Massachusetts Cross-Country Runners To Watch: Sophia Jacobs-Townsley, Amherst-Pelham High


The upcoming junior was one of several talented underclassmen from last year. She finished third in the Division 1 All State Meet. Her time of 19:30 on the tough, up-and-down layout of the Gardner Municipal Golf Course, was the fourth fastest of all our returnees. 

Jacobs-Townsley won her season-opening Amherst Invitational with an 18:24 clocking and recorded her fastest time for 5K when she placed seventh on the generous terrain of the Brown Northeast Invitational, held at Goddard Park. The Amherst-Pelham standout also was a runner-up to eventual New England champion Jacqueline Gaughan at the Woods Trail Run at Thetford Academy in N.H.

Jacobs-Townsley also enjoyed success on the oval, particularly the longer distances. She was third in the 3,000-meter run during indoor and was second for the 3K on the outdoor surface.