Cold weather and higher stakes didn’t slow down cross country runners from Marblehead, Swampscott, Lynnfield, and St. Mary’s this past weekend, with each program taking part in respective postseason meets.
Marblehead’s programs raced in the Division 2A meets at Willard Field in Devens. The boys captured first place with 65 points, followed by Plymouth South’s 67 and Boston Latin Academy’s 77 across the 26-team field.
“The boys were led, once again, by the dynamic duo of Will Cerrutti and Nate Assa, but they had company this week with teammate Jacob Szalewicz,” said Marblehead boys coach Brian Heenan. “Will and Nate crossed the line together, finishing first and second in 16:15. Watching them control the race was a site to behold. After they put some distance on the field, they were able to run a conservative race, knowing they will face some great competition at next week’s Division 2 state championship. Jacob Szalewicz made it a 1-2-3 finish as he once again ran a smart, tactical race.”
Marblehead’s girls finished seventh.
“Despite the challenging course and Marblehead’s third runner having to DNF (did not finish) due to injury, they were still able to do enough to secure the seventh-place team finish,” said Marblehead girls coach Will Herlihy.
Leading the way was star runner Marri O’Connell (19:24.72).
“Who, despite battling an illness, still gave a heroic effort to finish second overall,” Herlihy said.
She was followed by Ruby Assa (top 35), Evelina Beletsky (55th), Jesslyn Roemer (65th), Abbie Goodwin (104th), Maren Potter (126th).
Swampscott’s boys and girls teams competed in the Division 3A meet at Wrentham Development Center. The girls finished ninth, led by Annabelle Averett (2nd), Collette Heil (9th), Theia Giantis (39th), Anna Metaxatos (85th), and Vera Conley (143rd).
The Big Blue boys secured third place, with Simon Brown (2nd), Anthony Colella (7th), Atticus Jakious (24th), Hunter Hersey (37th), Holden Hersey (88th), Carson Lau (97th), and Caiden Lau (162nd) leading the charge.
Competing at the same site were the Lynnfield teams. The girls finished 15th out of 23 teams. Gabby Bottaro came in first for the Pioneers, finishing 51st with a time of 21:59.
“Our top runner from previously in the season, Gabby Bottaro, was able to come back from an injury and run well today,” said Lynnfield coach Liane Cook.
Following Bottaro were Kaila George (64th), Maeve Wertz (87th), Shea Moore (93rd), Caitlin Buoniconti (105th), and Lily White (151st).
The Lynnfield boys finished 16th and had two individuals qualify for the state championships next week at Fort Devens. Shea McCarthy finished 25th (17:23.68) and Dylan Nguyen placed 33rd (17:40.39).
Both St. Mary’s teams finished 20th in their respective Division 2C meets. The boys were led by eighth graders Cristian Rodriguez (59th, 18:53) and Lucian Paula (62nd, 18:55), while Kelsey Kwiatek (6th, 20:07) qualified for next week’s D2 state championship.
