Girls League Meet Wrap-Up
Merrimack Valley Championship (10/27, Chelmsford)
In one of the state’s deepest league’s the MVC took to Chelmsford High’s 3.1 mile course on Saturday to iron out league supremacy. With #13 Lowell missing star Erin Donovan, their undefeated season was surely on the line, but they managed to fight through that adversity in a big way, placing 4 runners in the top-12, led by Bryanna Allison (18:58), who took the win in her final MVC XC race. #19 Chelmsford looked to keep pace when Ali Wood (19:12) took the runner-up slot, as did #25 Haverhill, when Jackie Solimine (19:26) and Riley Gilmore (19:28) took the 3-4 slots, but in the end it was just too much Lowell. When the Richards family was done with its work, Marissa (7th;19:37), Kaley (9th; 19:45), and Alexandra (12th; 20:00) built a lead for Lowell (53 points) that was insurmountable. Chelmsford (78) would get the closest, and honorable mention team Andover, unranked Dracut, and #22 Billerica would round out the top 5. Lowell looks like another strong contender for a DI EMass title in two weeks.
Patriot League Meet (10/27, Silver Lake RHS)
In what could have been an epic battle between #1 Whitman-Hanson and #16 Hingham, we weren’t treated to all of those teams’ top runners, as the Harborwomen rested star Julie McConville and W-H let freshman Sam Colletti and senior Abby Baker sit this one out. Nonetheless, Panther Gianna Cacciatorre stormed to the win (19:01), with teammates Rachel Baker (3rd; 19:23) and Caroline Mulrey (5th; 19:46) in tow. HM team North Quincy’s Emily Bryson (19:09) was a solid runner-up, and Hingham did get solid performances from Julia Noble (4th; 19:34) and Morgan Sullivan (7th; 20:05), but W-H was just way too much for the field. Once Kelsey Tierney and Megan Concannon were through the line, all in the top 12, Keith Erwin had another Patriot League title in just 30 points.
Eastern Athletic Conference Meet (10/27, Borderland State Park)
#3 Bishop Feehan was able to rock its way to an EAC title at Borderland State Park in Easton on Saturday, placing 7 in the top 9, a feat unmatched in any other conference inMass. this season. As expected, Abbey McNulty (18:17) ran away with the individual glory, defeating teammate Brynna Harum (19:30) by well over a minute. Only Somerset-Berkeley’s Kelsey McGinnis and Coyle & Cassidy’s Emily Curley could break up the Shamrock Parade, as Kate Svensen (4th 20:00) led the march with a pack that would make Southie proud on a Sunday in March.
Mid-Wachusett League Meet (10/27, Marlborough)
Unfortunately, the treat we would have been in for between #20 Nashoba and #22 Wachusett didn’t happen in the Mid-Wach Meet, since they split the teams into divisions A and B. So, instead, each team romped to individual victories, never being even tested by an opponent on the challenging Marlborough course. Wachusett took the 1-2 swing from Colleen Sands (19:54) and freshman Katie Gobi (20:18) and then placed five in the top seven to run away with the A division in 21 points. Only Algonquin’s Kyra Shreeve (20:53) and Megan Walsh (20:54) broke up the party, going 3-4. In the B division, somehow Nashoba was even more dominant, scoring just 19 points. Freshman Rylie Gillen was a dominant winner in 19:35, and after Quabbin’s Stephanie Halfrey (20:08) crossed the line, Nashoba opened the floodgates with four more in, led by yet another freshman in Grace Dempsey (3rd; 20:25).
Bay State Conference Meet (10/27, Norwood)
When a team takes three of the top our places in a league meet, a spectator usually figures that their experience must have taken over late in the race to enable them to conquer the field. When those three are freshmen, as Cara O’Donnell’s #6 Needham squad had at Norwood’s Coakley Middle School’s 5000 meter course on Saturday, you throw the book out. The Rockets’ Red Glare came in the form of champion Margie Cullen (18:50), Sarah Armstrong (3rd; 18:59), and Julia Donovan (4th; 19:10), all freshmen, all first year runners. In fact, only Natick’s Sarah Lagan broke up the total dominance of the Rockets pack, which also included Caroline Turner (8th; 19:27) for much of the race.Needham easily defeated #18 Newton North and #15 Weymouth, who were separated by nothing, in a 64-64 tie broken to North. The Tigers had Evie Heffernan (19:13) and Sonya Jampel (19:21) take 5th and 6th, and the Wildcats got 7th from Ashley Betts (19:24), 9th from freshman Kacie Higgins (19:40), and 11th from Morgan Fitzgibbon (19:58) to keep them knotted. Honorable mention teams Brookline (led by Jessica Lu in 10th in 19:55) and Walpole finished 4th and 6th, while unranked Natick impressed to a 5th pace closing behind Lagan. For more photo's visit Newtonsportsphotography.com
Cape Ann League Championship (10/27, Bradley Palmer State Park)
It’s been a somewhat quiet season for preseason favorite and current #8 Hamilton-Wenham, but there was little doubt that they would come out on top at Bradley Palmer Park. Once the Ipswich sister act of champion Sarah Kieran (18:27) and Tina Kieran (6th; 19:12) passed through, the Generals were able to slice and dice the CAL field, placing five in the top 20, and easily outdistancing unranked Lynnfield (91) and honorable mention team Masconomet (103). The Emily’s Weigand (2nd; 18:43) and Horgan (5th; 19:01) gave H-W a 1-2 punch hat most teams dream of, and Meghan Stone and Sarah Duffy each stayed close to the 20:00 mark. Should H-W make a run at an All State title it will tighten this pack up a bit, something it has proven capable of in the past.
