While she admits that her look can be deceiving on race day, Emily Flagg is one of those runners you can never tell if she’s nervous or not by the calmness exhibited on her face prior to the gun being fired.
The Whitinsville Christian sophomore is also one of those runners that when she’s called to duty, be it a league competition, an invitational or a championship meet, she’s always going to be ready to race, always going to give it an A-plus effort.
On Saturday, Flagg once again proved that on a sunny and hot afternoon at the 17th annual Vineyard X-C Invitational. A year after winning the frosh race, the Crusaders’ gifted underclassman bested a field of 104 to take the varsity competition with a stellar, early-season time of 17 minutes, 51.41 seconds. Her effort was not only a personal best for the five-kilometer distance, but also the second fastest in the event’s history. Only former Bishop Feehan great Abby McNulty has run better, establishing the current course record of 17:32.14 in 2013.
The diminutive Flagg, along with eventual second-place finisher, Plymouth North’s Macy Shriner, took the pace out hard in the early stages. The duo passed through the opening mile at close to 5:20. Flagg was able to break from her rival about a half mile later and breezed to a comfortable 34-second cushion over the Eagles’ senior by the time she crossed the finish line. Shriner clocked a solid 18:25.72. Coming on strong late in the race, Oxford tenth-grader Cameron Davis was third overall in 18:27.0.
“We went out super fast. It’s hard to know how fast you’re going. I tried to stick with that front pack for a while. It definitely felt quick,” she said. “[By the midway point], I was feeling good and saw a wide stretch where I could kind of build it up and see how my legs were feeling.”
That, of course, was very good.
With the new season just beginning, Flagg is no doubt among a short list of possible contenders for individual honors at the Meet of Champions in mid November. She’s the defending Div. 2B champion and the top returnee from the MOC after taking third last year.
“I don’t have many goals as far as placement goes (this season),” she admitted. “I want to get (under 18 minutes) for sure, somewhere in the mid 17s. I just want to have fun with the season and build up as we go.”
With six of its runners across the line before any other team’s third, Amherst Pelham captured the team title. The Hurricanes defeated second-place Barrington (RI), 56-72. Bridgewater-Raynham was third with 98 points. Freshman Genevieve Dole had the top finish for A-P, placing 13th in 20:51.38. In the next 25 seconds, the remaining five followed – Brooke Nedeau (16th, 20:55.71), Marit MacDonald (17th, 21:01.09), Felix Goeckel (19th, 21:10.17), Skylar Fox (20th, 21:11.71) and Lilly Pope (21st, 21:16.39).
Catholic Memorial’s Michael Upton began his season on a high note with an upset victory and PR of 16:10.1 in the boys’ varsity race. Upton’s previous best with 16:49.9, a performance that earned him gold in the sophomore race at the Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational last fall.
The CM junior ran with teammate Daniel Norton (third, 16:29.93) for the first two-thirds of the race. He made a surge with about a mile remaining and cruised to a 14-second victory over Myles Napolitano of Barrington, who took the runner-up spot in 16:24.35.
“Right after the two-mile mark, there was like a real sandy pit. I kind of just sprinted for a little bit and got ahead,” he said. “I kind of strode out the last mile from there.”
For the third straight year, Barrington went home with the team hardware with a narrow 57-62 decision over Catholic Memorial. St. Raphael Academy (RI) was third with 121 points. Behind Napolitano were Connor Curran (fourth, 16:40.29), Daniel Chun (13th, 17:02.06), Colby Napolitano (20th, 17:44.36), and Fritz Muehlbauer (21st, 17:45.71).
In the JV races, Barrington’s Neal Bansal led a 1-2-3-4-5 finish by the Eagles with a triumphant 17:35.34. As a team, Barrington took the plaque with a 15-67 victory over Whitinsville Christian. On the girls’ side, W-C’s Josephina Dyle was first in 21:10.02. Highlighted by second-place finish from Addie Mager (21:59.26), Amherst-Pelham won the team crown with just 22 points. Barrington claimed the silver with 71 points.
Wayland’s Cyriaque Schaff (10:13.95) and Norwell’s Katherine Murray (11:26.14) won the respective boys’ and girls’ freshman races, which were held on a 3K course. Both runners sparked their schools to a pair of team titles.
