LYNNFIELD — There was no better place to celebrate America’s birthday than the 57th Annual Lynnfield Athletic Association (LAA) Fourth of July 5K Road Race.
The race attracted a record 349 runners, up from 301 runners in 2023.
This year’s race had a couple of new twists, chief among them being a new location, as well as new start and finish lines. In previous years, the gathering spot for registration and the awards ceremony was the upper parking lot at the Town Hall, but this year, due to ongoing construction of the new public safety complex, the Town Common served as headquarters.
While the vast majority of runners call Lynnfield home, runners from age 2 to 77 – from as far away as California, Florida and Indiana – participated.
James Nogueira (21:08) of Redding, Connecticut won the overall male title. He resisted the urge to look over his shoulder to gauge the competition as he approached the finish line.
“They tell you to never look behind because it’s a sign of weakness, so I just listened to the cheers,” he said. “There were eight seconds between the cheers between me and the guy in second, so I figured I was good.”
The 22-year-old rising senior at Texas Christian, Nogueira is spending the summer with his family in Lynnfield while working in Boston. He ran the race to honor his grandmother, Dorsey Holappa, a Lynnfield resident who died earlier this year.
“My mom Joan is also from Lynnfield and, unfortunately, my grandmother was supposed to be here, so I’d like to dedicate the win to her,” he said.
Lynnfield’s Angelo Deluca (21:12) finished four seconds behind in second place. He runs long distance at Plymouth State.
“It was fun, but my time was nowhere near my best,” Deluca said. “It’s the Fourth of July, so it’s more about having fun now and then having some more fun at a party later. It was definitely perfect weather, so it’s been a great day.”
Deluca’s former Lynnfield High teammate, rising senior Shea McCarthy (21:51), finished fourth and Michael Welshons of Peabody (22:01) finished sixth. Lynnfield’s Ian O’Leary (22:07) and William Flannigan (22:21) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
In the women’s race, Katie Farrell (22:14) of Windham, New Hampshire took top honors. Lynnfield’s best finish was turned in by Olivia Lamarche, who finished fourth in 25:03. Other Lynnfield residents in the top 10 included Kristen Dorsky (25:11, 4th), 12-year-old Avery Trippe (25:26, 7th), 15-year-old Mia Daley (26:12, 8th), Lea Tremblay (26:24, 9th) and Jessica Caruso (26:37, 10th).
Lynnfield age group winners included Elle Ferguson, female 10-and-under (29:55); Trippe, female age 11-14; Deluca, male 15-19; Lamarche, female 20-29; Kristen Dorsky, female 40-49 (25:11); former LAA President Andrea Braconnier, female 50-59 (28:45); and Flannigan, male 50-59, (22:21).
Other division winners included Theodore Abcunas, Wakefield, male 10-and-under (31:57); Garrett Dodge, Andover, male 11-14 (22:46); Emma Casey, Medford, female 15-19 (24:10); Andrew Moriarty, Danvers, male 20-29 (21:40); Shana Frank, Weston, female 30-39 (22:21); Michael Welshons, Peabody, male 30-39 (22:01); Sean Akell, Danvers, male 40-49 (22:41); Colette McGonagle, Melrose, female 60-69 (34:03); Philip Blair Ross, Indianapolis, male 60-69 (30:23) and James Bymb, Indianapolis, male 70-and-over (28:13).
As is the case every year, many Lynnfield High athletes either ran or helped out as volunteers, including several members of the football team who manned water stations along the route. McCarthy (21:51) was the top male Pioneer and also finished fourth overall. Dylan Nguyen (22:51), Liam Gardner (24:48), Ritvik Mahajan (24:49) and John Beccia (25:26) rounded out the top-five finishers.
On the girls’ side, Maeve Wertz (30:25) finished first with Abby Tsatskis (32:13), Lily Williams (33:52), Calleigh Caprio (33:58) and Katianne Williams (40:23) also finishing in the top five.
Lynnfield High biology teacher Liane Cook said this was her first race “in decades.” She finished in 33:39 and has signed on to coach the high school girls cross country team this fall.
“I’m excited about being back coaching,” she said. “It’s not a PR by any means for my life, but I’m now in my 40s, so I’ll take it.”
LAA Treasurer Jen Goguen was one of the race organizers. She was pleased with the event.
“I think everyone did a great job today and people had a great time,” she said. “We had 12 sponsors this year, including lead sponsor Wakefield Co-Op, and so many local businesses and individuals who donated items for the raffle. We couldn’t do it without the community volunteers.”
LAA’s mission is to provide financial support to LHS athletics and recognize and reward student athletes for their participation. In addition to the road race, funds are raised through the support of the Snack Shack concession stand at the high school. LAA also awards scholarships to members of the graduating senior class.
