The Bay State will be well represented this weekend as the region’s best converge at Bowdoin Park in Wappinger Falls, NY, for the Nike Northeast Cross Regionals – Northeast (NXR-NE).
Brookline High, which captured its third straight Division 1 boys’ title at the recent MIAA Meet of Champions, is among three MA squads that will compete in the featured Championship race. Can the Warriors improve on their fourth-place finish from 2023 and possibly qualify for the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) on Nov. 30 in Portland, Oregon?
It will be tough. To earn a qualify spot at NXN, a team must finish in the top two in Saturday’s race . For individuals, it’s the top five that are not on a team that has already qualified.
This weekend’s meet includes the top four teams in the northeast with Christian Brothers Academy (NJ), Ridgefield (CT), State College (PA) and Haddonfield Memorial (NJ) all entered. CBA is currently ranked No. 2 in the country. Ridgefield (No. 14) and Haddonfield (No. 28) are also listed in the top 30 nationally.
Brookline has a solid crew with senior Altamo Aschkensay, senior Lysander Duffield, sophomore Liam Hartmann, junior Theodore Butty, senior Theo Kessler, senior Sam Haber and senior William Stone. With their best efforts, the Warriors have an outside chance. Besides the standard qualifications, four at-large teams will also be chosen throughout the nation. One extra spot could be in this race with the level of talent.
Concord Carlisle and Natick, who were fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Meet of Champions, will also be making the trip.
The top individual from MA is Tamrat Gavenas of Phillips Academy Andover. The recent NEPSTA Division 1 champion was third at the Foot Locker Nationals last year. As a sophomore in 2022, Gavenas qualified for NXN by placing ninth overall in the regionals. The PA senior certainly has a chance to challenge up front and possibly win this weekend. In addition to his prowess on the trails, he’s also has bests of 8:14 for 3,000 meters and 4:12 for the mile. Gavenas currently ranks No. 12 in the country with CBA’s Joe Barrett (No. 3) the only runner ahead of him going into Saturday’s competition.
For the girls, Amherst Pelham, Lexington, Needham and Weymouth are scheduled to compete in the Championship race. Individually, Dennis Yarmouth’s Olivia Pendleton will also be answering the gun.
Look for Needham’s Greta Hammer to be up there with the leaders. Hammer has broken 18 minutes four times this season and has proven over the years that she can handle the difficult terrain of Bowdoin, which includes a few challenging uphill climbs the first half of the race. After a late start to her sesason, she was second at the Manchester Invitational on Sept. 23. On that same demanding 5K at Deeryfield Park, she won the individual crown as a tenth-grader with a best of 18:26.
Lexington comes into this meet after taking runner-up honors to Westford Academy in the Div. 1 race at MOC. The Minutemen were just four points behind the Ghosts’ winning total of 118. Needham and Weymouth will be focusing on big races this season after finishing fifth and seventh, respectively, at the MOC. Amherst Pelham comes off a second-place finish in Div. 2.
