Cross Country Roundup: Beverly girls win D1 race at McIntyre Invitational

As the results for the Division 1 girls race at the McIntire Invitational at Franklin Park in Boston were being announced on Saturday, Beverly coach Dave Jellerson thought his team had put in a top five performance.But little did Jellerson know that his team had in fact won the overall competition by one point over Haverhill. And when the Panthers heard their name called, you probably could have picked up the noise all the way back in Beverly.”The girls are just elated,” Jellerson said. “We were hoping to do well and to do what we did is unexpected but acceptable.”The Panthers’ top three runners, Kelly O’Connor, Kasey Kluge and Monica Adler, posted solid times. But it was the fourth runner to cross the line for Beverly that made all the difference. Maddie Wruble bettered her personal best by 53 seconds, finishing in 20:05 to come home 28th overall and give Beverly a big boost in the point column.”Maddie’s time definitely was the difference,” Jellerson said. “She’s been set back with injuries and illness and hopefully this is her breakout performance.”The Division 2 girls race also proved to be a showcase for the talent of the Northeastern Conference. Swampscott finished 10th overall with Danvers in 14th and Marblehead in 17th.Swampscott’s Lindsey Walsh was fourth in the race at 19:08 and Danvers’ Christina Montefusco was 15th (20:06). The Big Blue also got a 26th place from Kelly Walton and 34th from Amelia Antrim (20:54). Marblehead’s top time came from Bridget Forbes in 43rd place (21:17).In the boys Division 1 competition, Peabody finished 10th at 356. Alex Gomes was 14th overall for the Tanners in 16:28 and John Lawrence was 49th at 16:58.The Division 2 boys competition also treated NEC teams well as Marblehead finished fifth and Swampscott came home seventh.Sam Rakoc finished fourth overall for Swampscott (16:31) and Chris Heller was seventh (16:45). Marblehead’s Jackson Barber also had a top 20 finish, placing 17th (17:22). Danvers’ Chris Chappruet rounded out the top 20 (17:24.3).