Copyright The Boston Globe
The performances from Flint (16 minutes, 3.7 seconds) and Abdel-Dayem (16:06.9) provided crucial depth points for Brookline Saturday, with the Warriors compiling 56 points to blow past Lexington (90) and St. John’s Prep (122). In Division 1B, Concord-Carlisle (44) pulled away from Natick (70), and Oliver Ames (60) edged Reading (64) in 1C. The dominant showing against fellow Division 1 state title contenders served as an important milestone in Brookline’s quest for their its consecutive crown, which will be on the line next Saturday at the Meet of Champions in Devens. “It was just super exciting and such a good feeling to see them right with us at the end,” said Butty. “They’ve been working so hard for it, and it’s just amazing to see us all coming together in a big race like this … we know the tradition we have here is very strong, and we want to be at that level.” The individual victor of the boys’ 1A race was BC High senior Greg McGrath, who took the lead 800 meters in and surged to a 16-second victory in 15:23.1 — the fastest time of any runner across all three boys’ races on Saturday. Adding to the impressive nature of McGrath’s win: He suffered a left leg injury last week and took five days off from running, initially fearing he wouldn’t be able to compete Saturday. He only began training again on Wednesday, and was limited to 20 miles this week compared to his typical 65. “I would go home almost every night for the five days I couldn’t run, and I just cried. I was really down on myself, and I thought that was it,” McGrath said. “Mentally, it was really tough. So to come back and do this [just days later], I’m really happy.” Division 2 — At Northfield Mountain, Boston Public Schools coach Mike Ward knew his boys (as well as girls) could make a run at the 2A title. As each race began and BPS’s runners maintained their position through the course’s grueling uphill opening mile, the path to victory suddenly became clearer. With strong pushes on the downhill stretch near the finish line, reality sunk in. Less than a decade after the once-dormant program was revived, and three years after the program qualified for its first All-State meet, BPS had captured its first divisional title — and not just once, but with the boys and girls. Juniors Bradon Spiess (17:10.64) and Adam Kramer (17:12.70) finished third and fifth, respectively, powering BPS (46) to a dominant 2A title over Walpole (80) and Longmeadow (84). “It means everything,” said Ward. “We didn’t go into today thinking we would necessarily win either, but we knew we had a shot. And it just shows how far we’ve come as a program, to get to this point is amazing.” The boys’ race was a dominant performance throughout, with Khalid Jama (17:22.42), Ryan Collins (17:24.21), and Nathaneil Iliff (17:36.68) each notching top-20 finishes. “We beat both defending champions today [Longmeadow boys and Westwood girls], which kind of takes off the monkey of the back of, ‘Oh, these are untouchable teams,’” said Ward. “We know that everyone is going to come back next week hungrier, and we know we can compete with everybody else. That’s all we can ask for.” The most dominant individual effort Saturday came in the boys’ 2B race, where Falmouth senior Silas Gartner (16:11.63) rolled to a 17-second win over Groton-Dunstable junior Andew Kosiba (16:28.93). Groton-Dunstable still