A week before the MIAA Meet of Champions at Fort Devens, teams and athletes from Division 2 had the opportunity to test out the challenging 5K at Saturday’s divisional state championships.
Based on what transpired this weekend, it looks like we’ll have some interesting matchups in their return trip to the former military base.
For starters, the state’s No. 1 and No. 4 runners were both victorious in the girls’ race.
Just as she’s done all season long, Whitinsville Christian sophomore Emily Flagg was lights out in Div. 2C. The Crusaders’ standout won by more than a minute with her time of 18 minutes, 7.2 seconds. Finishing second was W-C teammate Emma Wierenga, who was timed in 19:12.69. The top-ranked Flagg’s solo effort was nearly 50 seconds faster than what she ran at last year’s MOC at Fort Devens and would have been No. 2 for the day behind only Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Aoife Shovlin’s winning performance in Div. 2. Teamwise, Whitinsville Christian defended its crown with an 80-104 decision over second-place Medfield.
Holliston’s Maggie Kuchman, ranked fourth in the state, also broke 19 minutes to capture the Div. 2B race. The Panther senior, last year’s Div. 2 winner at the MOC, was timed in 18:50.47. Northampton’s Maeve O’Neil was second at 19:14.54. With a 54-second gap between in five scorers, Amherst Pelham won a tight battle for the team title. Only 11 points separated the top three teams with the Hurricanes securing the banner with 97 points. Newburyport was second with 107 points, just one point more than third-place Northampton.
In Div. 2A, Norwood’s Natalie Martin took individual honors with a time of 19:08.35. Finishing less than 100 meters in second was Marblehead’s Marietta O’Connell at 19:24.72. Westwood solidified the gold with 78 points. Walpole was second with 103 points.
Falmouth’s Silas Gartner staked his claim as one of the runners to beat at this Saturday’s meet with a strong win in the Div. 2B race. Gartner posted the fastest time of the day with a time of 15:42.91. He led three under 16 minutes with Danvers’ William Conklin (second, 15:53.05) and Melrose’s Caleb Barnes (third, 15:55.21) also going under the mark. As expected, Longmeadow, Wakefield and Amherst Pelham were among the top teams. With a 39-second gap between its’ one and five runners, Longmeadow took the crown with 95 points. Wakefield was second with 112 points, while Amherst Pelham secured third with 148, a mere point ahead of fourth-place Wayland.
Talk about dominance up front. Marblehead went 1-2-3 in Div. 2A en route to the team title. Senior Will Cerrutti edged fellow classmate Nate Assa by four hundredths of a second to take top honors with his time of 16:14.44. Jacob Szalewicz, another senior, was third at 16:30.63. Marblehead’s trio proved crucial in the end as the Magicians slipped by Plymouth South, 65-67. Boston Latin Academy was third with 77 points.
Groton Dunstable’s Greyson Duane outlasted Bishop Stang’s Lowell Copps for the Div. 2C title. Duane was timed in 16:18.85. Copps was less than 20m behind in 16:21.29. Groton Dunstable’s Andrew Kosiba was third at 16:46.15. Highlighted by its 1-3-8 finish – junior Evan Seiger was eighth (17:09.00) – Groton Dunstable took the team crown. The Crusaders scored 52 points, 50 more than runner-up Dover Sherborn.
