We haven’t forgotten Division 3.
After a brief five-day hiatus, we’re going to finish things up with our fall cross-country previews. Here we feature Div. 3A boys and girls.
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BOYS
Division 3A
Teams: Greater Lowell Tech, Montachusett RVT, Tri County RVT, Lynn Vocational, Nashoba Valley Tech, Upper Cape Cod RVT, South Shore Voc/Tech, Taconic, Medway, Belchertown, Weston, North Reading, Swampscott, Triton, Norwell, Minutemen Regional, Pentucket, Nipmuc, Oakmont Regional, Hudson, Keefe Tech, Springfield HS of Sci. and Tech, Fairhaven, Sandwich, Norfolk County Aggie, Seekonk, Dennis-Yarmouth, Pathfinder RVT, Salem, East Bridgewater, Quabbin, Abington, Bellingham, Stoneham, Lynnfield, Pittsfield, Advanced Math & Science Academy Charter, Old County Regional Voc-Tech, Winthrop, Cape Cod Regional, Franklin County Tech, Joseph Case Tech
Top Athletes: Jackson Beaupariant, Pentucket; Seamus Tully, Greater Lowell Tech; Jack Tutun, Weston; Andrew Kinedinst, Hudson; Ben Tavares, Weston
Outlook: Several of the top finishers from last year’s 3A meet will be returning this year, including Beaupariant, Tully, Tuton and Kinedinst who occupied the 4-5-6-8 positions in 2023. We could have some heavy traffic up front with this quartet coming back. After taking fourth at the divisional states, Beaupariant had the best finish among this bunch at the Meet of Champions where he was timed in 16:43.3 for the 5K course at Fort Devens, an effort that placed him 15th overall. He was fourth at the Cape Ann League Championships and ran a PR of 16:13.3 at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational. Tully has a slight chance to make it two in a row for Greater Lowell Tech, a year after graduating senior Devin Moreau claimed top honors. He ran a solid 17:09 at divisionals and a season best of 16:22.16 at Twilight. Tuton led Weston to the team title last fall with his sixth-place finish (17:11.2) and was 18th (16:51.6) at the MOC. His PR of 16:24.8 came at Twilight. Our darkhorse for a top finish at the divisionals is Ben Tavares. who was 14th at last year’s meet in his first year of cross-country. During the track season as a tenth grader in 2023, he has bests of 1:55 for the 800m, 1:21 for the 600m and sub 50-seconds for the 400m. He was 14th at the 3A meet last year with a time of 17:58.42. He clocked 17:43.42 at the MOC. We think he’s capable to a lot faster based on the talent he demonstrated in the middle-distance events as a sophomore last year.
Greater Lowell and Weston appear to have the strongest teams coming back and could be fighting for those top two positions at the 3A meet come November.
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GIRLS
Division 3A
Teams: Greater Lowell Tech, Montachusett RVT, Tri County RVT, Lynn Vocational, Nashoba Valley Tech, South Shore Voc/Tech, Taconic, Medway, Belchertown, Weston, North Reading, Swampscott, Triton, Norwell, Minutemen Regional, Pentucket, Nipmuc, Oakmont Regional, Hudson, Keefe Tech, Springfield HS of Sci. and Tech, Fairhaven, Sandwich, Norfolk County Aggie, Seekonk, Dennis-Yarmouth, Salem, East Bridgewater, Quabbin, Abington, Bellingham, Stoneham
Top Athletes: Susan Wisniewski, Pentucket; Olivia Pendleton, Dennis-Yarmouth Regional; Siena Lauze, Dennis Yarmouth, Makenna Laramee, Dennis Yarmouth; Hallie Robitaille, Norwell, Katherine Murray, Norwell
Outlook: Wisniewski is the early favorite to snag the 3A crown. She’s the top returnee from last year’s meet, finishing third as a freshman with a time of 20:14.5. Wisniewski would follow that effort by placing fourth at the MOC in 19:15.8. In addition, the talented underclassman would take ninth in the Championship race at the Frank Kelley Invitational (PR, 19:01.1) and runner-up honors at the Cape Ann League Championships (19:28.3). During the postseason, the Pentucket harrier also qualified for the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships by taking second at the Region 1 meet. Pendelton and Lauze, the 4-5 finishers at the divisionals, should also fare well this fall. The Dennis Yarmouth teammates were solid last fall. Pendleton had a season best of 19:26.1 at the Twilight Invitational and went 20:01.3 at Franklin Park during the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals. As a tenth-grader, Pendleton was frequently under 20 minutes, including a best of 19:44.1 at the 2C meet where she was seventh overall. Lauze clocked a PR of 19:23.6 at Twilight and ran 20:24.0 at Foot Locker. Keep an eye on Robataille and Murray, who both had impressive races at the recent Vineyard X-C Invitational. Robataille raced to a nearly two-minute PR of 20:33 at Saturday’s meet, while Murray won the Freshmen race with a strong 11:26.14 for the 3K course.
With five of its runners back from last year’s fifth-place team, including the strong tandem of Pendleton and Lauze, Dennis Yarmouth appears to be the early-season favorite for the team title. Look for Weston and Norwell to be in the mix, too.