rolled to a commanding team victory with 59 points, well ahead of runner-up Amherst Pelham (138). Division 3 — Maurice King Jr. wasn’t focused on his time. Throughout the season, his Greater Lowell coaches told him to ignore the clock again and again. Entering the race, King had no splits to achieve, times to make, or scientific data to keep in the back of his mind. “When we get to races like this, we do science in practice and we do poetry and art in races. You’re going on fit and feel – you can’t worry about what your time is,” said Greater Lowell coach Matthew Murphy. With confident strides, King led from the start in a 23-second victory (16:34.41) in the 3A race, propelling the Gryphons to their first state title in any sport since 1992. “It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” said King. “You have to come in here with a strong mindset, thinking you can do this. You just need to believe in yourself, honestly.” Greater Lowell Technical (50 points) paired King’s first-place finish with top-12 performances from Matthew Guerin (17:23.88), Anthony Beaudoin (17:30.84), and Jesus Andrades (17:32.34). East Bridgewater (72) was runner-up. In the Division 3B race, Hampshire (77 points) took the championship despite Evan Hedlund (16:20.59) and Luke Howard (16:31.93) earning first- and second-place individual finishes for Frontier (170). In 3C, Nathaniel Henshaw, Parker Charter’s lone senior, ran the fastest race of the afternoon (16:11.39) in pacing the host school (36) past Bromfield (56) for the title. “Last year we were senior-heavy – we graduated seven boys from a tiny little charter school in Central Mass., so we had to have different guys step up into different roles. Different team, younger team, hardworking team,” said coach Ben Benoit. at Wrentham Development Center Individual — 1. Greg McGrath, BC High, 15:23.1; 2. Landon Zoss, Andover, 15:39.1; 3. Patrick Noonan, Lexington, 15:42.3; 4. Theodore Butty, Brookline, 15:54.2; 5. Liam Hartmann, Brookline, 15:57.8; 6. Jack McIntosh, St. John’s Prep, 15:59; 7. Thomas Dewitt, Cambridge, 16:02.1; 8. Harry Flint, Brookline, 16:03.7; 9. Colin Kurtz, BC High, 16:04.7; 10. Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem, Brookline, 16:06.9. Team results — 1. Brookline, 56; 2. Lexington, 90; 3. St. John’s Prep, 122; 4. Cambridge, 132; 5. BC High, 162; 6. Newton South, 186; 7. Newton North, 194; 8. Wachusett, 213. at Wrentham Development Center Individual — 1. John Bianchi, Natick, 15:51.6; 2. Joey Bodenrader, Concord-Carlisle, 15:57.2; 3. Declan Hava, Natick, 16:01.8; 4. Brendan Quinn, Concord-Carlisle, 16:03.7; 5. Jason Provost, Beverly, 16:03.7; 6. Stephen Green, Algonquin, 16:04.2; 7. Callum Doyle, Natick, 16:05; 8. Jackson Misek, Concord-Carlisle, 16:06.1; 9. Freddie Van der Velden, Natick, 16:06.3; 10. Noah Geiger, Belmont, 16:16.7. Team results — 1. Concord-Carlisle, 44; 2. Natick, 70; 3. Arlington, 133; 4. North Andover, 172; 5. Wellesley, 207; 6. Xaverian, 209; 7. Belmont, 221; 8. Westford, 223. at Wrentham Development Center Individual — 1. Sean Finnegan, Hopkinton, 15:29.9; 2. Landon Sarney, Oliver Ames, 15:34; 3. Sahil Gandhi, Billerica, 15:46; 4. Anthony Malakidis, North Attleborough, 15:50; 5. Tim Connolly, Reading, 15:55.7; 6. Devon McStowe, Oliver Ames, 16:03.2; 7. Alex Pinnix, Sharon, 16:14.3; 8. Michael Upton, Catholic Memorial, 16:14.9; 9. Shane Leslie, Billerica, 