WRENTHAM — With a loaded discipline swollen with expertise, there have been whispers that a number of runners may dip beneath quarter-hour within the Div. 1A championship race Friday on the Wrentham Developmental Center’s 3.1-mile structure.
At the end, it was a well-recognized face that crossed the road with a brand new course document.
Harvard-bound Sam Burgess of Framingham put the irritating damage that sidelined him for all however three meets this season additional within the rearview as he answered each surge Westford Academy’s Paul Bergeron threw at him to complete in a blistering 14 minutes, 38.9 seconds. Both Burgess and runner-up Bergeron (14:43.8) broke the 14:47 course document set final fall by Uxbridge’s Aidan Ross.
“It was hard early,” mentioned Burgess, who defended his title. “I’ve never been out that fast. It was a hard effort.”
It was Bergeron who put the hammer down by way of a 4:42 opening mile with Burgess, Nathan Lopez of St. John’s Prep (third, 15:08.1) and teammate Jack Graffeo (15:16.2) in tow. He surged shortly after and by two miles (9:24) he dropped everybody however Burgess. The Flyer harrier switched gears shortly after and saved pushing to the end line.
A whopping 17 runners broke 16 minutes.
Burgess was assured the tempo wasn’t going to gradual, regardless of the very quick begin.
“He’s (Bergeron) a phenomenal runner,” Burgess mentioned. “He was good as a sophomore and now he’s even better as a junior. When we came to the mile, Paul surged and I knew, ‘Yeah, we’re going to fly.’ ”
Brookline’s squad averaged a swift 15:57 to seize the crew title with 80 factors. Kailas Ciatto paced the Warriors along with his eighth-place end in 15:42.4.
The harriers benefitted from heat situations and nearly no wind to make for a quick day of racing.
Lexington’s Ava Criniti scored a light upset within the 1A race, utilizing her kick over the ultimate 400 meters to edge Newton South’s Amelia Everett in a personal-best 17:50.9. Everett was lower than a second again in 17:51.4 and Needham’s Greta Hammer took the bronze medal in 17:51.8. Andover’s Molly Kiley (17:57.2) and Cambridge’s Aoife Shovlin (17:58.9) additionally broke the 18-minute barrier.
Criniti, who will attend Northwestern, was content material to take a seat within the tight pack early earlier than making a tough transfer on the ultimate teardrop loop.
“I was definitely nervous,” she mentioned. “I knew there were a lot of talented girls in my race. This course was a lot less hilly than I’ve been running.”
Like the boys, Brookline earned the crew victory in 1A. Led by Jordan Liss-Riordan and Camille Jordan in sixth and seventh, the Warriors put up 64 factors for a straightforward win.
Charlotte Tuxbury of Wellesley had a profession day as she shattered her private finest with a time of 18:18 to seize the 1B race. She paced the Raiders to the crew title with 56 factors. Tuxbury was on the entrance by way of splits of 5:50 and 11:49 at two miles earlier than making the push for house.
“I felt good on the last lap and decided to just go for it,” she mentioned. “This race will give us confidence going into All-States.”
Look for Ryan Connolly of North Andover to be within the lead pack of subsequent Saturday’s All-States after blazing his technique to a 15:12.7 win within the 1B occasion, a private finest by 25 seconds.
“I know the Division 1A race is going to be stacked and I wanted to see how I stacked up against them,” he mentioned.
Six runners ran beneath 16 minutes and North Andover (106 factors) edged Wellesley (116 factors) within the crew competitors.
Ryan Sarney of Oliver Ames, simply the fourth runner to run beneath quarter-hour at Wrentham, led the Tigers to a 1-2-3 end within the 1C race. Sarnery checked in with a fast 15:10.2, whereas teammates Brendan Thomas and Aidan Dupil additionally broke 15:30 in 15:20.8 and 15:27.9, respectively. Marblehead simply edged out Oliver Ames with 76 factors. The Tigers completed with 78 factors.
UMass-bound Anna McElhinney of Billerica dominated the 1C race with a successful time of 18:10.6. That put her properly forward of Marblehead’s Marri O’Connell (18:35.2) and Plymouth North’s Macey Shriner (18:55.7). McElhinney beforehand clocked an 18:36 at Wrentham to seize the Merrimack Valley Conference title.
“I knew there’d be really good competition, but I knew I’d be up there,” mentioned McElhinney, who has a private better of 5:09 mile and depends closely on her ending kick.
Oliver Ames completed with 73 factors to seize the crew competitors. Billerica took second with 82 factors and Central Catholic rounded out the highest three with 110 factors.
Source: www.bostonherald.com