Mike Miller recaps some of this weekends League Championship Meets. MilesplitMass will do our best to recap as much as possible, but please be patient as we will release stuff throughout the day.
Boys League Meet Wrap-Up
Merrimack Valley Championship (10/27, Chelmsford)
Methuen got the individual win from Mike O’Donnell in 15:50, a 13 second drubbing of the field, but it was #1 Lowell that dominated early and often, taking the win with 37 points, besting #14 Chelmsford with 75 points, Honorable Mention Tewksbury with 81, #18 Methuen with 91, and #5 Billerica, who scored 121. The Raiders ran dominant races up top, with Pat Coppinger (2nd, 16:03), Mike “Killer” Kalenoski (4th; 16:14), and Johnny Abraham (5th; 16:17), joining O’Donnell and Tewksbury’s Brian Amaral (3rd;16:08) in the top 5. Randy Nong made it elementary for Lowell with his 10th place finish, giving them an impressive 21 points through 4 runners. Quinn Cooney and Dan Nolan’s top-10 pairing put Chelmsford in the runner-up seat, and Billerica was able to get by up front with PJ Garmon and Scott Arsenault going 7-8.
Patriot League Meet (10/27, Silver Lake RHS)
No Johnny Valeri or Christian Stafford? No problem. Sitting Pat Cunnigham and Billy Stafford as well? No big deal. Chris Warren? Don’t need him either. #2 Pembroke sat its top 5 runners, and not only defeated HM Whitman-Hanson and the Patriot League field, they dominated the Silver Lake HS course to the point where it appeared to be a dual meet. Sure, Silver Lake got great races from Derrick Noland (1st; 16:25) and Tyler Stafford (4th; 16:52), the 3rd brother of Billy and Christian, but it wasn’t enough. With North Quincy’s Mike Mullaney (2nd; 16:30) and Whitman-Hanson’s Pat Mulrey (3rd; 16:30) in the chute, the Titan tidal wave arrived, led by Mike McMahon (16:58), Lucas Tocher (17:00), Addison Fine (17:02), freshman Isiah Savage (17:06), Phil Martin (17:07), and Korey Leonard (17:08) taking the next six spots. If this is any sign of what’s to come, good luck Massachusetts. Click here for photo gallery.
Eastern Athletic Conference Meet (10/27, Borderland State Park)
On paper, it looked like a nice battle between #3 Bishop Feehan and #21 Martha’s Vineyard. Vineyard had been competitive at the Twilight Meet in DII, just missing a run atSandwich, and the tiny EAC league was there for the taking. But when Evan Grandfield (16:02) and Mike Hanley (16:32) secure the top 2 spots ahead of Vineyard’s Mike Schroeder (16:44), who just nosed out Alex Conway of Feehan for 3rd (16:44), the Shamrocks had little trouble dispatching the Vineyarders. Connor Dean (6th; 16:58) and Henry dodge (7th; 17:00) made it 5 in the top 7, and Feehan put to rest any doubts that may have crept up this week.
Mid-Wachusett League Meet (10/27, Marlborough)
Another great battle went down on Marlborough’s difficult 5K course as #10 Wachusett outlasted #12 Shrewsbury 30-41, thanks in part to Colin Bennie’s rebound effort win in 16:23. The Colonial’s Dan Wentworth (2nd; 16:43) tried his best to keep it close, but after Algonquin’s Greg Palken (3rd; 16:57) and North Middlesex’s Chris Skelly (4th; 17:01) came across, the Wachusett wave came through, as Sean Sampson, Brian Cusack, and Cole Burgess all finished at 17:03-04, packing in the way a coach begs his kids to do. Wachusett appears to have righted the ship from a trying weekend on the Mountain, and is very much a threat to win it all again.
