HOPKINTON, N.H. - - Trent Taylor earned an All-Region selection in leading the Wilmington University men's cross country team to a 13th place finish at the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship on Saturday afternoon at the Hopkinton Fair Grounds.
Trent Taylor finished in 18th place overall on the 10k course to become the programs' fourth ever two-time All-Region performer. He was also All-Region last season by finishing 21st overall at the Regional Championship. He joins Bill Steele, Mike O'Brian, and Ken Fontal as Wildcats who have been All-Region twice in their careers.
The Wildcats finished 13th overall with 307 points on Saturday, being the second CACC team on the leaderboard. Southern Connecticut State won the East Regional Championship for the second year in a row with 32 points, followed by Roberts Wesleyan with 60 points and Franklin Pierce with 86 points in third. The top three teams will advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship race.
Trent Taylor's 18th place finish was timed at 31:57.03, earning 16 points for the team. CACC Rookie of the Year Joel Oquendo was the second Wildcat to finish, running the longer 10k course in 33:19.46 for 48th place overall. Vaughn Lackman was the third Wildcat to cross in 69th place, stopping the clock at 33:57.66 while freshman Carter Sparwasser was fourth overall with an 84th place finish, finishing in 34:18.92.
Dan Wyshinski was the fifth scorer for the Wildcats on Saturday, coming in 105th overall with a time of 36:12.30. Zach Souders placed 108th overall with a time of 26:22.35 before Braden Peterson rounded out the Wildcats on the course with an 11th place finish with a time of 36:32.35.
A pair of Wildcats ran the women's 6k event as well, as Tiffany Banning led the pair with a 50th place finish, crossing the line in 24:20.37. Cassidy Burr ran her second fastest 6k event of the season on Saturday, finishing in 74th overall with a time of 25:39.59.
Southern Connecticut State also won the women's race, earning 58 points for their first ever Regional Championship. Roberts Wesleyan finished second with 70 point followed by Southern New Hampshire in third with 109 points.