Quinn Cook didn’t come away with a victory at Saturday’s Highland Park Invitational.
But the Hopedale High senior was plenty satisfied with his runner-up finish in the featured Steve Newman Race and a fast early-season time of 16 minutes, 9.51 seconds on the challenging five-kilometer layout.
“It is a big confidence-booster,” he said. “I did not expect to run that fast today. I’m really happy with it.”
Cook’s time was a minute faster than his fourth-place performance from last year’s race and put him just nine seconds behind individual winner Brooks Mello of Barrington (RI). His runner-up finish certainly didn’t come from a lack of effort against one of Rhode Island’s top distance runners.
The Hopedale standout, who was 15th in the Division 3 race at last fall’s Meet of Champions, made the race honest by setting the pace for the first 2.5 miles. It was shortly after that point that Mello was able to take control and earn the victory.
“I didn’t really want to lead,” Cook admitted. “My plan was to go at two miles and see what I could take from there. But (Mello) really dropped me. I am still happy with the results.”
The Raiders standout, who was third in the Division 3C Championships in 2025, has a lofty goal this season, besides improving on his 5K best of 15:57.6 from the Twilight Invitational.
He’s off to a good start so far.
“(Today) was my best season opener by about a minute, so I cant really be mad at all,” he said. “My goal is top five or three at the Meet of Champions. This season is the most training, the most mileage I have ever done. I think I could be in good form by the end of the season.”
Cracking the top 10 for the Bay State were Catholic Memorial’s Theo Fitzpatrick (sixth, 16:47.23), Ayer-Shirley’s Jake Leone (seventh, 16:50.73) and Douglas’ Amer Chaudhary (ninth, 16:52.66). Barrington won the team title with just 33 points, while Hopedale was second with 60.
The Eagles, ranked No. 2 in the Ocean State for boys and among the top six for girls, dominated the meet, winning individual crowns in five of the six races. Bishop Feehan broke that streak in the final race of the day.
In the Open 3K, the Shamrocks had a 1-2 finish by sophomore teammates Amelia Burgess (12:55.16) and Christina McCarthy (13:00.06). Feehan also swept fourth through seventh, with sophomore Emma Wapenski (13:38.87), junior Elizabeth Cosgrove (fifth, 14:09.49), sophomore Shayli Jones (sixth, 14:16.70) and Avery Texeira (seventh, 14:19.60).
Cooper Wilson of Boston College High was second overall in the Freshmen 3K, clocking a solid 10:39.53. Hopedale’s Cole Murphy was sixth in 11:24.62. BC High’s Max Kaddis took ninth at 11:53.40.
In the girls’ Frosh 3K, Hopedale’s Teagan Richards had the state’s top finish, placing third overall with a time of 12:43.50. Bellingham’s Morgan Henshaw (fourth, 12:49.49) and Bishop Feehan’s Lucy Harkinson (fifth, 12:58.26) were also under 13 minutes.
Showcasing its depth and pack mentality, Bishop Feehan had its top four runners under 21 minutes in the girls’ 5K, separated by just 19 seconds. That quartet included senior Sophie Shaw (fifth, 20:15.40), senior Grace McGahan (sixth, 20:26.44), sophomore Quinn Kotch (seventh, 20:34.63) and junior Madeline Neary (eighth, 20:34.82).
Barrington had five of the top six finishers in the boys’ Open 3K race. Breaking up the party was Catholic Memorial’s Gabriel Grafals, who was fourth overall with a time of 11:58.80. The Knights’ Colton Piekarski (seventh, 12:15.14) and William Maloney (ninth, 12:28.27) were also among the top 10.
