Jordan O’Dea dashed across the finish line and then limped through the finish chute at yesterday’s Amherst Cross Country Invitational, gasping for air and looking to get out of the hot sun. The Dennis-Yarmouth senior quickly made her way to the makeshift first aid tent just beyond the finish line and began drinking cups of water and cooling herself off with cold facecloths. As tired as O’Dea was though, her smile was unmistakable. O’Dea has every reason to smile after her first invitational performance of the fall. The defending Div. 2 state cross country champion got bumped around at the starting line, but by the time she reached the mile mark in a quick 5:19 O’Dea had a 20-yard lead and was starting to pull away. She ran unchallenged the rest of the way and crossed the finish line of the rural, 5K Hampshire College course in a quick 18 minutes, 6 seconds. O’Dea’s time put her well ahead of Stella Worters of Shepherd Hill (18:37) and Mel Devoney of Amherst Regional (18:42).
After averaging between 70-80 minutes per day of running over the summer, O’Dea’s early-season win was a good barometer that she’s on track to defend her state title at Northfield Mountain come November. A notorious front-runner, O’Dea was happy with the victory after finishing in the runner-up position as a sophomore and junior. O’Dea could be seen at the back of the lead pack over the first 300 meters before surging into the lead at the 600-meter mark, wearing the green and white of Dennis-Yarmouth. “It’s my senior year and I wanted to win it,” she said with a tired smile. “I got a really bad start, but I was able to break away at the mile mark. The first mile was definitely the hardest one. Running from the front is how I run best. I was very nervous about the girl behind me (Worters). I was afraid if she stayed with me she could be me at the end. It wasn’t as hot as last year, but the sun was hot.” ´’I’m definitely where I want to be.”
Eastern Mass runners fared well in the varsity race with several familiar faces in the top 20. Haverhill’s Jackie Solimine was fifth in 18:45 and freshman Rebecca Grusby lead a strong Newton South contingent with her seventh-place, 18:54 finish. Haverhill’s Riley Gilmore was eighth in 19:03 and Anna Rhatigan was ninth with her 19:05 and Caitlin Lawlor of Concord-Carlisle was a strong 10th in 19:07. Amherst Regional was an easy winner in the team competition with 72 points, followed by Needham in second (108 points) and Notre Dame of Hingham third (145 points).Wachusett’s Colin Bennie set the freshman record his rookie year (16:52) and was back this time around anxious to add the varsity title to his resume. The state 2-mile champion last spring, Bennie went to the front and passed the mile in front of a tight pack in 4:49. He accelerated at 2 miles through the Farm Center of the course and finished in a cool 15:41, 13 seconds in front of Westfield’s Blake Croteau (15:54). Bennie was content to play a sit and wait game in the early going before putting in a defining surge. “The first mile of big races like this, you just get pulled along,” said Bennie, who was eighth as a junior and fourth in 2011. “I was happy. It was my last race and I wanted to run well.” Bennie is not only looking forward to putting up strong individual performances this season, he believes the team’s chances are intriguing. “We’re looking forward to the big meets,” Bennie said. “We want to bring home some team championships we haven’t won in the past.”
Central and Western Mass dominated the top 10 along with team champion Danbury, CT (44 points). Brookline was the top EMass team, finishing with 162 points for sixth. Danbury coach Rob Murray was pleased with his squad’s effort after putting five runners in the top 26. “The guys put in a lot of work during the summer,” he said. “We’ve been working to get to this point.”
Needham’s Adrian Amaya was the top EMass finisher, taking fifth in 16:10 and Jesse Fajnzylber of Brookline took 17th with a 16:30. Concord-Carlisle’s Maggie Nickerson made the freshman race her own, outdueling Wachusett’s Katie Gobi for the win in 20:07. Gobi was second in 20:13. Haverhill’s Ali Tsantarlisotis and Jillian Lemieux were fourth and fifth. They both clocked in at 21:58. Nickerson was mobbed by her teammates after capturing the first race of the day. “The first two miles I felt pretty good,” said the 14 year old. “I felt pretty strong. I was looking back a lot to see where everyone was. The hills weren’t too bad but I definitely felt them. I knew I had to keep pushing. I had a couple of girls to worry about.
Gobi began to fall back after the mile, but was able to keep Nickerson within striking distance over the final two miles. She ran strong to the finish to clinch second. “I tried to stay with her, but I let her get too far ahead,” said Gobi. “She had a strong finish. I wanted to stay a little behind the lead runners then make a move at the end. I’m more of a track runner. I made the mistake of letting her get away from me. Right near the starting line (on the second loop) I started to really pick it up, but she was a fast finisher too.” Needham was a strong second to Wachusett in the freshman boys’ race, finishing with 75 points to the Central Mass squad’s 26 points. John Benner was second for the Rockets in 17:33 and Alex Turner was seventh in 18:08. Drew Khalaj’s 18:18 clinched 10th place. Grant Hauver of Wachusett was the overall winner in 17:14. Hauver took the lead 600 meters into the race and never trailed in taking his first invitational win. “I wanted to get out really fast,” said the lanky freshman. “I didn’t pay attention to anyone else. I never looked back. I felt like I had a good lead. The hill was tough.” Hauver has been Wachusett’s No. 6 and 7 runner on the varsity squad this season and loves training with a harrier the caliber of Bennie. “It’s really a lot of fun,” he said.
(Thank you Coach Jim Hoar for the photo's)