COLLEGE SPORTS COLUMN
Four area cross country runners will be competing in the Division I NCAA Championship Saturday in Charlottesville, Va. All four earned berths after strong efforts in the regionals last Saturday.
Luke Henseler will run in the men’s race while Kaylie Armitage, Reece Fahys and Olivia Joly will compete in the women’s race.
Pittsburgh senior Henseler, from Coventry and a Bishop Hendricken High graduate, earned an automatic bid to the championship after finishing fifth out of 187 runners at the Mid-Atlantic Regional in Bethlehem, Pa. He recorded a personal record 10,000-meter time of 29:30.3. Henseler was 13th in last year’s Mid-Atlantic Regional then finished 195th in the championship.
Furman junior Armitage, from Exeter and a La Salle Academy graduate, finished 13th out of 246 in the Southeast Regionals in Spartanburg, S.C. Her 6,000-meter time was 20:08.0. The Paladins finished second and were awarded an automatic bid. It will be Armitage’s first trip to the nationals.
Providence freshman Fahys of East Greenwich and an East Greenwich High graduate finished 50th in the Northeast Regionals in the Bronx, N.Y. with a 6k time of 20:53.9, but will go to the nationals because the Friars finished third in the team standings.
Syracuse junior Joly, from North Kingstown and a North Kingstown High graduate, will make the trip because the Orange finished first in the Northeast Regionals. Joly finished 35th with a time of 20:40.0. She was the fifth Syracuse runner to cross the line.
Faith Hutchins (South Kingstown)
The senior had a strong season in goal for the Rhode Island women’s soccer team, the Rams finishing 4-96 overall and 4-3-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The season ended with a 2-0 loss to La Salle in the first round of the conference tournament. The South Kingstown High graduate had four saves in the game. Hutchins started 18 games and was 4-8-6. She gave up 19 goals (1.06 goals against average) with 84 saves (.816 save percentage). She had seven shutouts which gives her 16 for her career.
Grayson Green (Saunderstown)
The 5-foot-4 midfielder, a graduate student, started all 17 games for the Bryant field hockey team, the Bulldogs ending up 8-9 but captured their final three games of the season – 2-0 over Hofstra, 2-0 over Stanford and 2-1 over UC Davis, all three played on the home field in Smithfield. The La Salle Academy graduate picked up an assist in a 3-2 victory over St. Louia on Aug. 27. Green played in 78 games with 54 starts in her career with Bryant.
Ethan Alfano (East Greenwich)
The 5-foot-7 junior was a key performer on defense for the Wheaton (Mass.) men’s soccer team, the Lyons finishing 8-56 overall and 5-1-2 in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference and saw the season end with a 1-0 loss to Babson in the league semifinals. The East Greenwich High graduate played in 18 games with 17 starts and helped the team limit foes to just 12 goals (0.63 goals against average) with 10 shutouts. He saw 1376 minutes of action which was third best on the team.
Alex Mega (East Greenwich)
The freshman was named to the Coastal Athletic Association All-Rookie team after a solid first season with the Northeastern (Mass.) field hockey team. The East Greenwich High graduate played in all 18 games with 11 starts and tied for first on the team in goals with nine and was tied for second in points with 20. She had two game winners. The goals were tied for second on the CAA statistic sheet. Mega had two goals in a 6-2 victory over Hofstra on Oct. 20. The Huskies finished 8-10 overall and 3-3 in league play.
Mckenzie Lennon (Jamestown)
The graduate student had a solid season on both ends of the field for the Lasell (Mass.) field hockey team, the Lasers finishing 15-2 after a season-ending 2-1 loss to Colby-Sawyer. The North Kingstown High graduate started all 17 games and had 12 points on two goals and eight assists. She also had four defensive saves and helped Lasell limit foes to 15 goals (0.88 goals against average) with seven shutouts. Lennon started all 52 games she played in during her career.
Michael Hanlon (East Greenwich)
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound midfielder, a Bishop Hendricken High graduate, played in 15 games with 12 starts for the Catholic (D.C) men’s soccer team, the Cardinals finishing 12-72 after losing 2-1 to SUNY Oneonta in the first round of the Division III NCAA Tournament last Saturday in Lexington, Va. Hanlon played 65 minutes in the game. Catholic earned the NCAA bid after topping Lycoming in the Landmark Conference Championship. Hanlon helped the defensive limit foes to 23 goals with six shutouts.
Ben Lockwood (Saunderstown)
The sophomore finished 95th out of 173 runners for the Rhode Island College men’s cross country team at the Division III NCAA Mideast Regionals last Saturday in Westfield, Mass. The Prout School graduate covered the 8,000-meter course with a personal best time of 27:16.4. Lockwood, in his first season running cross country, competed in six races this fall. He was the only Anchorman to make a trip to the regionals.
Lana Diluro (East Greenwich)
The 5-foot-5 freshman back played in 14 games with one start for the Salve Regina women’s soccer team, the Seahawks finishing 5-7-5 overall and 3-7-1 in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference. The East Greenwich High graduate scored her first collegiate goal in a 1-1 tie with Roger Williams on Sept. 2. The score came with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Diluro also helped the team limit foes to 30 goals (1.76 goals against average) with three shutouts.