ATTLEBORO — Greg McGrath knew all summer season that there could be two open slots on the prime of the B.C. High cross nation roster, and the Eagles’ sophomore made a giant transfer Saturday to fill one in every of them.
Racing on the MSTCA Cross Country Relays in oppressive humidity, McGrath, the winner of the Coaches Invitational freshman race final fall, tore by his 1.5-mile leg on the grassy Highland Park format. When the smoke cleared, McGrath and teammates Owen Geagan and Colin Kurtz mixed for a powerful 25-minute, 31.7-second win over the 4.6-mile course to take the freshman/sophomore occasion. Parker Charter had a robust race, taking second in 25:46.6 and Hopkinton was third in 26:27.1.
“He was determined to train hard this summer and grab one of those two places,” mentioned B.C. High head coach Seth Kirby of McGrath.
McGrath, who was the lone freshman to qualify for the All-State 2-mile within the spring — knew the Eagles’ lineup could be very a lot within the battle towards the opposite high quality groups. “We knew we really had a good shot for first or second,” he mentioned.
Kirby needed his athlete to offer a tough effort over the shorter distance. “The emphasis is on getting a good effort and competing rather than going for time,” he mentioned. “I knew Burlington and Parker (Charter) had strong teams. We knew we’d be in the mix.”
B.C. High made it a clear sweep on the boys’ facet as John Wilson took the lead within the junior/senior race and Shamus Larnard lengthened it for the 23:28.9 victory. Chris Larnard put the Eagles in sturdy place on his first-leg effort.
“We’ve been training for a couple of months and this one was on the calendar,” mentioned Shamus. “We wanted to get the lead and maintain it.”
Sharon took second in 23.59.6 to edge out Hopkinton (24:00.2) on the tape.
Two of the perfect woman harriers within the state seemed to be in tremendous kind on the best way to main their groups to wins. Greta Hammer of Needham, who was a robust second within the Div. 1 race final November on the Meet of Champions however missed the whole out of doors season with accidents, teamed with Madison Roach and Katie Burns for the freshman/sophomore win in a runaway over Westwood, 30:27.8 to 30:50.9. Weymouth completed sturdy to seize the bronze medal in 30:56.
Two-time defending Div. 2 Meet Meet of Champions champion Carmen Luisi had an enormous lead when she took the baton on the ultimate leg of the junior/senior race and preserved the win for Holliston. Luisi, together with teammates Maggie Kuchman and Annabelle Lynch, mixed for the win in 27:17. Weymouth was a distant second in 28:07 and Hopkinton took third in 28:11.8.
“I felt pretty good,” mentioned Luisi. “I haven’t been out there in a while in my spikes. I wanted to use it (relays) for a speed workout and find what my cross country pace is.”
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