2015 NEC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS
By Jeff Bartlett
On a picturesque fall day at Bradley Palmer State Park, both the boys and girls varsity races had one thing in common: wire to wire, dominating victories for the individual winners, and convincing team victories for the NEC Team Champions.
For the varsity boys, Marcelo Rocha of Peabody High School stormed to the front from the gun, with only Marblehead's A.J. Ernst to keep him company as the race left the open field and entered the woods. As many expected, two of the best student-athletes in the state were going to battle. After emerging from the woods of the first loop, Rocha had seven seconds on Ernst, and would expand upon that lead the rest of the way, storming to victory on the 3.07 mile course in 15:37. Rocha's time was one second faster than the NEC Meet Record, formerly held by Matt Mahoney of Swampscott (2013).
Gloucester's Kyle Manley (4th place) led the chase pack for most of the race, but was outleaned at the line by Marblehead's Jared Kokinos (16:31 for each). In a dominating team victory, Marblehead showed why many have ranked them as the #1 small school team in the state: with their top seven runners finishing in the top fifteen places, Marblehead cruised to the team title with 29 points, capping off an undefeated dual meet season with a conference meet title. With three runners in the top ten, Peabody placed second (50 points), followed by Lynn Classical (128), Danvers (132), and Gloucester (151) to round out the top five.
Rocha was happy with the race, his first cross-country conference title. "I'm happy with it. I don't know how to describe it, it feels good, but I wish we also won as a team," Rocha remarked. When asked about his goals for the rest of the season, Rocha stated, "Just try to run as hard, if not harder, and try to always improve."
Marblehead's Jacob Oliver said that while the team is happy with their victory today, that championship season is just beginning. "We have a lot of good returning seniors, and we're looking forward to our results in the championship season," Oliver remarked after the race. Marblehead coach Brian Heenan agreed, but remained focused on preparation over the next two weeks. "Hats off to Marcelo: that was a great race! I was very happy with the team, especially the pack ran really well. We still have a lot of work to do though, to get ready for Eastern Mass, and then hopefully, Division II, but we have to make it there first," remarked Heenan.
After the boys were finished, it was time for the girls to step to the line. Beverly's Julia Curtin led wire to wire in a convincing victory, running 18:25. The exciting battle of the day was between Peabody's Jessica Ostraski and the Beverly duo of Abby Walsh and Ashley Foley. At the finish, Ostraski (2nd, 19:03) would finish just ahead of Walsh (19:08) and Foley (19:12). The Gloucester duo of Carly Curcuru (5th, 19:43) and Christina Jones (6th, 19:45) finished together strongly.
Curtin's convincing victory led the day, but the Beverly victory was a true team effort. "I think we were all ready and all excited to have a good day. It was fun to be out there today," remarked ninth place finisher Lexi Sutyak. A summer of preparation, including a stint at Berkshire Running Camp, helped set the tone for this year's Panthers. "We put in a lot of work, so it was nice to have it pay off," Sutyak added. Beverly senior captain Danielle Bertaux noted that this year's squad has grown a lot in the last year. "They've been working well together, and everyone is healthy, so that was probably our biggest difference (from last year)," the senior noted. Peabody (54 points), Gloucester (71), Marblehead (76), and Swampscott (145) rounded out the top five teams.
With a loaded Division II race coming up at the Eastern Mass. meet in two weeks, there's no doubt that the Panthers are looking forward to racing their best on the fast Wrentham course.