Team Recaps Courtesy Southern Connecticut State Athletics
HOPKINGTON, N.H. – Southern Connecticut men's cross country won its second-straight NCAA Division II East Regional as they placed five student-athletes in the top 11 to defeat Roberts Wesleyan, 32-42. Southern led at each marker but led Roberts Wesleyan and Franklin Pierce for the duration of the race.
Jonathan Volpe, Sean Barkasy, William Lamburn, Jeremy Rivera and Owen Gagne filled in the top 11 finishes while Sophonias Dires and Luca Cazzaniga also finished in the top 25 to earn All-Region honors.
Volpe's second-place finish tops his third-place run from a year ago, while his 30:53.93 is a career-best, topping his time of 31.49.30 from las season. This is his third-straight top 10 finish and all-region honor. Volpe also finished in second place at the Northeast-10 Conference Championships.
Barkasy, last season's NE10 Rookie of the Year, finished fifth with a time of 31:13.93, besting his time from the 2022 regional of 32:16.1 when he placed 14th. Barkasy was in the top 5 at each marker and earned his second-consecutive all-region recognition. Lamburn finished in seventh place at 31:19.86. Lamburn dropped to 12th at the 4K marker but surged up to the top 10 to finish. Last season he posted a time of 32:22.1 for 17th place, and earned his second-straight all-region crown.
Rivera was close behind at 31:22.99 for eighth place. Rivera was in second place at the 4K marker, but never left the top 10 for the entire race. Gagne finished in 11th place with a career-best 31:34.25, improving on his time of 32.26.0 from 2022, to earn his second-straight all-region medal.
Dires and Cazzaniga also posted top 25 finishes. Dires posted a career-best 32:14.92, improving on his time of 32:48.3 last year, and he also earns his second-straight all-region honors. Dires also finished 27th in 2021. Cazzaniga was 24th at 32:21.48 for his second all-region honor in as many years.
Southern will prepare for the NCAA Division II National Championship hosted by Missouri Southern State University on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo.
HOPKINGTON, N.H. – Southern Connecticut women's cross country won the 2023 NCAA Division II East Regional, capturing its first title in program history. The Owls placed five runners in the top 20 for 58 points while edging Roberts Wesleyan in second place with 70. With the regional championship, the Owls automatically qualify for the NCAA Division II National Championship on Nov. 18.
Briana Grecco, Emilie Noreika, Megan Whitnell, P.J. Dauphinais and Courtney Henchliffe all earned NCAA Division II All-Region honors after finishing in the top 25 of the 117-runner field. It is Grecco's second-straight All-Region honor after also earning 2022 honors.
Grecco led the Owls charge with a seventh-place finish in 22:05.15. Grecco completed the 2K in eighth place before surging to fifth at the 4K mark before ultimately taking seventh. Grecco's time was a personal best, passing her time of 22:42.60 at last year's regional to earn her second-straight all-region honor.
Emilie Noreika finished in 10th place with a career-best time of 22:26.37. She previously posted a 23:07.5 at the 2021 regional. Megan Whitnell finished in 11th at 22:26.46, topping her previous best of 22:44.9 at the 2021 race.
Freshman P.J. Dauphinais finished 15th at 22:27.61 while Courtney Henchcliffe rounded out the Owls' runners in 18th place at 22:37.97 in their first NCAA East Regional. The Owls posted a team time of 1:52.04.
Southern will prepare for the NCAA Division II National Championship hosted by Missouri Southern State University on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Tom Rutledge Cross Country Course in Joplin, Mo.
Individually, the leaderboard much resembled the NE10 Championship as well. NE10 champion Wondu Summa captured the men's regional title, winning by nine seconds over Jonathan Volpe - the SCSU Owl he topped in Springfield two weeks ago. Owls Sean Barkasy (5th), William Lambum (7th), Jeremy Rivera (8th) were the next three finishers from the conference.
In the women's 6k, Adelphi's Marsh twins repeated their NE10 1-2 finish, but this time they flipped order. NE10 runner-up Isabel Marsh completed the course three seconds ahead of her sister, Katherine. Bentley's Caitlin Burmester finished fifth, one second ahead of Saint Michael's rookie Tess Drury and two ticks before SCSU's Brianna Grecco.
The only runners from outside the NE10 to finish in the top 10 of either the women's 6K or the men's 10K were from Roberts Wesleyan.
ABOUT THE NE10
The NE10 is an association of 12 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.
