XC Midseason Leaders: Familiar Faces, Fresh Battles

Unlike track, where the distances are fixed and precise down to the last meter, cross country is a different animal. Times alone don’t always tell us who are the fastest  runners. Every course is unique — and let’s be honest, not every 5K measures out exactly the same. Some venues are known for producing especially fast results on a regular basis. Two that come to mind are the Wrentham Developmental Center, site of several of our fall competitions, and the Cape Cod Fairgrounds, home to next weekend’s “PR Festival” – the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. Wrentham’s speed comes from its mostly flat layout with just a few rolling hills, while the Fairgrounds is fast for a combination of reasons – minimal inclines, the novelty of racing under the lights, and a 5K course that tends to run a bit generously. Last year alone, 14 of the 20 best times for girls were set at the two courses. For boys, it was 11 out of 20.

With all this being said, we are still getting a pretty clear picture on who are some of the top harriers that will be making some noise when the meat of the season kicks into gear next month with the division state championships and the Meet of Champions.

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At close to the midway point of the season, occupying the 1-2 spots in the girls’ rankings are two familiar names – Needham’s Greta Hammer and Westford Academy’s Abby Hennessy. Hammer, a Nike Cross Nationals finalist and winner of the Div. 1A meet and MOC, clocked a state-leading 17 minutes, 34.9 seconds at a league meet with Braintree. More impressive than that performance is her big win at the Manchester Invitational where she covered the very challenging layout of Derryfield Park in a solid 18:29.0, 34.9 seconds ahead of her closest pursuer. Just to give you an indication of the difficulty of the course, during the course of its long history only five have broken 18 minutes.

Can you say epic battles? That’s what we’re predicting in Div. 1A and the MOC this year.

Hammer will have some close company at those meets this season with Hennessy back on the trails. After winning last year’s Ocean State Invitational, the Westford Academy standout’s season— and most of her indoor campaign — was cut short due to RED-S syndrome, which is a collection of health consequences that result from low energy availability. With those concerns now under control, a healthy (and fast) Hennessy certainly looked impressive this past weekend in defense of her title at Ocean State. In a race she wished she had gone faster, Hennessy toured the 5K course at Goddard State Park in a PR and winning time of 17:35.7. In her debut effort this season, she was nearly 30 seconds ahead of top rival Chase Gilbert (18:02.2) of East Lyme (CT). Hennessey indicated afterwards that she’s hoping to break 17 minutes by season’s end and has a goal of qualifying for the Brooks Cross Country Championship (formerly the Foot Locker Nationals in San Diego) in early December.

“Last year, it was a really big disappointment for me. That was my big goal. Not getting a chance to compete there was really disappointing for me,” she said. “I think I am in really good shape so far and I’d love to see myself break 17 minutes. It’s a big goal but I’d love to do it. I know I have a fast race at Twilight and a fast race at Wrentham twice. I am looking forward to that.”

Based on how last year ended for Hennessy, where she smashed the state record for the mile with a third-place finish and a time of 4:34.69 at the New Balance Nationals, those are some legit goals from the multiple all-stater.

In total, 23 runners have dipped under 19 minutes so far this season. A few others that deserve notice are Norwell’s Katherine Murray, Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Sophia Juanes-Seto, Bishop Feehan’s Sophie Shaw, and Emily and Abby Flagg of Whitinsville Christian. Murray ran a low 18:04.3 to capture the Varsity B race at the MSTCA Bay State Invitational last weekend and also won the Small School race at the Frank Kelley Invite a week earlier, covering the 3K course in 10:48.8. She’s certainly on pace to defend her crown in 3A and challenge up front at the MOC. Seto took the Varsity A race at Bay State last Saturday with a strong 18:10.2. She was fourth in 1A and eighth at the MOC in 2024. Shaw was second in the Varsity B race at Bay State with a PR of 18:17.

And how about the Flagg twins? Emily, who was unbeaten last year and capped off the fall with a pair of crowns in Div. 2C and the MOC, is off to another great start. She took individual honors for the second straight year at the Vineyard XC Invitational and also won the Highland Park Invite. This past weekend, she finished third in the Championship race at Ocean State with a season-best 18:09.6. That effort was nearly 45 seconds faster than what she ran to win the Varsity 2 race last year. After a two-year hiatus from the high school scene, Abby is right back where she belongs. She was runner-up at Vineyard and Highland Park and earned gold at Ocean State in the Varsity 2 race with a deceiving time of 18:29.6. Leading the race, the Crusader junior ran slightly off course due to confusion with the pace bike and had to backtrack, losing about 20 seconds.

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The boys’ side is shaping up nicely, too. Thus far, 19 have gone under 16 minutes. The No. 1 spot in the rankings, timewise, belongs to Oliver Ames’ Landon Sarney, who was part of Massachusetts’ dominance at Ocean State. Sarney was fifth overall and fourth among Bay Staters in the Championship race, where he clocked 15:50.5. He cruised to a state-leading and dominating 15:26.0 in a league meet with Mansfield on Sept. 9. At the Bay State Invite, Cambridge Rindge & Latin’s Leon Ibanez-Fraile (15:29.10) and Walpole’s Luke Zahurak (15:34.0) are at two and three in the rankings with their respective wins in the Varsity B and Varsity C races. Both have shown great improvement from what they did in 2024. Catholic Memorial’s Michael Upton, runner-up in the Varsity B race, ranks fifth based on time with a best of 15:41.1 from that meet.

If not for a stumble by Falmouth’s Silas Gartner with 30 meters remaining, the Championship race at Ocean State could have been determined by a lean at the finish. Monument Mountain’s Everett Pacheco outlasted Silas to claim the title and make it four straight for MA in the featured race with a time of 15:38.1. Gartner was timed in 15:44.5. The two runners, who were our Div. 3 and Div. 2 victors at the MOC last fall, look fit and ready to defend their respective titles next month.

Speaking of Gartner, his twin brother Nathan is among our top runners this season. Until this past weekend, he held the No.1 spot in the state with his triumphant 15:47.4 from the Vineyard Invitational back on Sept. 6. A slight injury prevented a potential match-up with his equally-talented sibling never materialized at the Frank Kelley Invitational on Sept. 20. But Team Gartner will be together at the MOC as both their schools compete in Div. 2.

We can’t forget runners like Natick’s John Bianchi and BC High’s Greg McGrath. Both have started their seasons on a high note. Bianchi was fourth at Ocean State in a season best of 15:47.3. McGrath is unbeaten in league competition with a season best of 15:55.1.

(Above photo by Sterling Vernon @rhodeandtrack)