This past weekend was jam packed with races, so you’d be excused if you missed one. Stanley Park wasn’t the only venue in Western Mass that hosted a meet, as the Umass XC course was the site of the Amherst Invitational. Two top ranked teams from the Bay State came away with victories.
Boys Varsity
#4 Brookline traveled out west for their most impressive performance of the season, taking the team title with 27 points, over Keene, NH. The Warriors only ran sixth athletes in the varsity race, but that was all they needed. Soshant Shahbazi made his case for sixth man of the year, finishing 13th overall in 17:07 over the challenging terrain at Umass.
Up front Brookline was led by star duo Theodore Butty and Liam Hartman, who went 2-3, in 16:03. Harry Flint continues to demonstrate his range as he adapts to the XC course. Flint finished sixth in 16:31, with teammate Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem right behind in seventh, in 16:33. Aidan Vandor rounded out the top five in ninth, running 16:35.
#14 Amherst-Pelham had a great day as well, finishing in third place with 74 points. Calvin Miller and Peter Nedeau both finished in the top 10, running 16:19 and 16:36.
Keene, NH’s Sullivan Sturtz was the overall winner in 15:43.
Girls Varsity
Concord-Carlisle conquered the Umass XC course, winning with an impressive score of 20, over Amherst-Pelham Regional. Equally impressive was the performance of star junior Maria Chopas, who won in a time of 18:59, over a minute ahead of second place. This was her first major win of the season.
Concord-Carlisle packed their top five into the top ten, all running 20:41 or better. Alex Skelly finished third overall in 20:16, with Pelin Turner finishing fifth in 20:35. Abigail Adams and Liliana Miles finished it off for the Patriots, finishing in seventh and eighth, running 20:39 and 20:41.
Marit McDonald was first overall for Amherst-Pelham, coming in sixth at 20:38. Lilly Pope was top ten as well, running 20:49.
Junior Varsity
The boy’s junior varsity race turned into a display of depth for the Brookline Boys. Competition for their seventh and final varsity spot will be tough, as they went 1-9. Eric Bardon and Nam Danh finished together in 17:31.
The Warriors took the girls race as well, with sophomore Katherine O’Connor running an impressive 22:12. That would have placed 25th in the Varsity Race.
Freshmen
Keene got another win in the boy’s freshmen race. Harvey Kossayda was the top ninth grader in 18:29. Amherst-Pelham’s Jeremiah Hayslip was runner up in 18:34.
Concord-Carlisle shined in the girl’s freshmen race as well. Emma Kjaersgaard had a breakthrough performance running 20:35. Keep an eye on her as the season progresses as she could make a splash in the varsity races. Teammate Felicity Daglish also had a huge performance 21:12.
