Large School Boys
There were no surprises in the lead pack of the Div. 1 race with the Newton North duo of Gabe Montague and Mike Schlicting up front with Lowell's Johnny Abraham. The race became a three-runner affair shortly after the halfway point and it was Schlicting who struck first with a half mile to go. The Tiger surged into the lead and held off the hard-finishing Abraham for the 15:29.9 win. Abraham was three seconds back in 15:32.4 and Montague finished strong in 15:40.8.
"That last turn is the perfect place to kick," said Schlicting. "Gabe and I really wanted to be close to 4:50 (at the mile). I felt good after two miles and I decided to push it. We always like to go 1-2 but it didn't work out that way today."
Abraham paced the defending Div. 1 State champions to the team title with 75 points to put some daylight between runnerup Peabody's 94 points.
One of the most impressive races of the day came in the Div. 1 race where Peabody freshman Marcelo Rocha pushed to a sterling 16:15.6 finish to take 15th overall. Drew Fossa led the Tanners with sixth place in 15:54.5.
The Div. 2 race proved to be the most wide-open race of the day on the boys' side as a half dozen runners passed the mile in 5:00 and were still jockeying for position at the halfway mark. Lincoln-Sudbury's Joshua Kerber made the decisive move over the final 800 meters and pulled away for the win in 15:33.6. Billerica's P.J. Garmon was a strong second in 15:38.1 and Dan Romano of Mansfield took third in15:45.8. Romano led Mansfield to the team title with 61 points. Julie Collins' crew placed its top five harriers in the top 20 to easily defeat Lincoln-Sudbury's 106 points. Chelmsford was third with 123 points.
Kerber was content to sit and wait in the pack before making a bid for the front. "I wanted to have the leaders in sight," he said. "With a half mile to go I tried to pass them. I didn't want anyone to get away. I tried to stay behind the leaders because of the win. Seeing everyone in front of you is kind of a scary thing."
Wrentham's Owen Gonser surprised no one by demolishing the field in Div. 3 with his 15:27.2. Gonser was never challenged as he tore through the opening mile in a punishing 4:41 and went on to push the pace solo for the victory. The win was the personable harrier's third big-meet victory of the season after outkicking Stafford at the Twilight Invitational and winning the Hockomock Invitational. Gonser's fast start was by design. "I love to go out fast because I usually have trouble with that second mile," he said. "I put in a ton of work over the summer. When you have a chance to run fast you have to go for it. I'm looking for another win next week."
Concord-Carlisle captured the team title with 103 points followed by Bishop Feehan (138 points) and North Attleboro's (142 points).
Girls Large Schools
The Div. 3 field knew fully well before the gun sounded that anything besides an Abbie McNulty victory would be a monumental upset Saturday on the cold and windy Wrentham Developmental Center layout.
The Bishop Feehan senior made it perfectly clear when she passed the first mile in a quick 5:25 that she was running her race and if anyone was going to challenge her they'd have to journey well outside their comfort zone. No one from the EMass field made a run at McNulty. She blew through 2 miles in 11:13 and cruised to the fastest time of the day in 17 minutes, 39 seconds on the grassy 3.1-mile course. The state's best female harrier will head to the All-State meet next Saturday at the Gardner Colf Course hoping to add a Div. 1 title to the Div. 2 win she garnered last fall at Northfield Mountain. Dracut's Karina Shepherd ran a strong race for second in 18:16.4 and McNulty's teammate, Elizabeth Hannon, was third in 18:33.9. The Shamrocks, too, have the team title in their sites after winning a mind-boggling ninth consecutive EMass title. Bishop Feehan finished with 49 points to defeat a very good Hopkinton squad (73 points).
McNulty admitted after her run that the fast first mile made for a tough middle of the race. "I wanted to take the lead from the start, but I went out way too fast," said McNulty. "I thought I had a pretty decent lead. I wanted to go a little faster, but I want to feel my best next week. I was cold at first, but I warmed up." McNulty was as excited by the prospect of leading Bishop Feehan to the state title as she was taking individual honors. "That's my main goal for the season," she said. "What I can do to help (the team win) is the most important thing. I don't time is a factor. I just want to win. I'm so happy with how this season has gone so far. I really couldn't have asked for more."
Needham's Margie Cullen had Sydney Clary of Lincoln-Sudbury to contend with in the Div. 2 race. The pair passed the mile in 5:40 and that's the way it stayed until Cullen began to pull away in the final 800 meters. She outsprinted Clary down the stretch to defend her title in18:00.2. Clary clocked 18:03.7 and Quincy's Emily Bryson continued her torrid season with a third-place finish in 18:17.7. Needham edged Lincoln-Sudbury in the team competition, finishing with 57 points to the Warriors' 60. Billerica took third with 137 points.
Cullen felt she was in control of the race from the start. "The first mile felt really easily because of the adrenaline," Cullen said. "I told myself to keep pushing. I was only a freshman last year and it was a really big deal (winning). I wanted to do well this year too."
Lowell speedster Kaley Richards was an easy winner in the Div. 1 race and she led the Red Raiders to the team title with her 18:17.7 win. Kacie Higgins of Weymouth was second in 18:43.7 and Newton South's Rebecca Grusby was third in 18:48.5. Lowell finished with 80 points to edge out Weymouth's 93 points. Peabody took third with 112 points. A 5-minute miler, the Merrimack Valley Conference champion sat back for the first mile loop, which was passed in 5:48, and then began to move up. "I wasn't sure what my time was but I really wanted to break (19 minutes)," she said. "That was the fastest first mile I've ever gone through. I rely on my kick a lot and was definitely waiting to kick. I'm nervous (about the state meet) because there's a lot of competition. There'll be a lot of girls to run with."
