NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. (September 21, 2019) -- Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) set the pace for Salve Regina against a mix of Division I, Division II and Division III competition in the UMass Dartmouth Invitational on Saturday.

The senior captain split the first mile at 6:15, taking a conservative approach on the flat, fast course on the UMass Dartmouth campus. She picked up places over the second and third miles, en route to her fastest 5K since the fall of 2017. Owen crossed the finish line at 19:40.2 to place 42nd in the field of 263.

Junior Sydney DeCesare (Johnston, R.I.), sophomores Cate Norton (Newtown, Conn.) and Christina Moran (Oceanside, N.Y.) and senior Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) completed the scoring for Salve Regina. The Seahawks finished squarely in the middle – 19 of 37 – in team scoring.

Holy Cross placed all five of its scorers inside the top 25 to take the team title with a score of 83. Mount Holyoke (92) and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (129) finished second and third. Suffolk University senior Emily Manfra won the race, finishing at 17:51.8.

The Salve Regina finishers included:

42. Olivia Owen – 19:40.1
119. Sydney DeCesare – 21:00.6
120. Cate Norton – 21:01.2
133. Christina Moran – 21:19.8
158. Cianna Lynch – 21:45.1
162. Kat Bruce – 21:48.0
164. Emma Cote – 21:54.6
201. Paige McDade – 23:11.7

Sophomore Meredith Casey (White Plains, N.Y.) and junior Fran Moore (Old Saybrook, Conn.) led the way for the Seahawks in the sub varsity race. Casey posted a collegiate-best time for 5K and was within seconds of her personal best at that distance, finishing at 21:34.3. Moore, who ran her fastest 5K of the season, crossed the line at 21:54.5.

Salve Regina finished tenth among 16 complete teams in the sub-varsity scoring. Holy Cross also won that race, with a near-perfect score of 16. St. Anselm finished second with a score of 85. Holy Cross junior Alyson Walsh topped the field of 153 runners, finishing at 19:12.6.

The Salve Regina finishers included:

33. Meredith Casey – 21:34.3
47. Fran Moore – 21:54.5
69. Taryn Terracino – 22:48.2
72. Rachel Sandri – 22:51.3
81. Jenna French – 23:14.3
112. Kelsea Kidney – 24:48.2
123. Amanda Brosnan – 25:45.6
125. Grace Vargo-Willeford – 26:18.1
126. Katy Cassetta – 26:22.8
128. Jillian LeBeau – 26:27.1

The Seahawks return to action in the Tri-State Invitational on Oct. 5.

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(Courtesy of Rob McGuinness)