Boys Division II
When the All-State meet arrives at Gardner Municipal Golf Course on Nov. 19, Hopedale's junior Brandon Hall may face a little more competition than he did at the Central Massachusetts meet on Nov. 12.
Or, then again, maybe not. Hall won - as he has all season - by 14 seconds to grab a victory (16:33). He had already established a lead less than a mile into the race, and at the 2-mile mark had extended that lead to about 25 seconds. In the last mile, a tight chase pack fought hard for the spots after Hall, and decreased his lead, but the victory was never in question.
Hall said that he wanted to improve on what he characterized as a disappointing performance at the Bay State invitational in October.
"I went out smart for the first mile and had more for the last two," Hall said. "At Bay State, I went out too fast and died. So, today, I went out at my pace, held my pace, and I ran 25 seconds faster than I did at Bay State."
Michael Capps of Narragansett finished 2nd in 16:47, after finally breaking away from the chase pack in the last half-mile.
Hall's win led his Hopedale team to a dominating performance not unlike his individual one. With three more runners in the top 10, Hopedale took the team competition with just 42 points. They will be looking to build on that performance among a tougher field next week.
Hall's individual goal isn't too complicated.
"Win. Hopefully," Hall said. "Finish as high as I can."
Hopedale will not be the only Division II team representing Central Massachusetts at Gardner. Oakmont (101 points) took advantage of their pack running to place five runners in 47 seconds, the kind of tight spread that always works to a team's advantage in championship meets. Parker Charter took third with 121.
Boys Division I
When the first of the boys in red crossed the finish line, he raised his arms parallel to the ground in celebration. Almost as soon as he could look back, more of his teammates were right behind him.
After being third for St. John's Shrewsbury in 2015 as a junior, and eighth overall at the Central Massachusetts Division 1 race, senior Ben Kovacs (16:01) finally conquered Gardner. Yet, as always, Kovacs was far from the only St. John's runner up at the front. The team put on a clinic, finishing with 29 points and five of the first 12 finishers.
In the individual battle for victory, Kovacs fought hard all race with Nashoba's Kyle Cloutier (16:06). In the long finishing stretch, Kovacs left Cloutier behind and created a significant gap of about five seconds, giving him sufficient room for a comfortable win.
"I didn't want to push it too hard," Kovacs said. "I was saving it for next weekend. I figured I'd sit on him until the end, because I knew I could out-kick him."
With Lowell and Wellesley also grabbing overwhelming team victories further east in Wrentham, Massachusetts is set for an impressive three-way battle next weekend for team champion. Although Kovacs has his work cut out for him on the individual side, with fierce competition that includes Peabody's Marcelo Rocha, St. John's is also in the conversation for individual state champion.
"Individually, I'd like to come in the top 3; I think it's very doable. Potentially go for the win," Kovacs said. "The team goal is to absolutely go for the win. This team is really strong, and I think we have it in us."
Wachusett (98 points) also qualified for the all-state meet, narrowly edging out Shepherd-Hill (101 points) for second place. St. John's, however, set a precedent for what they are expecting of themselves next week - taking the state championship trophy away from Eastern Massachusetts for the first time in over a decade.
Girls Division II
In the true spirit of cross-country, the closest team race of the day was not won at the front of the race, but by the runners back in the pack.
Ultimately making the best 1-5 effort was Tyngsborough, finishing first in the Division II girls race. Their 1-5 spread was 1:18, and the team placed five in the top 16 for a total of 49 points. Tyngsborough just barely edged out Parker Charter (63 points) for the team title, and both will battle again next week. Hopedale just edged out Advanced Math and Science for the final qualifying spot with 148 points.
Ironically, the tightest team battle included the most impressive individual victory of the day. After being chased by Holy Names' Sophia Masciarelli for the first mile of the 5K, Parker's Phoebe von Conta finally broke away, and in a big way. Von Conta ended up winning by nearly an entire minute in 19:25, while Masciarelli dropped to fourth in 20:29. Tyngsborough's Catherine Riley was runner-up in 20:17.
Von Conta's victory was her second, after winning in 2015 as a sophomore. She said that one of the big parts of her win actually didn't come on race day.
"I think, physically I was ready, but mentally I wasn't," Von Conta said. "So, having the day off yesterday was really nice to collect myself."
In the end, Tyngsborough ended up with a team title, while Parker took the individual one. Both will look to build on that success on the same course next week.
"I thought my team was amazing. I love my team," Von Conta said. "We have a really strong team, and I think we crushed it today.
Girls Division I
With a mile to go, Jamie Falla's lead had shrunk to below five seconds, and, all of a sudden, it looked like there was a race again.
The Wachusett runner, however, turned on the gas and left her competitor, Auburn's Sarah Cavanaugh, behind in second. Falla ended up in 19:26, while Cavanaugh followed in 19:35. Though Cavanaugh had fallen as far as 50 meters behind, she nearly caught back up as the race curved back around Crystal Lake.
For Falla, despite her gritty breakaway, there was a more important side to the race than the victory.
"It was really fun!" Falla said. "I mean, I won last year, so I guess it's cool being a repeat winner."
In addition to her individual victory, Falla led Wachusett to 60 points and a team berth at All-States. Groton-Dunstable (92 points) and Algonquin (106 points) will be joining the Wachusett squad.
Falla clearly emphasized that, despite all the accolades and awards, the enjoyment of cross-country can be lost among the intensity of the competition and the qualifications at stake. While many runners focus on the coveted trophies that come with team victories, Falla has a different priority for All-States.
"Next week? have fun!" Falla repeated, as parents and teammates alike congratulated her on her victory. "Maybe do well as a team, too," she added.