Boston College High is certainly not one of those teams that’s going to fall under the radar this season when it comes championship time.
Nearly all of its runners are returning from last year’s team that placed second at the Division 1A Championships and third overall at the Meet of Champions. From that group, three of the returnees were among four that broke 9:20 for two miles this past spring.
The MSTCA is fully aware of the Eagles’ talent and rightly so ranked them at No. 3 in Div. 1 in their recent coaches poll. On Saturday, BC High further solidified it belongs in the conversation when talking legit contenders for the team glory at the mid November meets.
Sparked by a 1-4 finish from sophomore Shamus Larnard and senior Greg McGrath, the Eagles brought home the hardware in the Championship race of the Ocean State Invitational in East Greenwich, R.I. The Eagles defeated second-place East Lyme (CT), 82-108. Taking the next four spots were MA schools Newton South (third, 125 points), Natick (fourth, 147 points), Lexington (fifth, 149 points) and Cambridge Rindge & Latin (sixth, 179 points). Lexington and Newton South are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the coaches poll.
“We definitely felt like winning was possible. But it wasn’t a guarantee thing. We just had to go out there and earn it,” said Eagles’ coach Seth Kirby. “This is, really in a way, kind of opening day for us to see where we are against some of those top programs. We’re happy about that. We have to look at some of those top programs to show what we had today. It’s still a long season. This is a snap shot. But we’re happy about today.”
Larnard captured the individual title with a winning time of 15 minutes, 48.0 seconds for the five-kilometer course at Goddard State Memorial Park. He was among four runners that broke 16 minutes in what turned into a very hot day for racing, particularly in the afternoon when the Championship races were being held. Sean McCauley of East Lyme (CT) was second at 15:53.4. Lincoln Sudbury’s Ethan Sholk (third, 15:54.9) and the Eagles’ McGrath (15:57.8) also went sub-16.
Larnard admitted that he benefitted from having a few of his talented teammates pushing him throughout the race. For more than two thirds of the 5K, McGrath and senior John Wilson (17th, 16:20.6) were right beside him in the lead pack.
“We were three of the top five for most of the race, pretty much all of the race until coming out of the woods,” he said, making reference to the final 800 meters. “Just working with them in the woods and throughout the race really helped me.”
McGrath, who ran 9:02 for two miles as a sophomore last spring, made his most significant move with about a quarter-mile remaining. He built a gap on his top competitors as he made his way up the final incline of the race.
“I feel I crested that hill really well,” he said. “After that, I just focused on pumping my arms and getting to the finish line.”
It was very good day for MA schools and runners at 17th annual event. The Bay State racked up a multitude of individual and team triumphs throughout the meet, including the girls’ Championship race where Billerica claimed the team title and Westford Academy junior Abby Hennessey earned a decisive victory for individual honors, breaking the tape in a PR of 17:59.4.
Hennessey, who was a second-place finisher in the Varsity Div. 1 race last year, ran upfront with the leaders from the beginning. Among the spaced-out group early in the race were eventual 2-3 finishers and CT runners, Chase Gilbert (second, 18:13.0) of Old Lyme and Conard’s Tess Sherry (third, 18:24.0) as well as several familiar foes from MA – Billerica’s Gianna McGowan (fourth, 18:44.9). Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Aoife Shovlin (fifth, 18:45.4) and Plymouth South’s Macey Shriner (sixth, 18:55.2).
Hennessey broke away from her rivals with a little less than a mile remaining. She was very satisfied with the early-season effort.
“I was hoping to go into this race, running about 18 minutes, and setting a PR for my first 5K of the season,” she said. “I know I won’t be racing much until later in the season to keep my legs fresh and stuff. I was really happy with the performance.”
Hennessey has a few big goals for the season besides prospering individually in the championship meets. She just a few month removed from an outdoor season where she achieved bests of 4:45 for the mile and 2:09 for 800 meters.
“(I’d like to) get to the finals in San Diego for the (Foot Locker) Nationals. I know it depends a lot on the one race (at regionals). I’m a little nervous for that already,” she said. “I’m also excited to see what are team can do, especially at the league and state level.”
As a team, Westford Academy finished second overall behind Billerica with 90 points. The young Warriors, a squad where all seven of their varsity runners are underclassmen, scored 79 points for the victory.
Billerica had four of its runners dip under 20 minutes for the moderately-challenging 5K layout. Following McGowan across the line were Caitlin Donahue (22nd, 19:56.2), Kylie Donahue (19:56.2), and Hartlie Siegal (19:57.1). Emma Ausillo was the final scoring runner, placing 27th in 20:36.2.
Head coach Cullen Hagen didn’t go into the meet figuring that his team could win. It just worked out that way.
“The group is young, all freshmen and sophomores for the top seven,” he said. “We went in wanting them to compete in their first real invitational of the season…Just getting out here and experiencing a fun meet like this and being around bodies, and maneuvering and figuring it out. That was kind of the goal. We didn’t really talk about specifically winning.”
In the other Varsity races, MA collected three more individual golds. Andover’s Claire Demersseman won the Div. 1 race with a time of 19:13.1, while Lowell’s Jimmy Kelly led his team to victory in the boys’ competition, clocking 16:11.7. Whitinsville Christian’s Emily Flagg defended her Div. 2 crown with a nearly 40-second victory over teammate Emma Wierenga. Flagg was timed in 18:53.9. Wierenga finished at 19:29.6. The Crusaders fell just one point from snaring the team title with Hauppauge (NY) scoring 131 points for the plaque.
Danvers’s William Conklin won the Varsity 2 boys’ race with a time of 16:17.1. Teammate Jonathan Rooney was fifth overall in 16:40.8.
