The Mayflower Athletic Conference Championships
By Jayson Sylvain
Twelve schools converged on the Wrentham Development Center during the afternoon of Tuesday, October 29. The crisp fall air under a sunny sky provided a perfect atmosphere for the athletes competing in the Mayflower Athletic Conference Championships. Thanks to Frank Mooney, the course was roped off and in great shape as the MAC races were positioned nicely between last Saturday’s EAC Championships and this Saturday’s Coaches Invitational.
The first race of the afternoon was the combined Junior Varsity 5K, which began at 2:00 pm sharp as the starter—and former MAC secretary, Dave Balch—fired the gun. There were 97 runners on the line, and the competitors slowly spread themselves throughout the grassy loop as the race progressed. West Bridgewater sophomore Nick Welch worked his way to the front of the race during the second loop and never looked back as he cruised to the victory with a time of 20:37. WB junior Megan Solimini weaved her way through the pack of boys to win the girls race with a time of 23:28.
Just after the final junior varsity runners crossed the finish line, the Girls Varsity race began. Alison Wyman quickly moved to the front and was followed by a pack consisting of Bristol Aggie’s fantastic duo of Hannah Rogers and Rebecca Broadbent, Bristol Plymouth’s sensational freshman Hailey Doloff, and West Bridgewater junior Charlotte Allen. The pair of Chieftains pulled away during the second loop; however they were unable to catch Wyman—who cruised to her third straight individual MAC title covering the 5K in 19:48. Wildcat Carly Freitas hit the gas during the third lap to finish sixth behind teammate Allen, and she was followed by Diman Voke’s top runner, sophomore Sydnee Midura who claimed the seventh and final spot on the 1st team of All-Stars. Norfolk Aggie’s lead runner, Meaghan Hamilton, flew across the finish line next to earn the first slot on the 2nd team of All-Stars. She was followed closely by Sacred Heart soccer convert Maribeth Mason, whose 9th place finish was far ahead of her goal, and once again proved the top-notch status of MSTCA Hall of Fame Coach George Rose’s coaching techniques. The rest of the top sixteen places were filled with maroon uniforms—one belonging to Bristol Aggie sophomore Catherine Scaramozzino, and the rest being part of the West Bridgewater pack, which put their final six runners across in a 44 second span. Once FTO’s Charlie Butterfield calculated the scores, West Bridgewater had won their fourth straight meet title with 30 points. Bristol Aggie finished 2nd with 65 points, while their archrival Norfolk Aggie took the bronze with 75 points.
The final race of the day was the Boys Varsity, which began right at 3:30 pm. There was a mad dash by many runners to reach the front of the pack, with the Adam Petti and Phillip Jewers, top harriers from West Bridgewater and Norfolk Aggie respectively, emerging with the lead three-quarters of the way through the first loop. Next, there were a variety of colors as multiple schools were represented in the first pack, which consisted of John Salamanca and Alex Sandoval (Bristol Plymouth), Ryan Stopka (Old Colony), Brendan Sasse (Bishop Connolly), Mike Lavoie and Josh Travers (Diman), Doug Cleary (Upper Cape), Chris Gren and Yanni Pappas (Sacred Heart), Anthony Bobeck (Southeastern), and Shane Healy, Steven Savoy, Tim Spatola and Brian Campbell (West Bridgewater). The group began to spread as the race moved into its second half, with Petti putting in a quick downhill surge on one of the rolling hills near the parking lot to put some distance between himself and Jewers. Salamanca, Sasse, Cleary and Stopka continued their pursuit of a top seven position, while the Wildcat pack of four moved up into the top 12 during the third loop. As the runners finished the final cut-in, Petti cruised to a victory in 16:36 with Jewers about a minute behind. Sasse took third place with a strong final loop, while Campbell moved all the way up to fifth finishing just a second behind Cleary. West Bridgewater’s team score of 37 points gave them a fourth straight meet title, while Bristol-Plymouth’s great improvement under the guidance of Coach Yuen earned a fantastic second place finish with 104 points.
The Mayflower Athletic Conference Championships Meet page
