photos by chris route
A perspective often excluded from cross country recaps is that of the high school spectator. Crowds comprised of parents, siblings, students and local fans are what fill once-deserted, postseason golf courses and parks with energy, life and expectations. After runners are dropped off at buses in the early hours of race day, spectators dress in their spirited colors and pack the car, armed with directions to the course of the day. Arriving in minivans and student carpools, eager to find a place to beach their cars, cross country spectators have some of the highest endurance levels of any sports fans. At the Gardner Golf Course on Saturday, the spectators lined up to see the Central Mass Championships were lucky to see great championship performances across the board.
In the boys’ D1 race, both the returning individual and team champions toed the line with all eyes on them. While having the pressure of achieving excellence year after year can be burdensome to carry into the race, once the gun went off, both Chris Skelly and theSt. John’s boys proved themselves up to the challenge. A senior from North Middlesex,Skelly raced strategically entering the first mile, patiently waiting for challenges from possible competitors. At the halfway point, Skelly heard from Waschusett’s Grant Hauver, who grouped up and separated themselves from the rest of the field. Hauver’s time at the front, however, was short-lived; with less than a mile left in the race, Hauver was dropped and Skelly was on his way to a repeat victory. His 1st-place finish of 14:55 was over 10 seconds ahead of Hauver’s 15:08, and, for 3rd place, Cody Kingman of Shepherd Hill crossed the line in 15:14.
While the D1 team title for boys was a back-and-forth duel between the boys ofNashoba and St. John’s, St. John’s had the eventual edge to claim victory. Grabbing 7th, 8th,14th, 15th, and 18th places overall, their score of 62 was just enough to put them over Nashoba’s 69 points. Nashoba put a solid three boys in the top 10 of the race, but their 4th and 5th boys were not able to meet the depth of St. John’s. Shrewsbury finished 3rd behind Nashoba with 82 points and Westborough took 4th with 120 points.
The D1 girls featured a dominating performance by Julenna Schultz of Shepherd Hill. In 2013, Shultz placed a respectable 4th in a competitive field. This year, however, she raced largely on her own, pacing herself to an impressive 17:59 win. Her closest competitor, at 18:23, was freshman Emily Willson of Groton-Dunstable. Despite the seemingly large gap, Willson’s 2nd place performance is excellent for a freshman in her first championship season. She will be a competitor to watch next year. Continuing the underclassmen trend, another freshman, Jamie Falla of Wachusett, claimed 3rd place in 18:48. As a frontrunner for the girls’ team champion, Falla made a significant contribution to the race for the team title but her place was not the only notable achievement of the Wachusett girls. With their scoring five all in the top 20 of the race, Wachusett kept their score to a low 50 points. The 2nd place team, Groton-Dunstable, could not compete and tallied their score to 124 points. Algonguin took 3rd with 125 points and Shrewsbury came in 4th with 138 points.
Photos by Chris Route
Turning in the best performance of his career, Nick Steele of Bromfield shot off from the starting line of the DII boys’ race and never looked back. Although Parker Charter’sZach Rolfe remained on Steele’s shoulder for a majority of the race, he eventually fell off Steele’s pace and had to settle for 2nd in 15:17. Crushing Rolfe over the final fairway, Steele sprinted across the finish line 1st in 15:11. Considering Steele was 5th last year in 15:48, Saturday’s performance was an impressive improvement and spoke to his dedicated training over the past year. Fighting for precious team points, Whitinsville’s CJ Paine and Jamison Koeman grabbed 3rd and 4th place, respectively.
Despite the strong running by Paine and Koeman, the boys of Hopedale would not be denied their 5th straight team title. Finishing behind the Whitinsville duo, Hopedale put a tight trio consisting of Ryan Wollensak, Brandon Hall, and Thomas Spillers. Finishing in the top 10 of the race and contributing to a 62-point total, Wollensak, Hall and Spillers gave Hopedale the advantage they needed to beat Whitinsville with 16 points to spare. Whitinsville’s 78 points was good for 2nd, followed by Parker Charterwith 158 points for 3rd and Bromfield in 4th with 195.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came from the DII Girls’ race, where Felicia Banda of Gardner pulled off an upset to claim the individual title, and beat the time of the DI winner, in a fine 17:50. A senior running on her home course and surrounded by Gardner fans, Banda had all the right advantages going into 2014’s divisional championships. Her performance is especially impressive considering her 21st-place, 19:18 finish last year. Gianna Mastromatteo crossed the line in a distant 2nd, putting down a respectable 18:13 for St. Peter Marian. Right on her heels was Makenzie Cyr of Douglas, who clocked in at 18:14 for 3rd. Rita Maurais of Hopedale (18:22) and Jaylan Fraser-Mines of Tyngsborough (18:30) rounded out the top five. The team title for the DII girls was won by Fraser-Mines and her fellow runners, who garnered 72 points at the end of the day. The girls of Douglas would no give Tyngsborough much of a fight and would have to settle for 2nd with 136 points. Hopedale girls grabbed 3rd with 144 points and Parker Charter took 5th with 151.
For More Central Mass coverage Check out the links at the Worcester Telegram / Hometeam
Hometeam: St John's takes team crown, NM"s Skelly repeats as Champ
Hometeam: Hopedale captures 5th straight title.
Hometeam: Depth helps Wachusett clinch 17th title.
Hometeam: Gardner's Banda finishes first, Tyngsboro takes team title.
