2018 CCC Men's Cross Country Championship Preview
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men’s cross country teams will head to the Gordon College campus in Wenham, Mass. on Saturday, Oct. 27 for the 2018 CCC Cross Country Championships. The gun goes off for the men’s 8-kilometer race at noon, following the women’s race earlier in the day.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's cross country teams will head to the Gordon College campus in Wenham, Mass. on Saturday, Oct. 27 for the 2018 CCC Cross Country Championships. The gun goes off for the men's 8-kilometer race at noon, following the women's race earlier in the day.
Wentworth earned the top spot last year for its third straight CCC Men's cross country title.
The Leopards have had a notable fall with a first place finish at the Wellesley College Invitational and they took the runner-up spot at the UNE Invitational, Pop Crowell Invitational, and Suffolk Invitational. Senior and 2017 All-CC performer Josh Gangemi (Norton, Mass.) led Wentworth at the James Earley, Suffolk, and Pop Crowell Invitationals. He also placed fourth at the Wellesley Invitational where he ran his fastest 5-kilometer race in his career. Freshman Alexander Foote (North Easton, Mass.) was also a deciding factor in the Leopards' win at Wellesley. The outstanding performance of Foote helped bring success to Wentworth at UNE and Suffolk as well. Tyler Cosma (Center Moriches, N.Y.) has been a stand-out runner this season placing in the top 10 at the Suffolk Invitational and just missing his personal best time at the Pop Crowell Invitational. Wentworth junior Tom Caruso (Mahopac, N.Y.) led the Leopards at the Wellesley Invitational victory and pushed Wentworth to second with his eighth place finish at the Pop Crowell Invitational.
Endicott has been the CCC Championship runner-up for the past two years and is a good spot going into this year's race with three juniors leading the team. Junior Adam Germaine (Guilford, Conn.) returns this year and has been consistently performing well for the Gulls placing third against Gordon in a dual meet as well as third at the Endicott Invitational. Endicott's top finisher this year is junior Joshua Knight (Oxted, England). Knight has led Endicott in five of its six races with junior Will Connelly (Barrington, R.I.) close behind. 2017 All-CCC runner Connelly's performance at Gordon and the Pop Crowell Invitational has assisted in Endicott's success this season.
Third place finisher last year, Roger Williams, will try to improve its standing this season with its top finisher sophomore Tyler Marchioni (Franklin, Mass.). Marchioni was the Hawks' top finisher at the Westfield State Invitational, Gordon Invitational, and UMass Dartmouth Invitational. The Hawks were runner-ups at the Roger Williams Invitational putting four runners in the top ten with Matt Woznyk (Durham, Conn.) clinching first.
The University of New England is racing for a spot on the podium this year after just missing it in fourth place last year and with rookie Jacob Hickey (Winthrop, Maine) leading the team it looks promising. UNE has won two invitationals this season – Saint Joseph's and Pop Crowell – and placed fourth at the WNE Invitational and seventh at the Bowdoin Invitational. Hickey has led UNE in every race this year and was the top finisher in three races. Senior Ben Wright (Wells, Maine), who was a 2017 All-CCC honoree, is always right behind Hickey capturing the runner-up spot in the three same races helping to improve the Nor'easters final scores.
Senior Chandler Hansen (Easton, N.Y.) will be pushing Gordon toward the podium this year since the Fighting Scots graduated their top two runners last year. Freshman William Hunt (Newburyport, Mass.) led Gordon at the Pop Crowell Invitational may be stepping up at the CCC Championship this year to bring Gordon up from last year's fifth place.
Salve Regina's team is led by sophomore Aidan Lynch (Little Silver, N.J.) and freshman Greg Cran (Wrentham, Mass.). They have been the top performers for the Seahawks this year and pushed Salve to second at the Tri-State Invitational and third at the Roger Williams Invitational.
Leading the way for Nichols is junior All-CCC honoree Joseph Santese (Danielson, Conn.) who has led the way for the Bison in every race he has competed in. He placed first at the Keene State College Rust Buster to start his season and has been consistently performing well for Nichols. Sophomore Christopher Kimball(Pepperell, Mass.) is trying to push forward as he has been the Bison's No. 2 all season for the second year.
Western New England has been led by freshman Anthony Spooner (West Bridgewater, Mass.) and Nico Gallo (Ludlow, Mass.) this fall.
The CCC Championship is the final tune-up for cross country teams before the NCAA Division III New England Regional which takes place at the Bowdoin College Pickard Field Course in Brunswick, Maine on Saturday, Nov. 10.
ABOUT THE COMMONWEALTH COAST CONFERENCE
The Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC), founded in 1984, is an NCAA Division III athletic conference comprised of nine full member and one associate member institutions throughout the New England region. Its membership aims to provide student-athletes with a positive experience in their pursuit of excellence through high academic standards, quality competition, and a meaningful student life. The conference administers championships in 18 intercollegiate sports.