Northeast Conference Championship (10/27, Bradley Palmer State Park)
It wasn’t a matter of if or when, but by how much, as #2 Peabody cruised to a 25-57 win over Beverly, giving Joe Rocha another NEC title at Bradley Palmer State Park in Topsfield. Catarina Rocha hammered to a course record 17:22, never tested, never questioned. When Rocha takes aim at a mark, she almost never misses it, and Peabodygoes as she goes. The next two spots went to Tanners too, as Heather MacLean (19:28) and Lauren Barrett (19:36) reminded us that they are indeed the team to beat inMass. right now. Sydney May and Sam Allen cruised to top-10 placings as well, and only Beverly’s Nicole Demars (4th; 19:42) and Danvers’ Nicole Dominick (5th; 19:54) kept Peabody from a clean sweep.
Hockomock League Championship (10/27, Borderland State Park)
Once Foxboro sophomore Liz Holmes was done barnstorming the trails at Borderland, to the tune of 18:39 and a 40 second win over Attleboro’s Shelby Cuddleback, the team race could begin. #24 Franklin and honorable mention team Oliver Ames had a spirited duel, with Lauren Hagen (4th; 19:38) and Caroline Knous (8th; 19:55) thrusting Franklin into the lead, and a pride of Tigers, led by Megan Fitzgerald (7th; 19:52) and Emily Newmann (9th; 20:03) doing everything they could to keep pace. But Franklinmanaged to slide all 5 in before OA’s Olivia Wakefield crossed the line, securing a 59-68 win and another in a long line of Hockomock League triumphs.
Dual Valley League Championship (10/26, Whitinsville Christian)
Although no ranked teams toed the line at Whitinsville Christian on Friday, it still is notable that Sutton, another of the seemingly growing Central and Western Mass. teams dominated by middle schoolers, rebounded from a two-loss regular season to take the DVL title. Junior Jessie Cardin took the expected win with a 19:54 clocking on the slow course, and freshman Jenna Light and 7th graders Erica Dimmick and Alexis White showed that Sutton is a team worth watching for years to come.
Dual County League Meet (10/26, Lincoln-Sudbury RHS)
With three top-10 teams and another top-20 squad, one thing was for sure, nobody was going to run away with the Dual County League title at Lincoln-Sudbury’s 3 mile course. Only problem was that somebody forgot to give that message to the home team. Keeping itself out of the fracas of a ridiculous early pace, #5 Lincoln-Sudbury packed in and outmaneuvered the field, scoring just 37 points, half the total of runner-up #16 Concord-Carlisle. Once Bedford’s new champion Erin Dietz (17:42), who is having quite a month, and Newton South freshman Rebecca Grusby (2nd; 17:57) emerged from the pack ahead of Acton-Boxboro’s Christine Davis (3rd; 18:20), things had thinned out in the back of the race and teams were struggling to hang on. LS sophomores Sydney Clary (18:35) and Morgane Butler (19:09) took the 4-5 spots coveted by the field, and when Brianna Bisson (8th; 19:14) and Katie LaScaleia (9th; 19:15) tucked in right behind Weston’s Abigail Pohl (19:08), it was clear that neither #4 Weston nor #9 Newton Southwould be able to keep pace with the depth that LS was demonstrating. C-C used a 6th place finish from Caitlin Lawlor (19:09) to leapfrog some impressive squads as well. In a league meet that often resembles an All State Championship, LS seems to have patterned itself as the favorite for a DI state title in November, if they can maneuver the mountain the way they maneuvered their home course.
Catholic Conference Meet (10/24, Cunningham Park)
On Wednesday, all eyes turned to Cunningham Park in Milton, a 2.95 mile course, where #10 Ursuline tried to make it a double against #12 Notre Dame (Hingham), after defeating them in the dual meet for the first time ever earlier this season. Coach Tom Shaw wanted this more than All States, he claimed during the team’s workout of the week, but Steve George’s Cougars were no pushovers. In what was essentially a dual meet, Ursuline’s Maddie Wolfe (18:56) and Lindsey Baryluk (1859) took the top two spots ahead of NDA’s Taylor Kennedy (19:04) and Elizabeth Constantino (19:07), an advantage they would never rescind. Sisters Meghan (5th; 19:14) and Erin Grela (9th; 20:07) and senior Sara Bent (8th; 19:39) would seal the deal for Ursuline, in yet another in a season of firsts. Coach Shaw will fin out that winning at DVI EMass will be even sweeter than these.