Many dream of having yesterday’s conditions for a championship race. The air was crisp, sun was warm and all were prepared for the task that lay ahead. Despite those countless miles, gut wrenching hills, and mind numbing workouts in the prior months, seasons tend to come down to one or two races in November. That’s where many runners found themselves yesterday as they stood on the starting line of the Western Mass Championship at Northfield Mountain.
For the past few years, both the boys and girls of Amherst have reigned supreme in the Pioneer Valley. However, that hasn’t been the case for the Hurricanes this fall. They have had consistent and strong performances throughout the season, but this year Amherst was overthrown by a school right down road. From dual meets to invitationals, this fall the Northampton boys and girls have established themselves as the best program in Western Massachusetts. Saturday’s DI races at Northfield Mountain were just another opportunity for the Northampton teams to display their excellence.
Traversing the infamous Northfield Mountain course first were the girls in the DI race. From the crack of the starter’s pistol, Megan Dustin of Agawam and Mariel Lutz of Northampton took off and began their grueling trek. The first mile of Northfield Mountain is certainly not one for the weak, featuring a brutal uphill section that stretches for about 1200m. Though it’s only in the first mile, it’s a section that can make or break a race. On the hill, Dustin opened up some space on Lutz and stayed out in front until the race’s halfway point. Using the rolling downhill, Lutz caught Dustin and eventually opened up an insurmountable gap. The Northampton senior cruised home to victory in 19:59 and Dustin hung onto 2nd with 20:35. Lutz’s title shouldn’t be much of a surprise, as the Western Mass. Championships seem to run in the family. In 2009, Mariel’s brother, Ian, also took home an individual title at Northfield Mountain. On Saturday though, Mariel one-upped her brother, helping to lead Northampton to their first team title since 2010. It was an impressive team showing by the young ladies from Northampton, and they had four girls in the top five finishers of the race. A team performance such as that certainly seals the deal for victory and the Blue Devils took the team title with 41 points. Despite finishing a distant 2nd with 70 points, the Amherst girls still looked strong and placed two girls in the top 10. Lydia Sawyer was first across the line for the Hurricanes, finishing 7th in 21:08. Senior Emma Gonzalez was not too far behind in 21:24 and 9th place overall. The ladies of Ludlow finished 3rd overall with 144 points and South Hadley in 4th with 145 points.
After the battle between two Pioneer Valley foes in the D1 Girls race, the D1 Boys race featured a similar duel. And last weekend’s PVIAC Championship at Westfield set the stage for it; at the front, Northampton’s Aidan Gilson outkicked Connor Evans of Amherst in the final one-hundred meters to take the individual title. In the same race,Liam Sullivan and Benjamin Hill of Northampton placed 3rd and 4th, respectively. This weekend at Northfield, there was almost an exact replica of the PVIAC race. From the gun, an elite pack comprised of Gilson, Evans, and Sullivan formed and remained together for a majority of the race. As the race entered the final stretch, Sullivan rose to the occasion to outkick Connor Evans and win in 16:26. Once again, Evans hung on valiantly and crossed the line in 16:29 for 2nd overall. After fading off of the two leaders, Gilson finished 3rd in 16:46 and teammate Hill took 4th in 16:55. The boys ofNorthampton placed five runners in the top 15 of the race to capture the team title with 28 points. Despite Evan’s grit and their three boys in the top 10, Amherst had to settle for 2nd with 67 points. Behind them was Holyoke in 3rd with 115 points and Westfieldin 4th with 148 points.
As we mentioned in our Starting Line Preview for the Western Mass. Championship, the D2 Girls race was predicted to be all about the young ladies from Lenox. Last year, the girls from Lenox ran a tough race, but ended up finishing runner-up to Mt. Greylock. This year, the girls’ team title was decided within the first five finishers. Leading the charge for Lenox was Emily Tibbets, who crossed the line 1st in 20:29. Not too far behind was the talented eighth-grader Magdalena Sorrentino in 20:46, finishing 2nd overall. Breaking up the Lenox pack was Kathryn Wright of Monson, finishing 3rd in 20:49. Right behind her, though, were Lenox’s Emma Jourdain and Alice Najimy, finishing 4thand 5th overall. The impressive show by the girls from Lenox gave them 27 points and the team title over Mohawk Trail’s 82 points. Hampshire finished 3rd overall with 99 points and Mt. Greylock took 4th with 103 points.
In the Boys’ D2 race on Saturday, we saw another gritty duel between two of the Berkshire County’s finest distance runners. Last weekend, Tucker McNinch of Lenox and Ace McCalister of Monument Mountain waged war at the Berkshire County Meet in Dalton. McNinch went on to win and McCalister held on for 2nd. Yesterday, these two fine runners went to the front once again and duked it out for most of the race. Deploying similar tactics to those in last week’s race, McNinch shot up the final uphill about a half-mile out and dropped McCalister. After such a decisive move, McNinch was free and cruised home to his second straight D2 Championship in a time of 16:31. In the final straightaway, Travis Ciempa of Hoosac Valley caught a struggling McCalister and took 2nd in 16:40. McCalister hung tough and crossed the line in 16:42 for 3rd. Behind McCalister, a strong trio of Mt. Greylock runners led by Tommy Kirby, who finished in 16:47, crossed the line in hopes of their efforts being enough to secure a team title.
At the Berkshire County Meet, Mt. Greylock beat the boys from Lenox by just five points. This weekend with both teams putting three runners in the top 10, the team battle was even closer than that of the previous week. Once the final scores were tallied, Mt. Greylock eked out a win with 49 points to Lenox’s 51. Cathedral was a distant 3rd with 124 points and Monument Mountain took 4th with 157 points.
More great Coverage of Western Mass on the masslive.com links below
Western Mass. Cross Country Championships: Lenox and Northampton present top teams, runners
Toughest cross country course in Western Mass.: Northfield Mountain is most formidable
Complete coverage from the Western Mass. cross country championship meets
