This Saturday all three divisions will converge on Willard Park at Fort Devens. But first, the now famous course played host to division three as teams across the Bay State did battle and gave us a great preview.
Girls Division 3C
The Mt Greylock Girls’ team was built for the championship season. If you only watched the front of the race, you may have been surprised to see them atop the podium. However, they may be the deepest team in Division 3, as they put their entire top seven in the top 20.
They were led by two top ten performances from Bridget Holland and Riley Mae Dickinson, both running 20:55. Cornelia Swaybey and Ani KoaMaya both cracked the top 15, running 21:04 and 21:13. Then spectators were treated to a sea of red, as Adriana Carasone, Josephine, Bay, and Lucy Greg, finished 18th, 19th, and 20th. Bay and Gregg’s finish are the perfect example of why sixth and seventh runner’s matter. Both, along with Carasone, outplaced the second and third place team’s fourth runners.
After a runner up finish last season, Saturday was a breakout day for Millis freshmen, Emma Genovese. With the second fastest time of the day, 19:18, this marked the first major victory for Genovese after taking silver and bronze across the season. As just a freshman, keep an eye on her next week as she battles for the overall division three crown.
Sutton teammates Annabella Lamoreaux and Vivien Bregman finished in second and third, running 19:40 and 19:50. Sutton would finish fourth overall.
Bromfield took second overall, led by Senior Rosie Bradley in fourth, running 19:57. Bradley was fifth at the Meet of Champs last season so keep an eye on her next week. In one of the most impressive performances of the day, Carver’s Hazel Butterworth finished fifth in 20:24. Butterworth is just a seventh grader!
Division 3B
Saturday was twice as nice for Hampshire Regional as they won both the boys and girls B races. It was an uphill battle against a formidable Hamilton-Wenham team. Their trajectory this season has been similar to their boys, as they were runner up at Ted Dutkiewicz and then runner up at the Western Mass Champs. Their steady progression culminated in victory on Saturday.
Kathleen Barry led the way, finishing fourth overall in 20:04. Brooke Hockenberry and Ada Corner, came in together at 20:54 and 20:55, for 10th and 11th. Charlotte Niswonger and Alexandra Henrichon rounded out their top five, placing 12th and 17th. Charlotte Letendre and Keegan Butler were sixth and seventh for the championship squad.
Hamilton-Wenham got off to as good a start as you can, with Grace Rich and Asa Labell finishing 1-2 in 19:24 and 19:27. The dynamic duo have been fantastic all season. They went 1-2 at the Cape Anne League Championships and were top five at the Deven’s Pre-Championship meet. Freshmen Talia Labell was eighth overall in 20:44.
Olivia Coronella of Lunenberg was third overall, and cracked 20 minutes as well, running 19:33, just a few seconds back of the Hamilton-Wenham duo. This is her first cross country season.
Tallulah Clifford of Sturgis Charter East was fifth overall in 20:33. Advanced Science and Math Academy was third overall with 86 points.
Division 3A
Greater Lowell Tech were double winners as well, as they got an impressive victory over the formidable defending champs, Norwell, and took home two team titles. The Gryphons put on a pack running clinic as their top three finished together in fourth, fifth, and sixth. Teagan Galvagni, 20:16, Lillian Zurkis, 20:18, and Audrey Yann, 20:34, scored a total of 15 points to get Greater Lowell off to a fantastic start.
Hannah Levesque cracked 20 minutes as well, finishing in 16th and running 20:56. Toula Stavrou, Makenzie Plouffe, and Olivia Stack finished in the top 35.
Norwell’s dynamic duo of Katherine Murray and Audrey Birtwell would not be stopped. Murray took the crown as well as the fastest time of the day, running 18:59. After finishing third last season, she appears primed for her first Meet of Champions Crown. Audrey Birtwell finished runner up in an impressive 19:35. The two will try to do it all again next week.
Eighth grader Gabirelle Holdsworth of East Bridgewater did her best to steal the show finishing in third place, running 20:16. After qualifying as a seventh grader last season, this will be her second crack at the Meet of Champions.
Sandwich battled Norwell all the way to the line, finishing in third, one point behind the Clippers, with 78 points. Grace Smith was 10th overall and all five of their runners finished in the top 25.
