Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics
Northeast Conference Championships
Guerrera Earns All-Conference as SHU Places Sixth at NEC Championships
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
NEW BRITAIN – The Sacred Heart University men's cross country finished sixth at the NEC Championships held at Stanley Quarter Park on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Trevor Guerrera placed 14th overall to join Sean Ferguson as just the second freshman in program history to earn All-Northeast Conference honors. The men have now had at least runner earn All-NEC for nine consecutive seasons as Guerrera has now led Sacred Heart in all six events this year.
"There is an awful lot of emphasis placed on this race, and I'm pleased with how our men handled the pressure of it all, said head coach Christian Morrison. "They did not let their inexperience get the best of them, and everyone performed well. We've got some talent here, and with their positive attitudes, coachability, and desire to improve, I feel very good about our prospects over the next couple of years."
Guerrera finished the course in 26:44.43 to set the SHU record for fastest time ever by a freshman on the Stanley Quarter Park course. He was the second rookie to cross the line trailing only Bryce England of Saint Francis U. Fellow freshman Timothy Loehner was the second Pioneer to finish and the eighth freshman overall as he placed 33rd with a time of 28:01.41.
Just as has been the case all season, SHU's lineup was freshman heavy as all but one of their top seven runners was an upperclassman with NEC Championship experience. Junior Jacob Ustjanauskas was the 37th runner to cross the finish line posting a time of 28:31.21.
Jake Tavernite and Joseph Klein rounded out the top five as the two finished less than five seconds apart in 39th and 41st place. Tavernite ran the course in 28:40.7 and Klein finished in 28:44.64.
Of the ten Pioneers to compete today, each made an improvement from their time at Stanley Quarter Park earlier in the year on September 27:
Guerrera – 46 seconds improvement
Loehner – 25 seconds
Ustjanauskas – 49 seconds
Tavernite – 2:51
Klein – 42 seconds
Bryan Reilly – 1:37
Andrew Handfield – 8 seconds
Tyler Tanasi – 2:52
Michael Giambrone – Did Not Finish on 9/27
James Sullivan IV– 2:23
Sacred Heart registered 153 to finish 36 points ahead of seventh place St. Francis Brooklyn. Central Connecticut State won their sixth consecutive cross country championship as their runners swept the top five.
Sacred Heart will take next weekend off before running at the NCAA Northeast Regionals held at Van Cortlandt Park in Bronx, N.Y. on Friday, November 14.
Players Mentioned
