MANSFIELD, Mass. - Southern Connecticut men's cross country team and Southern New Hampshire women's team were crowned East Region Champions on Saturday afternoon at the 2022 East Region Championship hosted by Adelphi University at Bethpage Polo at the Park. Both teams have won the title for the first time in their respective programs' history. The titles didn't stop there as Franklin Pierce's Wondu Summa won the men's 10K race and Southern New Hampshire's Ashley Corcoran won the women's 6K.
Southern Connecticut men's cross country won the 2022 NCAA Division II East Regional, defeating 19 other teams for its first regional title in program history. The Owls' top five runners placed in the top 17 with Jonathan Volpe leading the Owls with a third-place finish, crossing at 31:49.30. Jake Mattei finished ninth at 32:01.10, Sean Barkasy was 14th at 32:16.0, Luca Cazzaniga was 14th at 32:17.00 while William Lamburn finished 17th at 32:22.10.
Junior Wondu Summa put together a 10K time of 31:27 at Bethpage State Park, to best a 146-runner field by more than 10 seconds and become the first in program history to claim the regional crown. Summa's performance headed what was just a 65-point outing for Franklin Pierce at the NCAA Championship East Regional, hosted by Adelphi, as the Ravens matched their program best with a second-place finish in the 21-team meet.
The Penmen, the Northeast-10 Champs on November 6, win the NCAA East Regional for the first time. SNHU last qualified for the Division II Cross Country Championships in 2019. Corcoran, the reigning NE10 individual champion, completed the 6K in 21:55.4 and won the race by 14 seconds with Fransiscah Cherotich of AIC running second and her time was the sixth fastest in program history. Corcoran has run five of the top six 6K races for the Penmen. SNHU turned in personal best performances on Saturday by O'Rourke, Bradbury, Pitman and Obernesser.
The Division II Cross Country Championship will be held on December 2 at Chambers Creek Regional Park in University Place, Wash., hosted by Seattle Pacific.
WINNING TEAM RECAPS
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 13 diverse institutions serving student-athletes across 24 NCAA Division II sports. Together we build brilliant futures by embracing the journey of every student-athlete.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the NE10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
