Bay State Conference Championships
Written by Jamie Mazzola, Tommy Williams, and Jessie Wrobel
Most high-schoolers spend their Halloween stuffing themselves with candy or relaxing, but the hard-working cross-country runners of the Bay State Conference awoke this chilly Halloween morning with a duty to their teams as they prepared to face off in one of the most exciting races in Bay State Conference history. Nothing was certain on Saturday when anxious runners tied their trainers, screwed in their spikes, filled their water bottles, and donned team sweatshirts in nervous anticipation of their race.
On the boys side, after an incredibly close dual-meet season in which Bay State Conference regular season champions Wellesley High School barely edged out Brookline (27-29) and Needham (27-29) to go undefeated, the tone was set for a competitive, tense meet. With seven individuals having already broken the 16-minute barrier in the 5k this season, including senior Thomas D'Anieri (Wellesley), freshman Lucas Aramburu (Brookline), senior Mike McDonald (Framingham), junior Cody Moran (Weymouth), junior Ben Matejka (Wellesley), junior Steve Flanagan (Needham), and junior Kevin Quinn (Needham), the meet was sure to be fast-paced as well. The results from last weekend's Bob McIntyre Twilight Invitational, where Brookline took down Wellesley, only add to the intrigue associated with the always unpredictable Bay State Conference Championship Meet.
D'Anieri, separating mid-race from his competitors, won the boys varsity race by over 20 seconds. D'Anieri's time of 15:12 improved upon former All-State champion Gabe Montague's 15:13 course record from 2013. Following D'Anieri were McDonald (second, 15:33) and Matejka (third, 15:39). Also under the 16-minute barrier were Flanagan (fourth, 15:44), Quinn (fifth, 15:48), Newton North sophomore Andrew Mah (sixth, 15:50), Moran (seventh, 15:58), and Needham senior Alex Turner (eighth, 15:59).
With Needham placing their top four of Flanagan, Quinn, Turner, and senior Drew Khalaj (ninth, 16:05) in the top 10 of the race, it appeared that the Rockets would defend their title in the boys race, but Wellesley's superb top two runners and strong supporting cast proved too much for both the Needham Rockets and the Brookline Warriors as Wellesley prevailed with a total of only 51 points. The Rockets took second with 60 points, and the tightly packed Warriors, led by senior Evan Baker (tenth, 16:06), took third with 66 points. Newton North (118), Weymouth (160), Walpole (192), Framingham (195), Milton (200), Natick (207), Norwood (249), Braintree (335), and Dedham (342) rounded out the teams.'
Needham senior Margie Cullen won the girls varsity 5k for the fourth year in a row, finishing in a time of 17:26 and shattering her own course record by 20 seconds. Following Cullen and also topping the previous course record were Needham senior Sarah Armstrong (second, 17:32) and Milton sophomore Bridget Mitchell (third, 17:45). Also under the 19-minute barrier were Natick freshman Grace Connolly (fourth, 17:50), Milton junior Colette O'Leary (fifth, 18:17), Weymouth senior Kelly Higgins (sixth, 18:26), Milton freshman Elise O'Leary (seventh, 18:38), Weymouth senior Kacie Higgins (eighth, 18:52), and Wellesley senior Evie Driver (ninth, 18:57). With a finish of 19:00, Newton North senior Tori Spitaels rounded out the top ten.
After a dominant season, Needham was the clear favorite to take the team title. Despite a strong showing from both Milton and Wellesley, the one-two punch of Needham seniors Cullen and Armstrong made the race a hard one for Needham to lose. In addition to their strong front, the Needham girls showed impressive depth by having all of their top five place in the top 20 for a final score of 44 points. With three runners in the top ten, Milton placed second with 69 points. Next was Wellesley with a score of 84 points and three top twenty finishers. Newton North (116), Weymouth (120), Walpole (134), Brookline (138), Natick (192), Framingham (261), and Braintree (304) rounded out the teams.
As always, Brookline had an impressive showing in the boys JV 5k. Brookline's senior Zach Leonard (first, 16:56), sophomore Tim Weighart (second, 16:56), senior Jordan Fried (third, 17:04), and senior Josh Grossman (fourth, 17:09) led the Warriors. Wellesley junior Tommy Williams (fifth, 17:12) rounded out the top five. With sophomore Mary Corcoran (fourth, 21:43) and junior Lainey Brown (fifth, 21:45) as their best finishers, Brookline also had the best team performance in the girls JV 5k. Individually, Needham sophomore Nell Haney (first, 21:22), Weymouth sophomore Diana Laenen (second, 21:36), and Weymouth junior Katie Doran (third, 21:42) claimed the top spots.
Wellesley, led by junior Thomas Chang (first, 9:03), dominated the boys side of the co-ed JV race, a 2500 meter race suited for middle-distance oriented runners, as they took the first five places. Walpole senior Tori Lynch (twenty-fourth, 10:35) was the top female finisher.
The future looks bright for Newton North, placing five runners in the top twenty finishers for both freshman 2500 meter races. Newton North's strong one-two punch of Celia Jessiman (first, 10:14) and Iman Sayeed (second, 10:18) led the girls freshman race. In the boys freshman race, Brookline's Sergei LeFaivre (first, 8:37) held off Newton North's Nick Hoch (second, 8:38) to take the individual title.
Needham successfully fended off Wellesley's advances to win the coveted Pumpkin Cup yet again. However, as the pumpkins were handed out to many unexpected names, it was clear that there are no guarantees in the Bay State Conference. With five of the top ten in both the boys and the girls races returning next year, the best years of the Bay State Conference are still ahead.