Bay State Conference Meet (10/27, Norwood)
A wacky year in the conference led to zero undefeated teams on the boys side going into the final week, when #15 Newton North simply drubbed #9 Brookline at historicLarz Anderson Park, giving North a 10-1 mark and a BSC title. Something told me that Jim Blackburn wanted one more run at the Warriors, and he got it on Saturday, with North junior Gabe Montague (15:54) taking the individual win away from favorite Nolan Parsley of Weymouth (15:59) and teammate Mike Schlichting (16:06) fighting 3rd away from Wellesley’s Danny Palladino (16:06). Brookline got top-10 finishes from Jesse Faynzylber (5th; 16:26) and Ezra Coopersmith (9th 16:35), but the depth of Newton North and the work of guys like Jon Long and Jared Freedman was just too much. #24 Wellesley was 3rd, #16 Needham (thanks to Adrian Amaya in 7th and Tyler Hagen in 8th) 4th, and #23 Weymouth 5th, as yet another league with 5 top-25 teams made waves on Saturday. For Photo's and Results visit Newtonsportsphotography.com
Cape Ann League Championship (10/27, Bradley Palmer State Park)
While #13 Newburyport appeared to have a cakewalk, this is the Cape Ann League, a little league with a lot of pride. HM team Masconomet had other ideas, and while the Clippers snuck by them 37-46, it was a valiant effort. Nick Carleo’s Way (15:44) ran one of the fastest times in the state this year to lead the Clippers, and teammates Joe Santo (3rd; 16:11), Chris Orlando (6th; 16:37), and Joe Orlando (8th; 16:37) led a top-10 onslaught, but Masco stayed close as Harrison Kent (4th; 16:24), Marco Casserta (5th; 16:34), and Jake Moorman (9th; 16:47) tucked into the top 10 as well. Only Hamilton-Wenham’s Matt Gillis (2nd; 16:03) cracked the top 9 from the rest of the league.
Northeast Conference Championship (10/27, Bradley Palmer State Park)
The blazing fast Bradley Palmer course also hosted the CAL meet, where Swampscott’s dynamic duo of Peter Hale (1st; 16:06) and Matt Mahoney (3rd; 16:20) couldn’t outduel the team depth of Honorable Mention team Peabody, who needed Drew Fossa (4th; 16:26) and Ben Braz (8th; 16:52) and 5 in the top 20 to lead them to the promised land.
Hockomock League Championship (10/27, Borderland State Park)
In many ways, one of the state’s most storied league’s is the Hock, and while this isn’t its most dominant version, it was one of its most competitive conference meets. King Philip’s Owen Gonser (16:08) got the individual win, but this is a team sport, and KP could only watch the show as HM teams Mansfield and Oliver Ames battled to the top two team spots. Mansfield looks every bit the late bloomer, as they survived Dan Moverman’s runner-up spot (16:25), by placing Val Madonna-Lendvai (4th; 16:36), Dan Caughey (5th; 16:38), Mike Duggan (7th; 16:40), and Dan Romano (9th; 16:44) all in the top-10. A message to those who counted Mansfield out- Julie Collins knows how t coach better than most of us, so continue to dount her at your own risk.
South Coast Conference Championship (10/27, Marion)
Seekonk, another Honorable Mention team, was an easy winner in the SCC, although the show up front between winner Tyler Enos of Dighton-Rehoboth (15:52) and Old Rochester’s Mike Wyman (2nd; 16:08) was worth the price of admission. The Seekonk Sophomore Spectacular continued, with Alex Lanzi (5th; 17:03), Tim Salit (8th; 17:05), Nick Accardi 99th; 17:01), and Matt Salit (10th; 17:11) joining senior Brendan Mullin (7th; 17:04) in the top-10. For good measure, sophomores Brian Salit and Andrew Feighery took top-20 placings as well, making this youth an embarrassment of riches for Seekonk.
Dual Valley League Championship (10/26, Whitinsville Christian)
#25 Hopedale had a nice waltz trough Whitinsville’s 5K course, taking a 24 point total and an easy win over the home team. Paul Maurais (16:52) was the individual winner for the champs, outlasting Jamison Koeman of Whitinsville (17:03) in the process. Maurais didn’t go it alone, as teammates Matt Doran (3rd; 17:32) and Yaroslav Bordenko (4th;17:33) hammered home the point, with Anthon Tandy and Ryan Wollensack coming through to clinch the W.
Dual County League Meet (10/26, Lincoln-Sudbury RHS)
#19 Lincoln-Sudbury knew it had its hands full with HM team Acton-Boxboro, but 56-58… come on! A league meet this close is unheard of, and each team battled to the line with a true conference title on the line. Weston’s Matt Herzig (15:34) took the 3 mile individual win, never really being tested by the Colonials’ Tim Cox (15:54), but AB couldn’t counter Eli Hoenig (5th; 16:06) and Josh Kerber (7th; 16:18), and LS striking to a narrow lead. The teams then alternated with AB taking 12th (Matt Bullock 16:26), 14th (Gabe Kline 16:28), 16th (Ben Vitale 16:32), and 18th (Sam Toulman 16:36), and LS taking 13th (Tim Orie 16:27), 17th (Ben McDonald 16:33), and 19th (Reilly Shaw 16:40), and narrowly holding out for the win.