It’s now time for Part 2 of the fall cross-country season. On Saturday, the best of the best from each division, from each sub division, will battle each other at their respective races at the MIAA Divisional Championships. We broke it down into capsules on who will be some of the top teams and athletes to keep an eye on this weekend.
We finish our previews with Division 3 girls, which includes Div. 3A, 1B and 1C.
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DIVISION STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Wrentham Developmental Center
Division 3A
Day/Time: Saturday at 11 a.m.
Top Teams: Norwell, Greater Lowell Tech, Seekonk
Runners To Watch: Katherine Murray, Norwell; Gabrielle Holdsworth, East Bridgewater; Ella Rogers, Nashoba Regional; Lily Beland, Greater Lowell Tech
Outlook: The two leading contenders for the individual title are Murray and Holdsworth. Murray is experiencing a fantastic freshman campaign for the Clippers this fall and holds the edge in this battle. She was unbeaten during the league season and her only losses this year came against statewide competition with a third-place finish at the Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational where she clocked a PR of 18:26.59 and a runner-up finish at the MSTCA Bay State Invitational where she posted a fast time of 18:48.85 at Wrentham. She was a winner at the South Shore League Championships with an 18:50.77 effort and is coming off a victory in the Freshmen 3K from the Frank Mooney Invitational where she broke the tape in 11:10.12. Holdsworth was second (19:26.43) to her rival at South Shore and finished eighth in her race at the Mooney Invite where she was timed in a PR of 18:49.67. Rogers and Beland have bests of 19:17.36 and 19:19.26, respectively, this season and should be among the top finishers. With the ability to have most of its five scoring runners among the top 20, top-ranked Norwell appears to be the odds-on-favorite to capture the team title. Greater Lowell Tech and Seekonk could be fighting for those next two spots.
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Division 3B
Day/Time: Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Top Teams: Hamilton-Wenham, Hampshire Regional, Monument Mountain
Runners To Watch: Amelia Desilets, Monument Mountain; Grace Rich, Hamilton-Wenham, Asa Labell, Hamilton-Wenham
Outlook: This has potential to be a three-person race with Desilets, Rich and Labell on the line. Desilets, a recent winner at the WMass XC Championships, comes in with a best of 18:17.95 from her second-place finish in the Small-Medium School race at Twilight. Rich, a sophomore, captured the Cape Ann League Championships at Wrentham with her classmate Labell taking the runner-up spot. Rich recorded a time of 18:38.53, while her teammate finished at 19:06.05. Labell also ran a best of 18:49.96 from the Frank Kelley Invitational. With a strong front five, Hamliton-Wenham looks primed to make it happen as a team. Hampshire may have the best shot at beating Generals with some movement up front.
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Division 3C
Day/Time: Saturday at 2 p.m.
Top Teams: Mount Greyloick, Lenox, Bromfield
Runners To Watch: Cameron Davis, Oxford; Evelyn Wool, Bromfield; Emma Genovese, Millis; Annabella Lamoreaux, Sutton; Rosie Bradley, Bromfield
Outlook: Davis, the defending titlists, gets the favorite label in this race. Since the start of the season when she finished third at the Vineyard XC Invitational, the Oxford sophomore has been progressing nicely for a peak performance on Saturday. Davis went sub-18 twice over the last few weeks. She clocked 17:53.50 to win her race at Twilight in mid October and last week was second at the Frank Mooney Invitational with a PR of 17:43.82. That’s a time that’s more than 50 second faster than her closest rival this weekend. Wool has a best of 18:36.35 from Twilight and won her race at the Mid-Wach League Championships where she was timed in 18:55.73. Genovese is three weeks removed from a third-place finish at the Tri Valley League Championships at Wrentham where she ran an all-time best of 18:41.50. Lamoureaux and Bradley are two other runners in this field that have gone sub-19 this season. Lamoureux raced to a best of 18:44.12 at Twilight and was seventh at the Mooney Invite with a solid 18:46.43. Bradley ran a PR of 18:51.60 at Twilight and was second at the Mid-Wach Championships with a 19:22.13 effort. We could have an intense battle for the team crown between Mount Greylock, Bromfield and Lenox, who hold the 2-3-7 positions in the coaches rankings.
