Men's Cross Country Finishes Second at CCC Championship

WENHAM, Mass. – Placing four runners among the top 10 finishers, the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's cross country team amassed 55 points to finish second at the 2014 Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Cross Country Championships, hosted by Gordon College.

The Leopards, who competed in this event last season as a non-scoring team due to their club status, were 29 points behind Roger Williams' 26 as the Hawks captured their 14th consecutive conference championship. The University of New England (72), Gordon (90), and Western New England (151) round out the top five schools.

Four of Wentworth's five scores came from freshman as Dan McSolla (Bridgewater, Mass.) finished sixth with a time of 27:38. Patrick Hopkins (Lansdale, Pa.) placed seventh as he was eight seconds behind McSolla (27:46). Stephen Gencarelli (Westerly, R.I.) finished ninth (27:48), and Alex Robbins (Mansfield, Mass.) finished 10th, crossing the finish line in 27:52. All four of these runners were named All-CCC for their performance.

Junior Kyle Schwartz (South Windsor, Conn.) rounded out the Leopard scorers as he crossed the finish line in a time of 28:50, which was good for 23rd place (22 points).

Freshman Zach Howey (Pitman, N.J.) and sophomore David Ouellette (Wells, Maine) both crossed the line at 30:40 to tie for 45th, while freshman Clay Harman (Broad Brook, Conn.) was 81st with a time of 32:34.

Sophomore Ben Cautela (Norwood, Mass.) finished 97th with a time of 33:25, while classmates Mike Zanni (Reading, Mass.) was 99th (33:34), and Brian Ferullo (Pelham, N.H.) was 106th in the 125-runner field with a time of 34:55.

Wentworth will compete at the ECAC Championships next weekend in Westfield, Mass.