Three Seahawk runners earn conference honors
Pictured from left: Brett Jutras ’20, Cianna Lynch ’20 and Victoria Varone ’17. Photos by Jen McGuinness.
Congratulations to the following Seahawk runners, who recently received honors from the Commonwealth Coast Conference:
Men’s cross country: Brett Jutras ’20
Jutras was the top Seahawk finisher in the Tri-State Invitational, earning him rookie of the week honors. He was one of only 13 men in the field of 76 to break 30 minutes on the 8K course, moving well in spite of wet, muddy conditions on the trails.
“Brett had an opportunity to move into a leading role for us at CCRI, with our usual No. 1 and No. 2 runners out of action for the week,” said head coach Rob McGuinness. “He took full advantage and put himself in an excellent competitive position. I was pleased to see him maintain his effort, especially when course conditions were not ideal. It would have been easy to fall of the pace, and he didn’t. He just kept fighting, and it paid off.”
Women’s cross country: Victoria Varone ’17 and Cianna Lynch ’20
Varone was named runner of the week for the fourth time this season after winning the Tri-State Invitational and leading the Seahawks to the team championship. She completed the 5,080-meter course in 20:21.94, maintaining a commanding lead in spite of wet and muddy conditions at the Community College of Rhode Island.
“Victoria did a great job of setting the tone in this race,” McGuinness said. “She took control almost immediately, pushed the pace to separate herself from the field and never looked back. That’s what I’d expect of someone with her experience. The fact that this was the first win of her cross country career – in her last cross country season – made it a great day. She earned it.”
Lynch was named rookie of the week after finishing second in the field of 68 at the Tri-State Invitational, completing the course in 20:52.64 and running in the No. 2 spot for Salve Regina for the second consecutive meet.
“Cianna continues to impress as she carves out a role as one of our varsity regulars,” McGuinness said. “She paced herself well relative to Victoria, who held the overall lead, and she held steady throughout the race. I was encouraged to see Cianna less concerned with the clock and more focused on maintaining her intensity.”
The men’s and women’s cross country teams return to action at the Connecticut College Invitational in Waterford, Connecticut, on Saturday, Oct. 15.
