The league and conference championships are underway.
The girls’ Catholic Conference Championships were held last Wednesday at Cunningham Park, with the remaining league and conference meets scheduled for this week and next.
Of course, that means one thing – The postseason is fast approaching.
The divisional state championships and the Meet of Champions are just around the corner, and the clock is ticking for athletes looking to make their mark.
Over the past two weekends, at meets such as the Twilight Invitational and Saturday’s Catholic Memorial Invitational, we have seen several athletes who have the potential to contend for individual titles or earn top finishes at their respective championship meets.
How about down in Virginia?
Lexington’s Jane Conrad is certainly making a case for herself this season. The talented junior, who finished third in both the Division 1A Championships and the Meet of Champions last year, continued her impressive campaign at the VA XC Showcase.
Competing in the featured race against a star-studded field, Conrad placed 16th overall in 17 minutes, 32.8 seconds for the 5K course. It was her second sub-18-minute performance of the season.
On Oct. 6, she clocked a season-best 17:27.6 in a Middlesex League meet against Reading at Lincoln Field, winning the race by an impressive 1:17.8.
Conrad’s performance on the fast 5K course at Pole Green Park helped lead Lexington to a seventh-place finish in the Showcase race. The Minutemen compiled 253 points, placing third among the Northeast squads in the standings. Heavily-favored Union Catholic (N.J.), the nation’s top-ranked team, claimed the victory with just 65 points, while Penn Charter (Pa.), ranked No. 10 nationally, finished second with 132.
This past weekend’s meet gave Lexington a gauge of what it will need to do to secure one of the two qualifying spots at the Nike Cross Regionals Northeast. For now, Union Catholic and Penn Charter appear to be the clear-cut favorites, having validated their national rankings with their performances in Mechanicsville, Va.
As a team, Lexington averaged 18:29.3 among its five scorers, with a spread of 1:32.7. Next across the line was junior Amelia Whorton, who placed 24th overall in 18 minutes flat. The remaining three scorers were junior Elle Tyson (64th, 18:46.0), sophomore Emma Kosnik (75th, 19:02.1), and senior Erin Ehmann (80th, 19:05.4). All eight Minutemen who made the trip broke 19:30, with senior Callie Glenn also reaching the mark in 19:17.3.
Billerica Memorial also turned in a strong performance, placing 11th among 33 schools with 382 points. Junior Kylie Donahue led the Indians, finishing 45th in 18:05.7. Freshman Maya Niles and Hartlie Siegal followed closely, placing 102nd and 103rd, respectively, in 19:01.0 and 19:01.9. Billerica’s varsity squad averaged 19:01.9, with junior Sabrina Gorski (132nd, 19:28.5) and junior Caitlin Donahue (138th, 19:32.5) rounding out the scoring.
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Another meet that was held on Saturday was the MSTCA Dick Atkinson Invitational at Stanley Park.
The girls’ competition saw a 1-2 finish by Marblehead teammates Sarah Monroe and Eleanor Morgan. Munroe was timed in a winning 18:40, while Morgan clocked 19:15.8. Magicians had four among the top 10, leading them to a 30-52 decision over Haverhill.
In the boys’ race, visiting East Greenwich (RI) dominated the field. The Avengers had six in the top 10 and rolled to an easy 18-95 victory over runner-up West Springfield (MA). Hudson sophomore Harrison Mello was the top MA finisher, placing second overall with a time of 16:04.7. EG’s Andrew Parisi captured the title at 15:50.0.
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Just a reminder. After the league and conference championships are complete. there’s one remaining invitational on the docket before the divisional state championships on Nov. 14 and the Meet of Champions on Nov. 21.
The Wrentham Developmental Center facility will play host to the annual MSTCA Frank Mooney Invitational on Nov. 7. The season-ending competition will feature a combined 14 Large and Small School races.
The deadline to register is Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. All registration is done on athletic.net. No late entries will be accepted.
