Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics
NCAA Northeast Regionals
SHU Cross Country Runs at NCAA Regionals
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Cross Country
BRONX– The Sacred Heart University cross country team traveled to Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Friday afternoon to compete in the NCAA Northeast Regionals. The women, coming off their second consecutive Northeast Conference Championship, placed 16th out of 40 teams, while the men finished in 39th. The women's 16th place finish ties a program record for its best ever, as they also finished 16th at the 2012 Regionals
"The women had another nice race. They've performed consistently all season long, and that's not always easy to do in this sport, "said Head Coach Christian Morrison. "We're looking forward to finishing our season strong in the ECAC Championship next Saturday.
Emma Bolduc had a career race, finishing the 6k course in 21:18.68. It was the second fastest 6k time ever by a Pioneer, trailing only Brianna Castrogivanni, who recorded a 20:57.4 in the 2013 Regionals. Bolduc's time put her in 38th place individually in the field of 275 runners. The only two SHU runners to best that are Brianna Castrogivanni, who finished 23rd in 2013, and Kimbery DeLoreto, who ran to a 26th place finish in 2009. Over the past four years, Bolduc has progressed in the Regional from 164th as a freshman, to 129th as a sophomore, and 119th last year as a junior. She cut 1:13 off of her 2013 time to improve 81 places. Bolduc also defeated NEC champion Elizabeth Eberhard by 57 places.
"Emma Bolduc had an exceptional race, probably the best of her career," said Morrison about the senior co-captain.
Fellow senior captain Elizabeth Hutchins was the next SHU runner to cross the line. She recovered from a trip midway through race to miss out on her personal 6k best by only four seconds. Her time of 22:08.43 put her in 104th place.
All-NEC performers Jennifer Hahne and Shannon Hickey were the next two finishers for the Pioneers. They both recorded personal bests on the day. Hahne knocked thirty seconds off of her best, as she placed 122nd with a time of 22:23.91. The finish was a 27-place improvement on her 2013 finish. Hickey knocked nine seconds off of her personal best and improved by 12 places from last year, as she finished the course in 22:38.74 to place 135th.
Competing in their first career NCAA Regional, Tara Connelly, Alexandra Kaeslin, and Kelly Quinn shaved 22, 21, and 24 seconds off of their 6k personal bests, respectively. Connelly, an All-NEC performer at the conference championships two weeks ago, ran a 22:57.21 to place 154th . Kaeslin posted a time of 23:08.7 to finish in 171st place, and Quinn's time of 23:40.62 put her in 203rd
Sacred Heart's 553 points put the team 22 points clear of former NEC rival Quinnipiac. The next closest NEC finisher was Central Connecticut, who finished 23rd with 658 points
Continuing to the lead the way for the men was Trevor Guerrera. The freshman All-NEC performer placed 208th with a time of 33:54.29. Bryan Reilly cracked the Pioneers' top two for the first time this season as he ran a 34:55.33 to finish 237th.
Rounding out the top five for SHU was Timothy Loehner, Jacob Ustjanauskas, and Joseph Klein. Loehner completed the course in 35:27.55 to place 246th. Ustjanauskas and Klein finished with times of 35:27.55 and 36:10.33 to finish 246th and 253rd, respectively.
Both the women and men will return to Van Cortland Park next Saturday to finish their season at the ECAC Cross Country Championships. The race is scheduled for a 9:30 am start.
Players Mentioned
