It’s only a matter of time before we get our first real glimpse of some of the top teams and athletes this cross-country season. While the competitive portion of the season begins on Sept. 7 with the Vineyard Invitational and the MSTCA XC Relays, we expect that will come later in the month at statewide meets like the Frank Kelley Invitational (Sept. 21) and the Bay State Invitational (Sept. 28).
The next few weeks, Bay State Running will be preview how we expect things will transpire on the dirt trails. We’re going to break it down by divisions and sub divisions (e.g. 1A, 2B, 3C). Here we feature Division 1C girls and boys.
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GIRLS
DIVISION 1C
Teams: Hopkinton, Medford, Central Catholic, Hingham, Westborough, Bay Path RVT, Reading Memorial, Milford, Sharon, North Attleboro, Bishop Feehan, Chicopee Comprehensive, Somerville, Milton, Oliver Ames, Mansfield, Billerica, Doherty, West Springfield, Westfield, Malden Catholic, Notre Dame Academy–Hingham
Top Athletes: Megan Moran, Westfield; Elyse Srodawa, Hopkinton; Braelyn Graham, Oliver Ames, Hannah Dupill, Oliver Ames; Madeline Courtmanche, Central Catholic
Outlook: The favorite label goes to Moran, the defending titlist. The Westfield senior won last year’s race with a time of 18:36.21, four ticks ahead of Katie Sobieraj of Oliver Ames in one of the more exciting races of afternoon. She followed that performance by placing third at the Meet of Champions. Among other highlights was a win at the Frank Mooney Invitational where she ran a 5K best of 18:09.8. Moran should be ready to finish her last year of cross-country on a high note. She’s coming off a strong track season that included bests of 5:05 for the mile 10:59 for the two mile and duo victories at the outdoor divisionals where she struck gold in the mile and deuce. Sobieraj has since graduated. The expected field behind Moran should be pretty tight with the fourth through tenth-place finishers all returning this fall. Courtemanche, who was fourth at last year’s meet, appears to be the next best harrier in this division. She was consistent on the trails in 2023, thrice running 19:13. She had a best of 19:01.4 from the Frank Kelley Invitational and was a solid miler and two-miler on the oval with bests of 5:05 and 11:14, respectively.
Last year, Oliver Ames scored just 31 points to win the team title by nearly 60 points over second-place Central Catholic. It could be more of the same this season. Despite losing three of their top seven runners from last year, the bulk are coming back. Graham (sixth), Duphill (seventh) and Lole Apostoli (tenth) were all sub 20-minute runners at the divisionals and should provide strength up front for the Pirates. Losing just one from last year’s team, Central Catholic could pose somewhat of a challenge to Oliver Ames based on what was witnessed at the 2023 meet. The difference will be in those top positions where right now, Oliver Ames holds a definitive edge.
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BOYS
DIVISION 1C
Teams: Marshfield, Worcester Tech, Woburn, Hopkinton, Medford, Central Catholic, Hingham, Westborough, Bay Path RVT, Reading Memorial, Milford, Sharon, North Attleboro, Bishop Feehan, Chicopee Comprehensive, Somerville, Milton, Oliver Ames, Mansfield, Billerica, Doherty, West Springfield, Westfield, Catholic Memorial, Malden Catholic, Notre Dame Academy–Hingham
Top Athletes: Chris Barbato, Reading; Tim Connolly, Reading; Alex Bluman, Sharon; Sean Flanagan, Hopkinton; Jonah Gould, Algonquin; Graham Heinrich, Marshfield, Matt McCabe, Marshfield
Outlook: It was a senior-dominated meet last year with 11 upperclassmen among the top 13 finishers, including the first five. What does this mean? It means we’ll have a new champion this year, and who that is will be up for grabs at the early November meet. Barbato, who was sixth in the IC race and 45th at the Meet of Champions, is the top returnee. The Hornets’ senior was consistently in the high 16:20, low-to-mid 16:30 range for the 5K distance. He proved solid in the mid-distance events during the track season, going sub two minutes for the 800m and running a best of 4:25 for the mile. It will be interesting to see how that transpires during his final season on the up-and-down terrain. The Hornets, a runner-up at last year’s meet, also have Connolly coming back. As a tenth-grader, he was tenth in this race with a time of 16:44. His track season included a 4:26 best for the mile and 2:03 for the 800m. Blumen, Finnegan and Gould were all sub-17 guys last fall. Keep an eye on Heinrich and McCabe, too. The Marshfield teammates, who were 2-3 at the Patriot League Championships, are coming off strong years on the oval. This past spring, Heinrich registered PRs of 1:57 for the 800m, 4:18 for the mile and 9:39 for the two mile. McCabe went 1:55 for the 800m and 4:24 for the mile in 2023.
Right now it seems as though the top teams this season are Reading, Sharon and Oliver Ames. Will have a better idea once the season kicks into gear in late September.
