One of the things that sets the Frank Kelley Invitational apart — like most statewide competitions — is the way it gives each class a chance to shine. Saturday’s meet featured individual Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior three-kilometer races for both Small and Large Schools.
Sixteen races — boys and girls — went off in rapid-fire succession, thanks, as always, to the reliable MSTCA officials. What emerged from the day were some familiar faces showing us they were diligent with their summer training, a strong group of underclassmen with the potential to make some noise this season, and teams that not only have talent up from but the depth behind them to be a factor when championship season rolls around in just over a month. Yep, it’s coming up quickly.
(Cover Photo: Norwell’s Katherine Murray en route to a dominating victory in the Sophomore Small School race. She was timed in 10:48.82)
Here’s our recap of six hours of some solid racing on the grounds of the Wrentham Developmental Center
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Gartner Sets Pace In Final Boys’ Race Of Afternoon
A potential matchup never materialized with his twin brother Nathan, who was nursing a slight hamstring injury. Still, Falmouth’s Silas Gartner had plenty of competition to push him in senior race of the Small School teams durng the afternoon session. Gartner was comfortably ahead at the midway point and held on for a less than two-second victory over Parker Charter’s Nathaniel Henwshaw. The Clipper senior, and defending Div. 2 titlist, clocked 9:07.45, the fastest time of the day among the eight boys’ races. Henshaw (second, 9:09.77) and Newburyport’s MIchael Mohoric (third, 9:09.78) also broke 9:10.
“It was great,” he said. “It was fast. I was trying for 4:45 (per mile) pace. I felt great coming in. I was pumped up for this race. Nothing would have brought me down today.”
Raffetto Leads Way For Girls
The quickest race on the girls’ side — just barely — belonged to Lauren Raffetto, who won the Junior race for Small Schools. The Canton standout finished in 10:38.53. Hamilton Wenham teammates Grace Rich (second, 10:41.99) and Asa Lobell (third, 10:46.16) took the next two spots. Raffetto’s time was slightly faster than the one recorded by Central Catholic’s Kyla Breslin, who won the Sophomore Large School race in 10:39.20.
Raffetto was in the race from the start, nestling herself with the lead runners before taking control in the last 800 meters.
“I started picking up with a half-mile remaining,” she said. “With 400 (meters) left, I was going all out.”
Billerica Girls Make Their Mark
Billerica was everywhere in the girls’ races. We counted at least 20 runners who competed in the four races, with most occupying the younger grade levels. No doubt the future looks bright for the Indians.
On Saturday, Billerica won the team titles in the Freshman and Sophomore races with low point totals of 25 and 27 points, respectively. The Indians’ Maya Niles, only an eighth-grader, outdistanced frosh teammate Evelyn Wesling by just a few strides to win the Freshman title in 11:22.44 to Wesling’s 11:22.06 effort. Twin sisters Kylie Donahue (10:49.45) and Caitlyn Donahue (10:49.63) went 2-3 against Breslin in the Sophomore competition.
Billerica only had three runners in the Junior race, but they were all up front. The Indians’ Madelynn LaRosa was the first across the line with a time of 11:13.12. Hartlie Siegal was second in 11:16.11, while Emma Austilio was fifth in 11:46.31.
“We just like to train a lot,” said LaRosa, about Billerica’s success. “We put in a lot of dedication into this. You also have to be mentally strong. It can get to you in a race, like being, ‘Oh, I didn’t think I’m doing good. I don’t think I’m built for this.’ But instead, telling ourselves, ‘Hey, we got this. We are such a good team and we have each other and we can make it here together.'”
Sibling Success
Following Niles’ performance was another runner from the same household. Older brother Mason Niles won the Sophomore race less than a half hour later with a time of 9:21.27.
“This is the first time we raced together. I have been injured so far this season, so this is like my opener,” Mason said. “I just thought it would be cool to go back-to-back with her. I’m so happy about that.”
