Courtesy of Connor Hausmann
On a brisk fall day at the Woburn Country Club, the twelve teams in the Middlesex League toed the line at one of the most competitive league meets in the state. The hilly 2.5 mile course was a perfect way to end the regular season for many runners. With temperatures in the high 40s to low 50's and little to no wind, the conditions were ideal for a late season cross country meet.
The day began with the boys and girls freshmen races, taking place on shorter the two-kilometer version course. The boys race was a tightly packed race the whole time. In the end, Wakefield's Tanner Jellison edged out Lexington's Micah Benson for the victory. But it was the young men from Lexington who came out of the race victorious, putting their next six guys in the top 15 overall (4, 6, 9, 11, 14, 15). On the girl's side, Arlington's Jessica Pigott led the young Spy Ponders squad to a decisive victory.
Up next was the varsity competitions. In the boys race, sophomore standout Ryan Oosting of Arlington prevailed as the winner in the competitive field. The race was clumped together for much of the race, but with about 800 meters to go, Oosting broke away from the rest of the field, pulling away to a decisive victory in a time of 12:19. When asked about the race, Oosting commented, "The competition this year was fierce and everyone ran well. My main competition in the race was Thomas Lingard, who I have faced in the past and he is one of the strongest runners I have ever ran against. I am looking forward to racing him again sometime. I'm also proud of our team getting third place yesterday and I look forward to representing Arlington High School this postseason." Oosting has proven himself as one of the top distance runners in the state, boasting a two mile PR of 9:39 from this past spring. He is looking as a possible contender for an individual title at not only the Divisional meet, but the All-State meet as well.
In the team competition, the boys of Lexington High School showed why they are ranked within the top 5 in the state, and came out on top for the fourth consecutive year. Along with Lingard's 2nd place finish, Eli Gappelberg (4th, 12:35) and Connor Hausmann (10th, 12:51) were the other Lexington finishers in the Top 10 overall. Matt Stevens (12th, 12:55) and Jeb Jacob (24th, 13:24) rounded out Lexington's top five, securing a narrow victory with 52 points, just ten points ahead of Wakefield's impressive 62 points. Rounding out the top four teams were Arlington with 109 points and Melrose with 130 points This is the fifth consecutive league meet victory for the boys of Lexington and their 12th since 2000, following an undefeated regular season. The Minutemen are looking to be very strong contenders for divisional and state titles this year, and today's race only boasts their case. In addition, the future looks bright for the Lexington boys, as Lingard, Gappelberg, Stevens, and Jacob will all be returning next year.
The girls race saw a very tight race from gun to tape. In the end, Grace Leightheiser, a senior from Lexington, ran away with the win in a time of 15:02, just three seconds ahead of runner-up Cayla Barretto from Woburn (15:05). Leightheiser knew that today was going to be a very competitive and that every spot was going to be hard fought for."I went out there to run my best. Rather than doubting myself when I started to feel tired, I drew strength from all the hard work I've put in this season." After that, Alexandra Wolf secured a solid third place finish in a time of 15:07. Maya Barrett-Tzannes (7th, 15:24), Kesinia Sortor (9th, 15:34), and Pauline Steines (10th, 15:35) rounded up Lexington's top five. The Minutewomen took the team title in a convincing 30 points. This marks the ninth league meet victory in a row for the ladies of Lexington.
The day closed out with the junior varsity races. In the boys race, Billy Stevens from Wakefield came out victorious with a time of 13:33. From there on, it was a tight race between the squads from Lexington and Wakefield. In the end, Wakefield edged out Lexington with a score of 28 to 30. In the girls race, Natalie Moon led the ladies of Lexington to a decisive team victory (32 points) with her individual victory, winning in a time of 16:30, over 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
We would like to acknowledge every runner who competed today and congratulate everyone on a job well done. We would also like to thank those who helped run this meet and set it up in such an efficient manner. The League Meet marks a great end to the 2016 regular season. We wish good luck to everyone moving on to compete at the Divisional Class Meet in Wrentham, the All-State Meet at Stanley Park, and Nike Cross Regionals in New York.