The matchup had been anticipated by many since November. Abby McNulty of Bishop Feehan and Milton’s Julie McConville, widely regarded as the top two distance runners in the state other than Peabody’s Catarina Rocha, finally banged heads, not once, but twice, at last night’s Division 3 championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.
McNulty, dressed in all green, led from the gun in the mile with McConville two steps back. The Div. 2 state cross country champion held off a challenge from the Hingham standout with 400 meters remaining and sprinted home with a personal best of 5 minutes, 0.92 seconds and the first-place medal. McConville was second at 5:01.92, also a personal best.
The second go-around, in the 2-mile, wasn’t as intriguing as the first. McConville, who recorded a season-best 10:27 in December, passed the mile in 5:17 with a 15-meter lead over McNulty and never faltered, surging ahead to a startling meet record of 10:38.46 in defending her title. That time destroyed the 10:57.29 run by Wellesley’s Alexandra Krieg in 2005. McNulty was second in 11:02.27 and Jordan O’Dea of Dennis-Yarmouth was third in 11:25.24.
