A number of local runners, both boys and girls, ran impressive times in the fifth annual Massachusetts Elementary School Cross Country Invitational Monday afternoon at Gannon Golf Course, including two local runners who earned wins in their respective divisions.
Joe Abelon, who helped organize the race that was hosted by the Lynn Parks and Recreation Department and Gannon Golf Course, was happy with the turnout at the race.
“It’s very satisfying to see the number of kids come to participate,” Abelon said. “It’s been tough getting the word out in the past, but due to all the hard work of the people involved in the race we’ve really been able to spread the word and get people to come out to run.”
Abelon pointed out that he was pleased not only with the amount of local runners who participated, but also with the amount of runners from all over the state who made the trip to Lynn for the event.
“We’ve done a lot of advertising for this race, whether posting it on the Massachusetts State Track Association website, in as many local newspapers as we could get in touch with or by simply calling athletic directors in school districts across the state. The response has been great, and we had over 230 runners come out this year.”
In the boys division for grades 1 through 3, which measured at 0.66 miles long, Swampscott’s Dermott Young (Hadley) took the top spot with a time of 4:43. Lynn’s Jackson Barrett (Sewell-Anderson) finished just two seconds behind in second place (4:45), while Swampscott’s Dylan Reis (Stanley) was right behind in third place (4:46). Other local runners finishing in the top 10 were Swampscott’s Connor Mohan (Stanley) in sixth place (5:09), Swampscott’s Emerson Joy (Stanley) in seventh place (5:12) and Lynn’s Armari Romero (Callahan) in 10th place (5:22).
In the boys division for grades 1 through 5, a slightly longer race at 1.22 miles, the top local finisher was Swampscott’s Ollie Braham (Stanley), who finished in 12th place with a time of 8:47. Other solid finishes from local runners came from Danvers’ Zachary Cotter (Thorpe) in 18th place (9:00), Swampscott’s Elias Cobbett (Stanley) in 24th place (9:11) and Swampscott’s John Vonbarta (Stanley) in 31st place (9:27). Danvers’ Trevor Nemeskal and Drew Nemeskal (Thorpe) tied for 34th place with times of 9:31.
In the girls division for grades 1 through 3, Swampscott’s Annabelle Everett (Hadley) grabbed the win with a time of 4:55. Danvers’ Kaia Glover (Highland) finished in second place (5:01), while Revere’s Kaylei Johnson (Immaculate Conception) finished in sixth place (5:12). Also recording strong finishes in this division were Swampscott’s Bridget Maloney (Stanley) in 14th place (5:57), Swampscott’s Violet Braham (Stanley) in 15th place (6:04) and Danvers’ Emma Anderson (Smith) in 17th place (6:09).
In the girls division for grades 1 through 5, Revere’s Rania Hamdani (Garfield) was the top local finisher in sixth place (8:55). Other local finishers included Swampscott’s Lia Beatrice (Stanley) in 14th place (9:18), Marblehead’s Madelleine Reis (Tower) in 20th place (9:33), Danvers’ Claudia Drakos (Thorpe) in 34th place (10:26), Lynn’s Rose R. Mendez (Cobbett) in 41st place (10:41) and Danvers’ Addison Lamar (Thorpe) in 42nd place (10:47).
