WRENTHAM – As a rule, Haverhill’s Riley Gilmore has made a career of taking the pace from gun, but when another harrier is willing to push hard early, she’s perfectly content to sit back before making a decisive move.
Yesterday’s Div. 1 Junior/Senior race at the State Coaches Cross Country Invitational played right into the junior’s strength. Dracut’s Karina Shepherd put 50 yards on the pack in the first mile into a chilly breeze. Gilmore let the race come back to her.
Gilmore surged past Shepherd halfway around the 3.1-mile Wrentham Developmental Center layout and was never challenged. She crossed the finish line alone in 19-minutes, 9.9 seconds for the easy win. Sami Carey of Mansfield was a distant second in 19:28 and Leila Aruri of Andover sprinted home for third in 19:36.6. Shepherd held on for fifth in 19:47.2.
“Once I started putting distance between us I really started to push it,” said Gilmore. “I have confidence I can run well on this course. I like to go out fast and run my own pace.”
Racing in bright, chilly conditions, the harriers got one more chance to get a first-hand look at the grass course, the site of next Saturday’s Eastern Mass Cross Country Championships.
The Div. 2 Junior/Senior race wasn’t the blowout Gilmore hit Div. 1 with as Janelle Solviletti of Arlington Catholic surged across the finish line to just edge out Sutton’s Jessie Cardin. Solviletti was clocked in 18:59.3 to Cardin’s 19:00.2. “I kept some energy so I could kick at the end,” said Solviletti. “I took the lead but I didn’t think I’d be able to keep it. I kept pushing. The hills were pretty hard. It’s a good course. I’m really excited about next week.”
Notre Dame of Worcester grabbed the third and fourth slots with Jane Clark (19:33) and Emily Knox (19:41.5) posting strong efforts. Lindsay Baryluk of Ursuline Academy rounded out the top five in 19:57.1.
Newton South’s Allen Shiu took the lead from the gun in the Div. 1 Junior/Senior race and was alone through a 5:02 opening mile. Shiu looked vulnerable early with a pack of harriers within striking distance, but he never made it a race, sprinting across the finish line with the fastest time of the day at 16:22. Teammate Mike Schlichting was second in 16:41.4 and Arlington’s Antonio Xelhoa was third in 16:43.9. Nick Bowden of Central Catholic clinched fourth in 16:50.1 and Marshfield’s Mike Tautiva was fifth with his 16:50.4.
Racing alone in the lead, Shiu found the spectators helpful with their cheers and he made a note to himself that he’d have to be more aggressive on the downhills on Saturday.
“The cheering really helped me,” said Shiu. “I definitely have to go faster on the downhills (at EMass).”
Arlington Catholic’s Kevin Connors joined Solviletti in the winner’s circle by taking the Div. 2 Junior/Senior event in 16:40.4. Tanner Picklus of East Bridgewater outleaned Hopedale’s Paul Maurais. The pair finished in 16:48.4 and
16:49.1, respectively. Hopedale’s Matt Doran was fourth in 16:57.3 and Nick Orlando of Milton ran 17:08.9 for fifth place.
Connors wasn’t looking for the win, but broke from the four-runner pack over the final 200 yards to break the tape first. “With about half a mile to go my coach got in my ear and told me to pick it up on the downhill,” Connor said. “The second mile was tough. I had those guys with me and I tried to have them help me work through the middle mile.”
Cambridge freshman Esitya Elemseged moved up to the sophomore race in Div. 1 and outdueled Billerica’s PJ Garmon for a 16:33.6 win. Garmon took the runner-up position in 16:36.2 and Mike Mullaney of North Quincy clocked a 16:38.8 for third. Beverly’s Alex Greco was fourth in 16:43.6 and Methuen’s Matt Marchand ran 16:56.4 for fifth place.
Elemseged was in control the entire race. He led the pack threw a 5:10 first mile and when it was time to kick, he put distance between Garmon and himself quickly. “I wasn’t running that fast,” Elemseged said, matter of factly. “I felt good the whole way. It wasn’t that hard.”
Falmouth’s Lauren O’Neil was clear favorite in the Div. 1 sophomore race and she didn’t let anyone close. O’Neill took the win in a wire-to-wire effort in 19:01.1. Emily Bryson of North Quincy continued her stellar season with second in 19:15.5 and Natick’s Sarah Lagan took third in 19:19. Central Catholic’s Tiffany Simione was fourth in 19:36.3 and Sarah Rothman of Andover finished fifth with a 19:40.2.
Seventh in last year’s Div. 1 state meet race, O’Neil is looking for a strong day at Eastern Mass. “I just kind of ran my race,” she said. “I went out a little too fast (5:40 first mile). I did my own thing. I don’t have really have too much of a goal for next week I just want to run my own race.”
2012 MSTCA INVITATIONAL PHOTO ALBUM
2012 MSTCA INVITATIONAL PHOTO BOOTH