SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University Men's Cross Country team captured its 12th consecutive Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship Saturday afternoon on Western New England's campus.

“The men went in as the favorites and left no doubt as to whom the best team was,” said Head Coach Sean Livingston. “The guys had this date marked on the calendar since the start of the preseason. It's one thing to be favored on paper, but another to go out and prove it when it really counts.”

Junior John Ferguson (Bethel, Conn.) bested the entire field to earn runner of the year honors with an 8K time of 26:52.

“John had finished second the previous two years and wanted this one badly. He really earned it today, only taking the lead with about 50 meters to go. He ran a smart, tough race and it was fitting that he was our top guy today.”

Freshman Doug Sasso (Watertown, Conn.) finished third with a time of 26:57. In the process, Sasso earned the CCC Rookie of the Year award.

Senior Steven Carnevale (Easton, Mass.) finished fourth with a time of 27:09.41, while sophomore Jack Dunleavy (Orange, Conn.) took sixth with a 27:20.15 finish.

Rounding out the top-10 CCC Championship Runners for All-CCC recognition for Roger Williams was freshman Chris Busby (Merrimack, N.H.) (27:28.44) in eighth and sophomore Kevin Terbush (Burnt Hills, N.Y.) (27:59.72) in ninth.

Matt Carney (Canton, Mass.) just missed out on the final all-conference spot by less than three seconds, finishing in 11th place in a time of 28:15.59.

“I am very impressed with Matt's race, clearly the best of his collegiate career.”

Matt Duggan was the Hawks' eighth runner, earning a top-20 finish by taking 19thin in a time of 29:00.91.

“He's stepped it up this season & any other year, he'd be on the Varsity”

Sean Livingston was also honored as CCC Coach of the Year.

“It was a team effort across the board, From John's performance, all the way to our #13 guy. Sasso had an incredible run and an incredible season so far. Steven has continued to build on his success and Chris has been a reliable top-five guy in every race we've run. This was only the second race of the season for Jack and he came up with a big-time race.

“We got this one, and now we're looking forward to running with the Region's best in two weeks.”

TEAM SCORES

1. Roger Williams - 22

2. University of New England - 48

3. Gordon - 83

4. Salve Regina - 116

5. Western New England - 118

6. Eastern Nazarene - 187

INDIVIDUAL FINISHES

1. Ferguson, Jack - Jr., Roger Williams - 26:52.88

2. Lyons, Chad - So., U. of New England - 26:55.47

3. Sasso, Doug - Fr., Roger Williams - 26:57.15

4. Carnevale, Steve - Sr., Roger Williams - 27:09.41

5. Hughes, Sean - Fr., Salve Regina - 27:10.84

6. Dunleavy, Jack - So., Roger Williams - 27:20.15

7. Murphy, Shane - So., U. of New England - 27:23.41

8. Busby, Chris - Fr., Roger Williams - 27:28.44

9. Terbush, Kevin - So., Roger Williams - 27:59.72

10. Vallie, Cameron - Fr., U. of New England - 28:12.97