Given the eye test, Jonathan Green of St. John’s of Shrewsbury was the overwhelming favorite to capture the Div. 1 race at Saturday’s All-State Championships and defend his title from last fall.
Just a week before in the Central Mass Championships, the personable senior left the field behind and demolished Andy Powell’s course record over the 2.9-mile Gardner Golf Course layout to earn a trip to Northfield Mountain. And Green more than proved during the season that he lives for the big meets, evidence of his victories over Wachusett standout Colin Bennie. He added a major highlight to his resume with his efficient run on Saturday. Racing against a deadly field under perfect conditions, Green obliterated Victor Gras’ 2003 course record of 15:52 with a scalding mark of 15 minutes, 29.67 seconds over the hellacious 3.1-mile route. The depth of the field was evident as both Mike O’Donnell of Methuen (2nd, 15:41.92) and Bennie (3rd, 15:42.16) also were well under Gras’ previous time. In all, 37 runners dipped under the 17-minute barrier. Nathaniel Adams of Lexington took fourth in 16:07.78 and Westfield’s Tim Dostie clocked 16:11.10 for fifth. With the shape he was in and coming off a sterling performance at Gardner, Green knew no one in the field would be able to run away from him. By the same token, he was also aware of just how strong the competition was at the starting line. Green walked through the chute with a smile and into the arms of his waiting girlfriend. “I felt confident, but this isn’t an easy race,” said Green. “You got Nat, you got Colin and you got Mike. I knew it was going to be a hard race. They’re all superb competitors. I felt if I came in running what I planned for I’d be ok. I ran well and I’m happy with it.” Green didn’t get the best of starts and found himself at the front of the second pack when the course narrowed heading uphill. He surged at the top of the hill and was somewhat surprised that he was alone in the lead so early. Green admitted taking some long looks back to get an idea who was chasing them and just how far back they were. “I didn’t know if they were waiting to kick it in,” he said. “I wasn’t quite sure. I gave a few looks back. In 
the championship season it’s all about running hard.
The team competition was hardly a surprise as Phil Maia’s Lowell club had its top five runners all under 17 minutes to capture first. Patrick Coppinger led the way with a solid 13th-place showing in 16:30.70. Michael Kalenoski and Nicholas McArdle both cracked the top 25 in 22nd and 23rd, respectively, to put the pressure on the rest of the Div. 1 teams. Lowell put up 96 points to easily defeat Westfield (149 points) and Shrewsbury (175 points)
Lenox’s Scott Carpenter put his familiarity of the course to the test and it was all he needed to take the Div. 2 race in 15:55.75. Burlington’s Paul Hogan pushed hard to stay close to Carpenter and wound up second with a time of 16:03.34. Weston’s Matt Herzig put the finishing touches on his season with third in 16:11.78.Christian Stafford (4th, 16:20.18) and John Valeri (5th, 16:20.50) paced the Pembroke Titans to the team championship with a nasty 46 points. Bishop Feehan was well in the hunt with 67 points and Newburyport’s 161 points edged out Sandwich (162 points) for third.Carpenter was focused on capturing the individual title after placing third last year. And the daunting hill played a huge role in getting him to the finish in first. “This (championship) was my goal since the eighth grade,” said the personable Western Mass harrier. “I knew what to expect but there are new guys this year. I saw the results from last week and knew there’d be a lot of competition. “I never looked back. I had a plan going in. I didn’t really care where everyone else was. I knew I was going to put in a certain amount of effort (up the hill). When you get to the top of the hill it’s a relief for sure. You never know how it’s going to go. The hill can make or break your race. “I knew what I had to do. I got to the top of the first hill and I threw in a couple of surges.” Hogan had Carpenter in view the entire way and never let up trying desperately to close the gap. “He got away from me that first mile,” said Hogan, breathing heavily after the race. “It definitely helped having someone to chase. I tried as hard as I could to catch him.”
NORTHFIELD TOP 100 TIMES (UPDATE PENDING)