Courtesy of Jack Cooney
On a cool and windy Saturday morning, the annual Hockomock League Championship Cross Country meet was held at Wrentham Development Center. The Girls Varsity race kicked off the day with an early 9:00 am gun start. Defending champion Nicole Clermont of Franklin took the early lead and cruised through the mile in 6:02, being chased by a pack of about 10 girls 10 seconds back. The Wrentham course is basically a loop course, with each loop about a mile, with several twists and turns near the last third of each mile, great for spectators to watch the race develop. Clermont, a junior, increased her lead at the 2 mile mark, passing through the split in about 12:15. The chase pack had thinned to four, 2 runners from North Attleboro and one each from Franklin and Foxboro. The 2nd pack was deeper and thicker, and would end up deciding what was shaping up to be a great team competition.
Sure enough, Clermont was easily in front as she finished the third loop and headed towards the finish line, winning the race in 19:06.49, 5 seconds faster than her title run a year ago. Unlike the individual race, the team title was very much in doubt. Kate Hartnett of Franklin was the runner-up, finishing 44 seconds back in 19:51, while freshman Abby Hassman of Foxboro took the bronze in 19:57. Besides Franklin, North Attleboro (4th, 5th) and Oliver Ames (6th, 9th) also had 2 runners in the overall top 10. Sharon was also in the mix with 3 runners in the top 12. It was obvious that the 4th and 5th runners on each of these teams were going to determine this year's champion. When the scoring was done, it was the Oliver Ames Tigers that took the title with 61 points, as they also captured 14th, 15th, and 16th to lock it down. North Attleboro (winners of the Davenport Division dual meet season at 5-0) hung on for second with 69 points, edging Sharon with 77 and Franklin (winner of the Kelley-Rex division at 5-0) who finished with 81 points.
The boys varsity ace started promptly at 9:30 am, and ending up being completely opposite the girls race: the individual title was in doubt until the end, but the team title became pretty clear as the race unfolded. The Mansfield Hornets, winners of 13 consecutive Hock championship meets, scratched their top runner for most of the year, junior Kalin Petrov, due to injury. Could Mansfield defend their streak? The race broke with a clean and strong start, as North Attleboro's Matt Reimels brought a lead pack through a quick opening mile in 5:02. The top pack included runners from Taunton, Attleboro, and King Philip, along with a pack of four Mansfield runners. At the second mile, Taunton's Dylan Lynch had wrestled the lead away, and he and Attleboro's Seybert were starting to take control of the pace, crossing 2 miles in about 10:35. Sophomore Patrick Heavey of Mansfield was hanging on in third, as the lead pack had thinned out a bit.
With about a half mile to go, however, the young gun Heavey had seized the lead albeit a small one over the senior veteran David Seybert. Seybert, with a 4:28 mile on his resume, had finished out of the money last year in 19th, but was coming off a strong outdoor track season. Heavey won the frosh race last year and had run a 4:45 mile as a freshman. Now he was running with the big guys, and not only holding his own but bucking for his first title. Seybert challenged him not once, but twice over the final half mile, including the final turn, just before the final 100 yard downhill sprint to the finish. The young sophomore seemed poised to hold off the savvy veteran, but it was not to be, as Seybert outkicked Heavey to take the Hock Championship title in 16:23.43, winning by 1.3 seconds. What a great duel !
Another young stud, King Philip's freshman Mike Griffin took third in 16:39 Dylan Lynch hung on for 4th and Matt Reimels earned 5th place. Mansfield's depth started showing up, as the Hornets took 6th, 10th, and 13th. Would their 5th through 7th runners step up? They did, indeed, as Mansfield took home the boys title with 55 points, winning their 14th consecutive league championship meet title. Runner up Franklin finished at 104, Oliver Ames at 106, and Attleboro 109. It was a day that the 4th and 5th runners on all teams made the difference in how the team placed, proving the preaching mantra by coaches about depth and pack running to be words of truth and not just wisdom. Most of the meet's runners will advance to divisional and possible All State races in the coming weeks, but for one glorious morning in late October, competing in the league championship for your school, teammates, and coaches was what mattered most because... it's all about the Hocks!