A minor hiccup midway through what has become a successful comeback season for Abby Flagg now looks like a distant memory for the Whitinsville Christian junior.
Flagg appears to be right where she belongs with the divisional championships on the horizon next weekend. The Crusaders’ standout harrier, competing in her first season since an outstanding freshman campaign, was laser-focused at Saturday’s MSTCA Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational.
Flagg turned in the fastest time of the day to capture the Junior/Senior Small School race on the grounds of the Wrentham Developmental Center. She blazed through the five-kilometer course in a personal-best 17 minutes, 59.60 seconds. Flagg, who became just the ninth Massachusetts runner to break 18 minutes this fall, finished nearly 30 seconds ahead of her closest competitor, Bromfield’s Rosie Bradley (18:26.30).
“I’ve been injured for a couple of weeks — I hurt my ankle, so I’ve done a lot of weeks on the bike,” Flagg said. “I’m happy to be racing again. I feel like I did pretty well. I felt calm and like I was able to hold myself back and not go crazy.”
At next Saturday’s divisional championships, Flagg — along with her twin sister and defending titlist Emily Flagg — will be among the elite in the Division 2C meet at Northfield Mountain. In typical fashion, Emily took the pace out hard in this race but unfortunately did not finish.
“I’m not sure why,” Abby said of her sister. “I think she may not have been feeling well. She’s really fast right now. I have no chance to catch her next weekend.”
The six-hour meet, held under cool and occasionally windy conditions, featured Small and Large School divisions. While several top runners skipped the event to prepare for upcoming championships, the competition remained solid.
Here are a few more highlights from the Mooney Invitational:
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Hopedale’s Quinn Cook looked mighty strong to convincingly win the Freshmen 3K in the Small School meet. Cook was timed in 9:46.3. Finishing a distance second at 10:16.80 was Sandwich’s Alex Palomar-Nelson. During a season that included a sub-16 at the Twilight Invitational (PR, 15:57.6) as well as a victory at the CMAC East Division Championships on Oct. 23, Cook feels confident about how he’ll perform at the Div. 3C meet at Fort Devens.
“Last year I was injured the majority of the season. It feels good to be healthy all season,” he said. “I just want to get the team to qualify for the states. “I want to place as high as I can to help them qualify.”
Another ninth-grader, Parker Charter’s Jett Johnson, was a victor in the Small School Sophomore 5K. Johnson, who has been his team’s No. 2 runner behind Nathaniel Henshaw, coasted to a time of 16:40.6.
In the Large School Sophomore 5K, Central Catholic’s Kyla Breslin continued her outstanding season. The talented tenth-grader — who recently claimed her second straight Merrimack League Championship on Oct. 25 — recorded her third sub-18 performance of the fall, finishing in 18:27.80. Westborough’s Clare Hall, another standout underclassman, grabbed the silver in 18:40.70.
For compete results, click on links below.
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RESULTS
PHOTOS
