Seahawks take titles at Blazer Classic

Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams captured the team championship at the Elms Blazer Cross Country Classic last Saturday, marking the first time in program history that both teams have won an invitational race on the same day.

Men’s cross country

The win marks the first invitational championship for the men’s cross country team since the program was reconstituted in 2005, and the first men’s cross country win of any kind since 1987.

Scott Brewer ’18 led the charge for the Seahawks, finishing second overall as one of only two men in the field to break 30 minutes on the challenging, technical 8,000-meter course. The other Seahawk scorers were Aidan Lynch ’21 (third), Andrew Sardelli ’18 (fifth), Dave Napierkowski ’18 (seventh) and Dan Donnelly ’19 (ninth).

“I’m proud of the guys. We’ve been aiming for an invitational win for a long time,” said head coach Rob McGuinness. “Our execution today was right on the mark. While a difficult course meant slower-than-normal times, we put ourselves in a position to win, and we finished the job.”

Women’s cross country

Alex Demeo ’19, Olivia Wilson ’18 and Olivia Owen ’20 finished first, second and third overall. The trio took the early lead against the field of 64 runners, splitting the first mile in 5:54 before encountering some of the more challenging terrain on the 6,000-meter course.

Demeo crossed the finish line in 25 minutes to claim her first individual collegiate win, with Wilson and Owen one and two seconds behind. Alexa Cipkas ’18 finished eighth overall, and Cianna Lynch ’19 rounded out the scoring.

“We executed very well on our race plan today. I was pleased to see our packs communicating and working together throughout the race,” McGuinness said. “Given the challenging course layout, this was not the day to expect a personal-best time. Our focus was on running for position, and we got the job done.”

Salve Regina returns to action Sept. 30 at the Tri-State Invitational in Lincoln, Rhode Island.