So far this fall we’ve been talking about weather as much as running. Mother Nature has had an unprecedented run of victories this fall, claiming yet another meet this past weekend. That said, there were still some great results on Saturday.
Here is Week Five:
| 1. Brookline |
| 2. Cambridge |
| 3. North Andover |
| 4. Saint John’s Prep |
| 5. Newton North |
| 6. Concord-Carlisle |
| 7. Lincoln-Sudbury |
| 8. Hopedale +1 |
| 9. Lowell |
| 10. Newton South |
| 11. Xaverian |
| 12. Lexington +3 |
| 13. Weston |
| 14. Parker Charter |
| 15. Billerica |
| 16. Belmont |
| 17. Natick |
| 18. Longmeadow |
| 19. BC High |
| 20. Arlington |
Honorable Mention: Reading, Catholic Memorial, Groton-Dunstable, Amherst Pelham, Masconomet
The biggest surprise of the week is Lowell. While we had them on our preseason honorable mention list, they had since fallen off our radar. Well, not anymore. They went down to the bronx and finished second in the B race of the Manhattan Invitational. For the challenging 2.5 mile course, they averaged 13:37. That was only five seconds back of our #4 Team Saint John’s Prep. The Eagles finished 11th in the Eastern States Championship Race. Lowell Senior Samuel Desouza finished runner up in the B race in 13:03. That was the second fastest time of the day for a MA runner. The top honor went to none other than Jack Weintraub, winning the E Race in 12:51. Weintraub continues to make a case as a top contender in D1. Xaverian finished 9th overall in the E race. Catholic Conference foe Catholic Memorial finished eighth in the F race.
Arlington joins our list again after topping Reading 28-29 in a dual meet yesterday. They continue to be a team to watch despite not competing at any invitationals. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Reading who were set to compete Sunday at Twilight and then had to switch gears. Fellow Middlesex League rival Lexington had a return to form as they took the Wickham Park Invitational. It looks like they are rounding into shape after some early season struggles.
Speaking of Twilight, Saturday’s weather was great and Hopedale continues to climb our rankings. Hopedale showed out in the small school’s race and won with an average time of 16:20. While they may be a little front loaded, they’re 4-6 runners are currently hovering around 17 minutes.
Weston debuts as well after taking down the field in the medium school’s race. They held off Amherst with a score of 88-101, and had an average time of 16:18. Junior Hunter Waechter got the win in 15:29, while their top five eclipsed 17 minutes. Look for them to continue to climb the rankings.
North Andover continues to hold down the #3 spot after a dominant win at the Devin’s Pre Meet of Champions. The Scarlet Knights scored an impressive 33 points to win by over 40.
Another week, and another missed opportunity for Cambridge Rindge & Latin. They were scheduled to race at both Ocean State earlier this season and Twilight this past weekend. Perhaps we will see them this weekend at Catholic Memorial. If not, we may only get a glimpse of them at the Dual County League Championships (also at Franklin Park) before the Division Championships. It will be interesting to see who adds Catholic Memorial to their schedule. Cambridge is not the only team to miss out due to weather. We have yet to see Newton North and Natick at an Invitational this year. All three teams have it on their schedule now.
