Gilmore Leads Pack At Catholic Memorial Invite
BOSTON - Riley Gilmore was confident her knowledge of every turn, hill and bump of Franklin Park's 3.1-mile course would make the difference at yesterday's Catholic Memorial Invitational.
So when Gilmore made a strong move heading up the infamous 90-foot grind, finally putting daylight between herself and the six-runner pack, the Haverhill harrier knew she would be tough to beat over the final mile and a half.
She never faltered. Gilmore raced past the 2-mile mark with a seven-second lead and continued pushing the pace over the meandering Wilderness portion of the course. She crossed the finish line with an impressive 19-minute, 32.2-second victory. Marwah Haq switched gears over the last mile and half to nail down second in 19:40.2 and Central Catholic's Tiffany Simione was five seconds back in third with her19:45.3.
Gilmore was confident her move on Bear Cage Hill would put the race away, but was prepared to put in another hard surge if anyone hung with her.
"I felt really good going up Bear Cage Hill and I made a move there," she said. "I tried to keep it up through the woods (Wilderness). I knew if they went with me, I'd stay calm and make another move. I knew the course enough to take the lead and keep it." Gilmore made a concerted effort to finish hard, despite her comfortable lead. "I always like to kick, regardless of where I am in the race because somewhere you're going to need it."
Haq, who was in 10th place at the mile, was ecstatic with her second-place finish. A strong 1000-meter runner indoors, she likes a fast early pace before settling in. "My goal was to get in the top five," Haq said. "The girls ran really tough. It was a tough race. I tried to go out fast and stay strong the second mile. I like to stay in the back and work my way up. Haq, who races against Gilmore in the Merrimack Valley Conference, was very familiar with her toughness as a front runner. "I've raced Riley since freshman year," she said. "She's someone I typically like to run with or keep in sight. This is my favorite place to race. I love this course."
Bishop Guertin ran away with the team title, putting up 44 points. Dracut was second with 81 points and Lexington was third with ts 101 points.
Bishop Guertin's Jessica Ewing was just outside the top three with her fourth-place, 19:47.4 finish. Bishop Fenwick's Arianna Maida rounded out the top five in 19:48.4.
The meet returned to Franklin Park after a year away, due to renovations on the course. Catholic Memorial's legendary head coach, Vin Catano, is confident next year's meet will be bigger. "Catholic Memorial is glad to be back at Franklin Park," he said. "We have a beautiful day. We're coming off our biggest meet (1,500 runners) two years ago.