Nestled in the southern corner of Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood is a place of legend and lore. It’s a place that prides itself as home to a cross country course that has seen thousands of runners traverse its paths and woods over the course of a century. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, go to Franklin Park and head to Bear Cage Hill or the Wilderness. Stand there, close your eyes and listen to the stories that are engrained in those famous woods. You’ll hear of the first Cross Country State Championship held on its hallowed grounds in 1943. Close to 60 years later, you’ll be listening to the 1992 World Cross Country Championship, a snowy day in March when local legend Lynn Jennings claimed gold in the Women’s Senior Race. Just a few years down the road, you’ll be transported to a cold, gray November morning in 1998, a day the Franklin Park record books were shaken to their cores. The morning all started with Lynn Tech’s Franklyn Sanchez running 15:01 for the 5k course, establishing a new course record. Just moments later, Andy Powell of Oliver Ames did the impossible and dipped under the 15:00 barrier, crossing the line in a mind-boggling 14:52 for another course record. Only a year later, Marblehead’s Shalane Flanagan had her turn to leave a mark on the legendary course. Flanagan did just that, and crossed the line in17:08, absolutely shattering the previous 17:57 course record. Now we have found ourselves approaching another opportunity for greatness to be proclaimed. On Saturday, we will see Massachusetts’s finest toe the line at Franklin Park, ready to chase after the ghosts of legends that stood before them on that very starting line.
At last week’s Eastern Mass. D1 Race, Xaverian’s Lucas Taxter got out hard and ran his own race. There were no games being played, no settling in the pack and letting others do the work. Throughout the Wrentham course, Taxter was a lone, stoic figure and he eventually crossed the line with what would be the fastest time of the day in 15:23. If Taxter’s performance last Saturday wasn’t enough of a confidence boost for his upcoming DI Race at All States, hopefully he remembers his performance earlier this season at the Bay State meet. In the Frank Mooney Race, Taxter employed similar tactics and pushed the pace hard early on. After two miles, he was cruising all alone to a respectable 16:03 (3RD in Merge) victory.Looking to shake Taxter’s confidence will be the senior from Chelmsford, Quinn Cooney. In last week’s loaded D2 Race, Cooney was patient and waited for someone to strike. As the race entered the final mile, Cooney responded to a decisive move from Billerica’s PJ Garmon and, coming into the final 800 meters, it was Cooney who injected a little speed; Garmon simply couldn’t respond. Cooney went on to win the D2 Race in 15:37 (2nd in Merge) and Garmon hung on for 2nd in 15:49. Despite finishing runner-up to Cooney at Wrentham, Garmon should not be considered down and out for this weekend’s race at Franklin Park. This fall, Garmon ran 15:53 (2ndfastest time only behind Carleo) at Bay States and, a week later, he won the Twilight Meet in 15:36. Hoping to spoil the upperclassman party will be the talented youngster from Peabody, Marcelo Rocha. Running 15:35 to finish 2nd to Taxter in the D1 Race last weekend, Rocha threw down a 16:15 performance at the Catholic Memorial Meet and a respectable 16:11 victory early in the season at Frank Kelley. Another face in the DI lead pack will be Methuen’s Jeff Reddy. Reddy was a contender in this past Saturday’s DI Race and finished right behind Rocha in 15:36 for 3rd place. Prior to the Eastern Mass Championships, Reddy was getting well-acquainted with Franklin Park. At the Bay State Meet, he ran 16:04 to win the Kevin Mahoney Race and a week later, he ran 16:04 again at the Catholic Memorial Meet. Hailing from the western part of the state, Liam Sullivan of Northampton will certainly be making his presence known amongst the leaders. Just last weekend, Sullivan took top honors and won the Western Mass D1 Race in 16:36. Earlier this season, Sullivan ran 16:06 to take 2nd in the Kevin Black Race at Bay States and followed that up with a 15:54 at Barnstable’s Twilight Meet. At a race of this caliber, there were will be others runners right there with these top guys, trying to give them a run for their money. Those formidable contenders include: Dan Romano of Mansfield, Thomas D’Anieri of Wellesley, Ben Jacobson of Lexington, Connor Evans of Amherst, Tucker McNinch of Lenox, and Daniel Aschale of Cambridge.
