Classical cross country runs to win over English

The Lynn Classical cross country team has waited for what seems like an eternity to get a chance to knock off its crosstown rivals from Lynn English.On Tuesday at Lynn Woods Reservation, the Rams finally exorcised the demons as they swept the top four positions and eight of the top 10 spots en route to a 17-44 victory.?We have as strong a team as we?ve had in a while,” said Rams coach Cori Russo. “And it?s exciting and a big difference from last year.”For the Bulldogs, it was a matter of simply being a little outclassed on Tuesday as Classical?s Tom Mackin took off to the lead from the start and never looked back as he bested the field by almost a full minute.?(Classical) picked up a couple of kids so it?s not the same team that they?ve had the last couple of seasons,” English coach John Walsh said. “And we have a lot of young kids that are running cross country for the first time.”The Rams (4-3) put the meet away early as Eric Maccori came home second (19:12) and Eli Bakas was right behind in third (19:18) before teammate Kevin Chasse came in fourth, nearly two minutes behind the winning pace.Kevin Francisco was the first Bulldog to cross the stripe when he came in fifth (21:38), seconds ahead of teammate Andy Choun (21:47). Freshman Jonathan Chase was a stellar seventh for Classical (21:49).Tyler Rabideau (21:57), Kevin Alves (22:07) and Craig Mordaunt (22:08) completed the domination of the top 10 for Classical. English?s next best runner was Chandler Donovan in 11th (22:22).Mehdi Bakouda was next for Classical before Jodeny Delana, Fadin Islam and Andy Nguyen were the next three finishers for English.Laurie Rodriguez also had a solid run to pace the Classical girls finishers in 16th overall (25:19).?We are 4-3 now, so that?s exciting. And we want to keep the momentum going,” Russo said. “This is an awesome team to be a part of and hopefully that makes the kids see how fun it is and keeps them coming back.”