Cross Country: Swampscott boys riding high with win over Gloucester

The Swampscott High boys cross country team is riding high today after defeating perennial powerhouse Gloucester, 23-38, for the first time in at least 15 years.Coach Dominic Finelli didn’t know what to expect heading into this season after losing four of his top five runners to graduation, but the 2008 team is off to a 3-0 start.Sam Rakoc left the field in the dust with a winning time of 14:09, more than a minute ahead of second-place finisher Andrew Ryan of Gloucester (15:06). Gloucester’s Colin Rogers took third (15:08), but it was all Swampscott after that, with the Big Blue taking the next six spots. Senior Brandon Poulin ran a person best 15:30 for fourth, followed by Nick Hartman (15:40); Ilya Smelyanski (16:45); Shierk Vanderburg (16:47); Steve Bazant (16:01) and Sean Brown (16:10).”I was pretty excited,” Finelli said, adding his runners worked hard during the off-season.The meet was at Swampscott.Fenwick 22, Austin Prep 33At Reading, the Crusaders (2-0) took four of the top five spots led by sophomore Billy Harrington, second (15:07); Colton Buckley, third (16:29); Andrew Young, fourth (16:34) and Peter Schaffer, fifth (16:52). Bob Farrell finished eighth (17:14).Peabody 15, Classical 50At Peabody, the Tanners (3-0) dominated this one with John Lawrence taking first (15:00); Ramses Montero finished second (15:21) and Nick Christiansen (15:24) took third. Adam Chambers ran a person best of 21:43 for the Rams.Beverly 15, English 49At Lynn Woods, the Bulldogs ran a solid race, but the Panthers were too powerful. Camy Ducasse and Chris Birotte both ran well for English with personal bests.St. John 24, Xaverian 33At Franklin Park, Xaverian took the top spot, but the Eagles (1-0) wrapped up five of the next six places led by Mike Massey in second (16:31); Brian Keiran, fourth (16:37); Julien Gallo, fifth (16:37); Ben Halpin, sixth (16:50) and A.J. Rossi, seventh (17:00).Marblehead 15, Saugus 50At Breakheart Reservation, Will Herlihy took first for the Magicians (3-0) with a 16:52. Ethan Levine finished second (16:58) and Henry Pratt was third (17:22).GIRLSSwampscott 17, G’ster 45At Swampscott, Lindsay Walsh continues to set the pace for the Big Blue girls, posting a winning time of 16:50 to help her team improve to 2-1. Amelia Antrim took second with a personal best 17:15 and Kelly Walton finished third (17:27). Two freshmen, Hannah King and Nikki Laskaris, took fifth and sixth with times of 18:34 and 18:36.Marblehead 20, Saugus 43,At Breakheart Reservation, Saugus’ Janelle Bean took the top spot with aan 18:36, but Marblehead (2-1) grabbed the next nine. Bridget Forbes was second (19:05); Kate Hewig, third (19:06); Alex Gerard, fourth 919:07); Madeline Piela, fifth (19:15) and Chloe Heskett, sixth (19:20).Austin Prep 15, Fenwick 48At Austin Prep, Marial Quezada took sixth for the Crusaders (0-2) with a (20:52); Megan Woodcock, ninth (21:55) and Marissa O’Brien, 10th (21:56).Peabody 15, Classical 50At Peabody, the Tanners’ Brittany Creamer took first (18:52) followed by Jenna Pickard (18:57) and Meghan Connors, third (19:35). Kristen Kurpiel was the top finisher for the Rams with a 23:37.Beverly 15, English 50At Lynn Woods, Bianca Fowler ran well for the Bulldogs in a losing effort.