If you want to help come regionals, you should under train and race harder. The races are what are going to help you the most this year. You didn't say when you ran the 28:57 compared to the 16:14 but if you think they were equally good races then you did not get all you could have last year out of your 75 mpw.
Under training means making sure you get all the racing you can out of the training you are doing. It means not going to 95 mpw and not doing lots of speed work that you don't have time to benefit from. 5 five mile races is plenty of hard work as a freshman.