In their return season following the cancellation of the 2020 campaign, the Roger Williams University Men's Cross Country team looks to return to the top of the Commonwealth Coast Conference as they enter 2021.
 
"It has been a few years since we have been in the hunt to get after a conference championship," Head Coach Sean Livingston said. "I think this team has the makeup to challenge the other CCC teams."
 
This year's Hawks team features a really interesting mix of runners who should help RWU contend for its 16^th CCC title and first since 2014.
 
"There is a lot of depth on the men's team and a great mix of both new guys and experienced guys," Livingston said. "I expect contributions from across the board as the season progresses."
 
Projected Top-Seven
Despite the strength on the squad, not a lot is set with this year's team and there figures to be a lot of friendly competition for the top spots.
 
"It will be a real dogfight to see how the top-seven ultimately works itself out," Livingston said.
 
With that being said, the Hawks' top returning runner is junior Liam Engel who, as a freshman, finished 27^th at the 2019 CCC Championship with a time of 27:12.63. In that race, he was followed closely by fellow juniors Jake Rocheleau and Nick Courtney. Rocheleau finished 30^th with a time of 27:58.55 while Courtney was 31^st at 28:04.90.
 
Seniors PJ Frost and Connor Smith along with juniors Ian Sagers and Evan Spitzer also all competed at the 2019 CCC Championship. Sagers was the top finisher of the group coming in 40^th, followed by Frost in 50^th, Spitzer in 75^th and Smith in 83^rd.
 
However, the X-factors for this year's RWU squad are those who have never even raced for the Hawks yet, as they feature a strong sophomore class and added graduate transfer Raffi Manzo.
 
Manzo last raced with Rhode Island College in 2018 where he twice was a top-30 finisher at the Little East Championship and also notched a 180^th place finish at the New England Division III Championship in 2018.
 
Meanwhile, Coach Livingston is also very excited about his huge group of sophomores who have yet to run a collegiate cross country race stating, "We have a particularly strong sophomore class."
 
The ten sophomore runners on this year's team are Ethan Boivin, Sean Bonefant, Ryan DeMaio, Trey Generali, Luke Gillett, Adam Horwitz, Alexander Kalber, Aidan Maguire, Ryan Shea, and Will Tainter-Gilbert.
 
Overall
With a really intriguing blend of established upperclassmen and talented youth, the Roger Williams Men's Cross Country team will be looking to surprise the rest of the conference and return to prominence as one of the top teams in the CCC.
 
The Hawks will hit the course to open up their season when they travel to Boston, Massachusetts to compete at the Suffolk Invitational on September 3^rd.