Cross Country: Rocha breaks course record, leads Peabody to NEC title

Peabody High girls cross country standout Catarina Rocha set a new course record at Beverly Tuesday night, as the Tanners defeated Beverly 19-35 and clinched the NEC North league championship.It was a battle of two undefeated teams going in. Rocha not only finished first overall, but eclipsed the course record by one whole minute (17:42). Other standouts from Peabody included: Lauren Barrett, third (19:51); Sam Allen, fourth (20:03); Sarah May, fifth (20:26) and Sydney May, seventh (20:34). Peabody keeps its undefeated record intact (7-0).Lynnfield 21, North Reading 35At Lynnfield, the Pioneers (8-3) took the top three spots over this 2.95-mile course. Lexi Buonfiglio finished first 18:59), Angelica Kartsounis, second (19:14) and Sammi Albanese, third (19:18). Lynnfield finished the season at 8-3.BOYS CROSS COUNTRYPeabody 17, Beverly 43At Beverly, the Tanners clinched the NEC North league championship for the fifth straight year. Leading the way for Peabody over this 2.9-mile course was Nick Christensen (1st overall, 17:04). The rest of the Peabody standouts were: T.J. D’Amato, second (17:05); Drew Fossa, third (17:26); Cody Picardy, fifth (17:45); Ben Braz, sixth (17:46) and Richie Fournier, eighth (18:16). Peabody remains undefeated (7-0).Revere 15, Salem 49At Revere, the Patriots (5-2, 5-0 NEC South) made it back-to-back Northeastern Conference South titles. Revere swept the top five spots led by Michael Fitzpatrick (17:08); Kirim Sahila (17:35); Rawlings Toglan (17:44); Kristi Nushi (17:50) and Brian Collins (18:11).”Going 5-0 again this year was a nice accomplishment,” Revere coach Mike Flynn said. “We’ve run well. We’ve been consistent all year.”Lynnfield 25, North Reading 32At Lynnfield, the Pioneers duo of Andrew Drinkwater and Mike Trembley led the way over this 2.95-mile course. Drinkwater finished first overall (16:23) and Trembley finished second (16:34). Lynnfield’s Derek Owen finished sixth (17:12) and Chase Davidson finished seventh (17:18). Lynnfield finished the season at 6-5.Saugus 22, Winthrop 34At Saugus, the Sachems had three of the top five finishers over this 3.1-mile course. Saugus’s Evan Covell finished first overall (20:00). The rest of the Sachem runners were: Nick Monaco, third (20:19); Mike Mansfield, fifth (20:31); Brian Nelson, sixth (21:16) and Michael Swanson, seventh (22:01). Saugus is now 3-4.