Championship Preview: Seahawks set for conference showdown
NEWPORT, R.I. (November 1, 2019) – There is team history in the trails at Colt State Park in Bristol. From the program's lone conference championship in 2011 and individual and team-time records in 2015, to invitational victories in 2017 and 2018, the course has hosted many memorable moments for Salve Regina.
Olivia Owen (Weymouth, Mass.) and her teammates have a chance to add to that record of success on Saturday, when the Seahawks run in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Cross Country Championship.
Owen, who finished fourth in the conference championship as a junior, is again the team's top runner this fall. The senior captain is having one of the best seasons of her cross country career, earning an individual victory at the Battle of the North Shore and matching her personal best for 5,000 meters in the James Earley Invitational at Westfield State.
The team's top harrier is backed by two sophomores, Cate Norton (Sandy Hook, Conn.) and Christina Moran (Oceanside, N.Y.), who are also racing at their peak. Both were fixtures in the scoring lineup last fall, with Moran earning a spot on the all-conference team. Both managed personal bests at Westfield State, with Norton breaking 20:00 for the first time in her career.
Sydney DeCesare (Johnston, R.I), another mainstay among the varsity regulars, has run at No. 4 or No. 5 for much of the fall campaign. The junior captain also raced to a career-best time for 5,000 meters at Westfield State.
Six other Seahawks have held a varsity spot this fall, and any of them could figure into the scoring on Saturday. Freshmen Emma Cote (Milford, Conn.) and Paige McDade (Rockaway Beach, N.Y.), Sophomore Meredith Casey (White Plains, N.Y.), juniors Kat Bruce (Dalton, Mass.) and Fran Moore (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and senior Cianna Lynch (Cranston, R.I.) have all spent time in the top seven.
"Our recent race results have been promising. The team looked strong at CCRI, and we were even better at Westfield State," said head coach Rob McGuinness. "We are trending in the right direction. I am confident that we will bring our best effort to the conference championship."
The Seahawks – and the rest of the conference – face a challenge in the seven-time defending conference champions from the University of New England. The Nor'easters have six consistent – and often, interchangeable – varsity regulars. Seniors Cat Moss, Katie Corenty and Phoiphailin Young, juniors Jasmine Syed and Hope Saucier and sophomore Danielle Jewell could all vie for a spot on the all-conference team.
The strength, for UNE, has been in its pack. In a decisive win at the Pop Crowell Invitational in September, the team had a 45-second spread from No. 1 to No. 5. The team's first four runners were just nine seconds apart. The Nor'easters had a 30-second spread at the State of Maine Championship, and a 60-second spread at the Western New England Invitational.
"They're the team to beat," McGuinness said. "UNE is a team that executes very well on race day. They run in a pack. They communicate. They have the success to show for it. Any team that wants the conference championship is going to have to take it from them."
One team looking to do just that is Roger Williams University. The Hawks, who have outpaced the Seahawks in both of their meetings this fall, are led by senior Sarah Mawdsley and juniors Siobhan Mitchell and Grace Depalma. Freshman Leah Whearty, sophomore Amanda Naylor and junior Morgan Harrington are also among the regular contributors for the team from Bristol.
"Sarah Mawdsley is one of the most accomplished runners in the CCC. I am sure she will be in contention on Saturday," McGuinness said of the Hawks' No. 1 runner, who finished second in the conference meet last fall. "Sean Livingston's teams are always very well coached, and his lineup looks particularly strong this fall."
Endicott will be in the competitive mix as well. Sophomore Holly Fossa and senior Laura Pomeroy lead the Gulls, who nipped the Seahawks in two meetings at the beginning of the season. Endicott handed Salve Regina a two-point loss in dual-meet scoring on Aug. 31, and a three-point loss in invitational scoring a week later.
Bridget Hill of Gordon, Brooke Townsend of Western New England, Elise Pond of Nichols and Haley Covillion of Curry are also among the top individuals in the CCC. The top 15 finishers in the championship meet will earn a spot on the All-Commonwealth Coast Conference Team.
The women race at 10 a.m. on Saturday. The championship distance is 6,000 meters.
