Bay State Conference: Needham Captures Both Races !

                            

Courtesy of John Connolly

Boys Varsity

You cannot get much closer than a 1-point team victory or a 2 second individual victory in a cross country meet. Both occurred on Saturday at the Bay State Conference Championships during the boy’s 5K varsity race. Up front it was a battle between the undefeated league champion Brookline Warriors and the Needham Rockets. In what played out like heavyweight boxing match between two powerhouse programs it would be the Rockets coming out victorious edging the Brookline Warriors 65-66. The Rockets prevailed by putting their top 5 all under the 17-minute barrier separated by only 45 seconds. They were led by sophomore Steve Flanagan’s 5th place finish (16:13). Following Flanagan were Liam Walsh 8th (16:21), Drew Khalaj 14th (16:38), Nathan Maynard 17th (16:43), and Matt Mahoney 21st (16:58). The Brookline Warriors were led by Emmanuel D’Agostino who finished 2nd with a blistering time of 15:54. His supporting cast of Hal Triedman (7th, 16:21), Evan Baker (11th, 16:37), Matija Jankovic (20th, 16:56), and freshman Quinn Gangadharan (26th, 17:05) ran season bests but it proved not enough to topple the Rockets. Stressing the closeness of this meet further, both teams would run identical total times of 1:22.53.00!

Finishing third in the team score (1st Herget) with an impressive showing were the Walpole Rebels led by Joe Keough’s 10th place finish (16:35). He was followed closely by teammates Brendan Wohler (13th, 16:38) and Mike Orsi (15th, 16:39). Finishing 4th and 5th for the Rebels were Billy Heiberger (27th, 17:05) and Nick Bjornson (31st, 17:09).

In the individual race it would be Wellesley’s Thomas D’Anieri’s day. Running with a lead pack through 2 miles, D’Anieri made a move that the others could not match as he ran 15:52 holding off a late charge from D’Agostino. Finishing out the Top 10 were Mike McDonald of Framingham (16:02), Dylan Jones of Natick (16:12), Flanagan, Graham King of Natick (16:18), Triedman, Walsh, Zach Prescott of Weymouth (16:22), and Keough. Other impressive finishes worth mentioning would be the freshmen duo of Jacob Jampel and Andrew Mah of Newton North who finished 23rd and 24th respectively (17:00, 17:02).

 

Girls Varsity

On the girl’s side of things, the meet was not as close but just as interesting. The Needham Rockets would take home the individual and team titles for the third straight year. Needham’s own Margie Cullen led from the start cruising to a course record 17:46 and her 3rd straight Bay State Conference Championships individual title. Along with Cullen, the defending state champs would get help from a 2nd place finish from Sarah Armstrong (18:27) and great races from Daniella Pascucci (10th, 19:21), Julianna Donovan (11th, 19:26), and Katie Horton (25th, 20:40). The Rockets totaled just 46 points finishing ahead of the undefeated league champs, Weymouth Wildcats (70 pts.). The Wildcats placed 3 harriers in the top 10 with great races from Kelly Higgins (5th, 18:53), Ashley Betts (6th, 18:58), and Kacie Higgins (7th, 19:00). The Wildcat triple threat was aided by teammates Colleen McLaughlin (16th, 20:04) and Samantha Pelley (37th, 21:02). The Newton North Tigers (92 pts.) edged the Brookline Warriors (94 pts.) despite the Warriors placing all 5 runners in the top 25 with a mere 52 seconds from their 1-5. The Tigers were led by Einat Gavish and her 9th place finish (19:11). Gavish would get help from teammates Leah Metzger (14th, 19:57), Cat Teasdale (18th, 20:15), Sonja Jampel (23rd, 20:33), and Catherine Xie (29th, 20:48).

Other top 10 finishers in the girl’s varsity 5K were the dynamic duo from Milton Bridget Mitchell (3rd, 18:48) and Colette O’Leary (4th, 18:50) as well as Natick’s Sarah Armstrong (8th, 19:03).

 

Boys Junior Varsity

Showing off their depth, the Brookline Warriors would run away with the team title placing 6 harriers in the top 10 scoring 25 team points. Jeremy Margolis of Brookline took the win running 17:24. Finishing just behind Margolis was teammate Josh Grossman (17:26). Eli Goodman (5th, 17:52), Ryan Cullinane (8th, 18:04), and Nicky Rhodes (9th, 18:05) would solidify the team win. Finishing 2nd in the team results with 51 team points were the Walpole Rebels led by Ryan Nordstrom (3rd, 17:47) and Christian Carr-Locke (6th, 17:54).

 

Girls Junior Varsity

On the girls’ side, it would be Brookline again who enjoyed the spoils. The Lady Warriors held off the Weymouth Wildcats 31-38. April Bagnani (20:58) and Frances Peters (21:17) would finish 1st and 2nd in the race. The Wildcats, led by Jordan Knapp (4th, 21:43), would put 4 runners in the top 10 (Hannah Rumble 5th 21:45, Jackie Schneider 6th 21:47, and Ciara Duggan 9th 22:07) and a 5th finishing 16th (Audrey Betts, 22:31). In the end, the Lady Warriors’ 1-2 punch of Bagnani and Peters along with teammates Sara Luster (10th, 22:07), Katherine Fleming (11th, 22:11), and Thea Hobson (14th, 22:26) proved too much for the Wildcat pack.

 

Coed Junior Varsity

The Brookline boys would score 25 team points and take the top 3 spots on the 2.5K course. Leading the whole way were the Warrior trio of Ben Grobstein, Jason Meyerovitz, and Gustav Borgquist running 9:14, 9:16, and 9:29 respectively. In the girl’s race it would be Weymouth getting the win, scoring 42 points. Katie Doran of Weymouth won with a time of 11:06 followed closely by Dedham’s Caitlin Murphy (11:13).

 

Freshman Boys

In the freshman boys 2.5K race it would be Weymouth that claimed the team and individual titles. Kevin Fischer of Weymouth (9:01) held off Conner Jahn of Needham (9:02) to lead his team to a 55 team points finishing just ahead of Needham’s 67 points. Fischer would get help from fellow teammates David Glavin (9th, 9:16), Michael Flaherty (12th, 9:25), Michael Havey (18th, 9:31), and Thomas Hunter (22nd, 9:34). Finishing 3rd overall was Milton’s Nick Villard (9:09).

 

Freshman Girls

The Newton North Tigers would take the team and individual wins in the freshman girls 2.5K race. Rose Teszler (10:01) would be followed by Natalie Solari (2nd, 10:07), Lillian Joyce (4th, 10:25), Grace Donovan (9th, 10:55), and Jill Pollard (15th, 11:24) on their way to scoring 30 team points. Sylvia Lanni of Walpole finished 3rd (10:25) as she helped the Rebels finish 2nd in the team scoring (43 points).

 

Pumpkin Cup

At the Bay State Conference Championships, it’s all about the pumpkins. A day filled with top race finishers receiving decorated pumpkins for their accomplishments, no award is more desired than the coveted Pumpkin Cup, an award given to the program with the lowest boys and girls combined score. This year, as was the story last year, the Needham High School programs earned the honor scoring a combined 111 points. Following Needham in the scoring was Brookline High School with 160 points.