If you think the boys’ individual race is going to be exciting, the battle among the top D1 teams on Saturday will be just as thrilling. The heavy favorites rolling into Franklin Park will be the boys from Lowell. Though they walked away last weekend with the boys’ D1 team title, I imagine it came with nervous tension before team scores were announced. Once posted, Lowell’s 80-point total barely edged out both Cambridge’s 81 and Methuen’s 85. On Saturday, these teams, and defending D1 All State Champ Mansfield, will all meet once again. In last weekend’s D2 Race, the Mansfield boys beat Chelmsford 79-90 and they did it all without top runner, Dan Romano. If Romano races on Saturday, Mansfield could put up a fight in defending their title. Rolling in from the West looking to show what they’re made of will be the boys from Northampton. The Blue Devils have been dominating Western Mass all season long and should finish in the top five on Saturday. Despite last weekend’s close scare, we still think Lowell will walk away with the DI title this weekend. At Bay States, they showed their impressive capability at Franklin Park (16:36 team average) and we expect to see a similar performance on Saturday. Other top teams in Saturday’s race should be Lexington, Peabody, St.John’s, and Amherst.
This Saturday’s Girls D1 Race is going to be one sensational battle between the current heads of state in Massachusetts. Last weekend, she was patient and reserved. It wasn’t until going through two miles that her patience ran out and she knew it was time to go. Breaking off from two foes, Ariel Keklak of Lincoln-Sudbury cruised home to a dominating 17:48 win and clocked the fastest time of the day by over 15 seconds. Saturday’s race seemed to be just another notch in Keklak’s belt, as she has been a force to reckon with all fall. The junior kicked off her fall campaign with a strong 15:07 performance at the Manhattan Invite (4k). A week later, she shut out the competition and rolled to a 18:06 victory at the Twilight Meet in Barnstable. I’m sure Keklak is well-aware that Saturday won’t be a walk in the park and that racing Wrentham is quite different than racing Franklin Park. Though Keklak comes from a family of All-State Winners, and I’m sure she wants to claim her own on Saturday. Last year, Kaley Richards of Lowell took the individual DI title by over 10 seconds. This year, Richards is back and she won’t be giving up her title without a fight. All season long, Richard’s performances have proven she is more than capable of successfully defending the crown. In late September, she opened up her season with a win at Frank Kelley in a solid time of 19:20. A week later, Richards faced her biggest test of the season in the Jim Hoar Race at Bay States, which featured defending D2 State Champion Olivia Lantz and a top-notch competitor from Newton South, Rebecca Grusby. Richards competed well, but had to settle for 3rd in 18:51. Then just last Saturday, Richards sought revenge on Grusby and defended her Eastern Mass D1 title in a winning time of 18:21. Despite losing to Richards at Wrentham, Rebecca Grusby is still very much in contention for the win on Saturday. Her 18:41 victory at Bay States is by far the best race of her career, and it shows she can handle a star-studded field and take risks on a formidable course. Though they finished a distant 2nd and 3rd to Keklak on Saturday, Emily Bryson of North Quincy and Margie Cullen of Needham are capable of running with the top girls. They both have been running strongly all fall and they both finished in top of this race in 2013. In last weekend’s D3 Race, we saw quite a few girls who will be up in front this Saturday in Roxbury. The first is Samantha Coletti of Whitman-Hanson, who won by 10 seconds and crossed the line in18:18. Taking 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively were Elizabeth Costantino of ND-Hingham, Abigail Long of Bishop Feehan, and Allie Morris of Walpole. Earlier this season, Constantino, Colleti, and Morris all had big races at Bay States and ran 19:07 or faster. Other top girls inSaturday’s race will be Sarah Armstrong of Needham, Juleann Schultz of Shepherd Hills,Gina D’Addario of Woburn, and Kacie Higgins of Weymouth.
In the middle of this season, it seemed like things were a bit rocky for defending DI All State Champs Needham. They were racing without their two talented runners, Sarah Armstrong and Kaleigh Hughes, which meant they were losing to teams they usually could beat. They have, impressively, weathered the storm and last weekend, with Armstrong, Hughes and Cullen at the helm, the Needham girls were finally at full strength. In the Girls’ D2 Race, Needham put their trio in the top ten and claimed team victory with 43 points to Lincoln Sudbury’s 85. Now with Needham back, we think it will be hard for any team to seriously challenge the defending champions. If anyone does, it will be the Lady Shamrocks of Bishop Feehan. Their top team finish and 19:56 team average at Bay States shows they can run well and compete on the All State course. We expect there will be a big battle for 3rd place and it’ll likely be between Lexington and Lincoln-Sudbury. However, Lexington does not have a big front-runner such as L-S’s Keklak. They do have a very tight pack and have been rounding into form nicely this fall. Just last weekend they claimed top team honors in the D1 Race at Wrentham with 69 points to Weymouth’s 101. Other top teams on Saturday should be Whitman-Hanson, Weymouth, Northampton, and Notre Dame-Hingham.
<p> A weekly series previewing the weekend action in Massachusetts.</p>