BIDDEFORD, Maine – Suffolk men's cross country put together a second-place showing at the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships Saturday afternoon at Rotary State Park. The runner-up performance is the second straight season and second-time in program history that the Rams claimed second in the league title race.
Suffolk slid into second with a combined 82 points to finish behind CCC Champion Roger Williams, who earned 42 points with five all-league runners including individual champion Nathan Tassey (25:58.8). Endicott finished three points behind the Rams (85) to round out the podium.
Hayden Green made the most of his first collegiate championship course. The freshman crossed the tape 8k in personal-best 26:45.8 to claim fifth in the 114-runner field, good for a spot on the All-CCC team, that is award to the top 15 finishers. He is the second Rams rookie to earn an all-league honor in the CCC era, following in Thomas Novy's footsteps, who was the first a year ago.
Luke Sikora and Tim Barry came through the chute one after another. The juniors were just outside the top-15. Sikora clocked a career-high 27:29.2 to take 16th, while Barry logged a 27:29.5, good for 17th.
Connor Hayward's time of 27:55.7 was good for 21st, while Cole Bolduc (28:03.3) and Selvin Backert (28:06.9) claimed spots in the top-25 as well in 24th and 25th, respectively. Conor Garrity rounded out the Rams top-seven runners with a 27th-place showing behind a time of 28:15.2.
Eight other Rams were on the course in Vacation Land as well in Justin Turner (29:05.6), Jacob Dubin (29:47.4), Zachary Martin (31:43.9), Benjamin Bernman (35:57.8), Patrick Lambe (29:43.3), Nico Miele (30:27.1), Thomas Fidrocki (34:23.3) and Michael Najarian (35:48.0). The quartet of Lambe, Miele, Fidrocki and Najarian produce personal-best in the championship race.
Suffolk will now have two weeks to prep for the NCAA Division III East Regionals, which is on tap for Saturday, Nov. 12 at Bowdoin College in Brunwsick, Maine.
TEAM SCORES
1. Roger Williams – 35
2. Suffolk – 82
3. Endicott – 85
4. Gordon – 108
5. University of New England – 124
6. Wentworth – 151
7. Nichols – 157
8. Western New England – 194
9. Salve Regina – 254
No Score – Curry
ALL-CCC (top 15 individuals)
1. Nathan Tassey, Roger Williams - 25:58
2. Connor Coffin, Endicott - 26:38
3. Alexander Kalber, Roger Williams - 26:39
4. Caleb Nye, Endicott - 26:44
5. Hayden Green, Suffolk - 26:45
6. Zachary Smith, Gordon - 26:49
7. Josh Lehmann, Endicott - 26:53
8. Colin McGinn, Gordon - 26:56
9. Ryan Ballard, Wentworth - 27:00
10. Shawn Tobin, Nichols - 27:05
11. Trey Generali, Roger Williams - 27:09
12. Sebastian Zeman, University of New England - 27:26
13. Luke Gillett, Roger Williams - 27:26
14. Will Tainter-Gilbert, Roger Williams - 27:27
15. Ethan Boivin, Roger Williams - 27:28
MAJOR AWARDS
Runner/Rookie of the Year – Nathan Tassey, Roger Williams
CCC Scholar-Athlete – Ian Sagers, Roger Williams
Coach of the Year – Sean Livingston, Roger Williams
Team Sportsmanship – Gordon