ATTLEBORO – While times may have been affected by the windy conditions, it had little affect on teams like Boston Latin at the fifth annual Highland Park Invittaionak
The Wolfpack, one of our state’s top boys’ teams in the Division 1 ranks, proved their worth with an impressive team win at Saturday’s meet.
Highlighted by a first-place finish from Bilal Elhaji, the Wolfpack earned the team title by defeating a pair of quality out-of-state rivals – Haddam Kliingworth (CT) and East Greenwich (RI) on the Mark Coogan X-C Course. Boston Latin bunched four of their runners in the top six and scored just 30 points. Haddam Killingworth finished with 55 points for second place while East Greenwich was third with 60 points.
Elhaji, a junior, engaged in a tight battle with East Greenwich’s Luke Allen before pulling away in the late stages to take the top prize with a time of 16 minutes, 45.5 seconds for the 5K distance. Allen solidified second at 16:53.2. Boston Latin’s Liam Fitzgibbon was third at 16:56.6. Jack Cozean of Haddam Killingworth placed fourth at 17:12.3. He was followed by Boston Latin’s Brendan Nolan (fifth, 17:13.6) and Ethan Anderson (sixth, 17:16.7). Teammate Sam Burnet completed the scoring was 15th at 18:00.8.
It was a bit different in the girls’ race. Just eight points separated the top four teams with host Bishop Feehan coming out on top. The Shamrocks scored 61 points to edge runner-up East Greenwich (RI) by just two points. Haddam Killingworth was third with 65 points, while Lowell was fourth with 69 points.
Alison Pankowicz of Toll Gate (RI) was the individual winner, clocking 19:41.8. Lauren Augustyn (19:52.0) and Allison Gram (20:29.3) got things started for Feehan by taking the next two spots. Rounding out the scoring for the Shamrocks was Evangeline Tynan (14th, 22:06), Erin Parkinson (23rd, 23:12.4) and Elaina Flood (27th, 23:53.7).
In the Freshmen 3K, Brody Tetreault of East Greenwich claimed the title with a time of 10:53.8. BC High’s Colin Kurtz was second at 11:02.5, while Nolan Stone of Archbishop Williams was third with a time of 11:03.7. Archbishop Williams beat second-place BC High, 39-50.
Olive Willis of East Greenwich won the girls’ Frosh title where she was timed in 12:28. Mea Ayotte of Toll Gate was the next runner across the line at 13:33.8. Feehan’s Nostile Salwierz was third in 13:34.0. The Shamrocks slipped by East Greenwich, 36-42, for team honors.
Catholic Memorial’s MIchael Upton (10:51.5) and Josette Oberton of Notre Dame Academy Hingham (12:44.3) were the respective boys’ and girls’ victors in the Open 3K. Catholic Memorial edged Bishop Feehan, 52-53 for the boys’ team title, while Notre Dame Hingham scored 15 points to take the girls’ crown.
