The dream matchup was set and it looked as though the state's two most celebrated female cross country runners were going to run each other into the ground to send a message to each other and the rest of the state.
But it was Newton South's Rebecca Grusby who stole the limelight at Saturday's Bay State Invitational.
The Jim Hoar race pitted the defending Div. 1 and Div. 2 state champions against each other, but Grusby surged ahead of runner-up Olivia Lantz of Manchester Essex and Lowell's Kaley Richards to win in 18:41.59. Lantz was clocked in 18:45.59 and Richards clinched third in 18:51.87. Bellingham's Sarah Edwards took fourth in 19:34.41 and Alexandra Richards of Lowell was fifth in 20:05.60.
Grusby wasn't about to let the talented twosome stray from striking distance and felt surprisingly good after a quick opening mile.
"I wanted go out and not lead, but stay with Olivia and Kaley," said the pint-sized Grusby. "It felt great. That's the first time I've gone through the mile in 5:48, which I can't even believe. We were still together at two miles and with a 1,000 to go all our coaches were telling us, 'Go now! Go now!' I really tried to push the pace. It felt so good. I'm still smiling. I think I'm pretty far ahead of where I was last year."
Lantz, who was making her debut on the Franklin Park course, found several sections where she could possibly make a move when she races on it at the state meet. She made a slight move in the Wilderness and felt comfortable with its quirky turns and slight hill.
"I think that (move) helped put us in the zone, maybe," said the engaging Lantz. "I was really lucky it was such a tactical race," said Lantz. "The competition was good and the pace was nice. It definitely helped push me. It's still early in the season and I haven't done a lot of speed work. I'm not in that zone yet. I wanted to go faster, but it will come. I'm really happy because last year I didn't race like this so early in the season. We're really lucky it was such a fast pace. I feel like I should have left more out on the course, but that's something I can work on for next time."
Bridgewater-Raynham was arguably the most excited winning team of the day. The Trojans' 62 points put them well ahead of Lowell's 88 and the 134 put up by Dennis-Yarmouth. Newton North was fourth with 138 and Manchester Essex put up 151 for fifth.
"They've been working hard and really putting the miles in," said Bridgewater-Raynham head coach Amanda Wilcox. "They ran a lot of summer miles and have been running straight through since the last cross country season. They haven't taken any breaks. They're young, they're committed and they want to win."
Walpole's Allie Morris and Liz Holmes of Foxboro were in each other's pockets for 2-1/2 miles in the Steve Sawyer race until Morris pulled ahead and held held off a charging Elizabeth Costantino of Notre Dame (H) in 18:54.21. Costantino finished a strong second in 19:01.64 and Holmes sprinted home to capture the bronze medal in 19:05.56.
The duel between Morris and Holmes, both of whom were running the course for the first time, came to a head in the Wilderness as Constantino stayed several meters off the pace, eyeing the pair of frontrunners.
"We kind of kept going back and forth in the woods," said Morris. "She was starting to put a gap between us and I didn't want it to become that big. I kind of went ahead just before we came out (of the Wilderness). I really liked the course. Coming in I wanted to run with Liz and stay with her. I honestly didn't think that I would win."
Hamilton-Wenham took the team title with its 70 point while Woburn came in seconwith 94 and Notre Dame of Hingham was third with 100. Plymouth North took six with 116 points and Walpole put up a 154 score to clinched fifth place.
Emma Jourdain of Lenox moved on Hopedale's Rita Maurais with 800 left for the 19:31.37 win in the Julie Collins event. Maurais was five seconds back in 19:36.11 and Phoebe Von Cona of Parker Charter took third in 19:27.02.
Whitman-Hanson's Samantha Coletti simply dominated the Bob L'Homme race, passing the mile in 5:39 with a five-second lead before surging ahead shortly after on the way to a controlled 19:07.02 victory. Coletti's time put her well ahead of Ursuline's Erin Grela (19:33.65).
Abigail Long and Jackie Cutillo of Bishop Feehan took third and fourth, respectively, to pace the Shamrocks to a dominant win with 35 points. Northampton was second with 85 points, edging out Whitman-Hanson's 85. Brookline took fourth with 137 and Old Rochester rounded out the top five with 138.
Coletti was well ahead by two miles (11:59), but had the sneaking suspicion that the pack was right behind her.
"I planned on staying with the pack, but I felt good so I just kept going," said Coletti of her first time racing on the course. "Right after two miles it got really hard. I thought they were still right behind me. It's a tough course, but I really like it. I'll be ready for (Bear Cage) hill next time."