84. Mabelitza Guzman – 32:06.3

The Seahawks will finish their fall racing campaign at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship on Nov. 11. The varsity lineup of Wilson, Demeo, Owen, DeCesare, Lynch, Cipkas and Mozzer will represent Salve Regina in the meet at Gorham Country Club in Maine.