16:16.7; 10. Matthew Fitzgibbons, Hopkinton, 16:19.6. Team results — 1. Oliver Ames, 60; 2. Reading, 64; 3. Hopkinton, 116; 4. Catholic Memorial, 153; 5. Plymouth South, 163; 6. Billerica, 204; 7. Mansfield, 257; 8. Sharon, 266. at Northfield Mountain Individual — 1. Ethan Halpern, Longmeadow, 16:46.22; 2. Seamus Canniff, Brockton, 17:08.15; 3. Bradon Spiess, Latin Academy, 17:10.64; 4. Henry McCormack, Melrose, 17:11.97; 5. Adam Kramer, Latin Academy, 17:12.7; 6. John Strong, Melrose, 17:15.45; 7. Owen Ahlfont, Walpole, 17:16.41; 8. Henrik Adams, Marblehead, 17:18.55; 9. Finn O’Connor, Longmeadow, 17:20.42; 10. Khalid Jama, Latin Academy, 17:22.42. Team results — 1. Latin Academy, 46; 2. Walpole, 80; 3. Longmeadow, 84; 4. Melrose, 96; 5. Marblehead, 134; 6. Masconomet, 142; 7. Duxbury, 237; 8. Somerset Berkley, 257. at Northfield Mount Hermon Individual — 1. Silas Gartner, Falmouth, 16:11.63; 2. Andrew Kosiba, Groton-Dunstable, 16:28.93; 3. Calvin Miller, Amherst-Pelham, 16:42.71; 4. Nate Palmieri, Pembroke, 16:51.18; 5. Max Harrington, Holliston, 16:57.65; 6. Michael Mohoric, Newburyport, 17:02.01; 7. Greyson Duane, Groton-Dunstable, 17:05.13; 8. Zachary Mazzaferro, East Longmeadow, 17:05.61; 9. Luca Domestico, Ashland, 17:11.3; 10. Henry Daggett, Northampton, 17:13.26. Team results — 1. Groton-Dunstable, 59; 2. Amherst-Pelham, 138; 3. Northampton, 165; 4. Pembroke, 174; 5. Ashland, 220; 6. Wayland, 222; 7. Newburyport, 241; 8. Ludlow, 272. at Northfield Mountain Individual — 1. Chayse Parker, Oakmont, 16:59.35; 2. Benjamin Barron, Whitinsville Christian, 17:01.21; 3. Townsend Roussin, Dedham, 17:01.35; 4. Matthew Fitzgibbon, Weston, 17:22.1; 5. Jayden Brostrom, Oakmont, 17:23.76; 6. Levon Roussin, Dedham, 17:25.48; 7. Jackson Doyle, Dover-Sherborn, 17:29.76; 8. Aarav Mehta, Weston, 17:34.77; 9. Nick Antonellis, Archbishop Williams, 17:36.05; 10. Christopher Pan, Dover-Sherborn, 17:37.01. Team results — 1. Weston, 88; 2. Dedham, 101; 3. Dover-Sherborn, 119; 4. Whitinsville Christian, 152; 5. Swampscott, 184; 6. Wilmington, 193; 7. Martha’s Vineyard, 193; 8. Oakmont, 197. at Devens 5K Course Individual — 1. Maurice King Jr., Greater Lowell, 16:34.41; 2. Coleman McCarthy, East Bridgewater, 16:47.94; 3. Cohen Zahn, Pittsfield, 16:58.1; 4. Tommy Rhuda, East Bridgewater, 17:06.96; 5. Cassidy McBee, Triton, 17:10.94; 6. John Doherty, Norwell, 17:18.84; 7. Matthew Guerin, Greater Lowell, 17:23.88; 8. Omar Eltersly, Southeastern, 17:25.32; 9. Julian Ehlke, Hudson, 17:27; 10. Ben Levesque, East Bridgewater, 17:29.8. Team results — 1. Greater Lowell, 50; 2. East Bridgewater, 72; 3. Pentucket, 173; 4. Hudson, 174; 5. Triton, 175; 6. Belchertown, 207; 7. Quabbin, 239; 8. Southeastern, 240. at Devens 5K Course Individual — 1. Evan Hedlund, Frontier, 16:20.59; 2. Luke Howard, Frontier, 16:31.93; 3. Matthew Pilon, Lunenburg, 16:42.81; 4. Cole Regan, Hamilton-Wenham, 16:53.43; 5. Maxwell Thompson, Littleton, 16:57.22; 6. Everett Pacheco, Monument Mtn., 17:00.53; 7. Oscar Schiff, Hampshire, 17:05.88; 8. Sokari Jenkins, Gardner, 17:14.91; 9. Seth Glidden, Hamilton-Wenham, 17:21.1; 10. Owen Cubi, Hampshire, 17:27.45. Team results — 1. Hampshire, 77; 2. Hamilton-Wenham, 80; 3. Littleton, 107; 4. Frontier, 170; 5. Carver, 195; 6. Gardner, 197; 7. Amesbury, 205; 8. Tyngsborough, 239. at Devens 5K Course Individual — 1. Nathaniel Henshaw, Parker Charter, 16:11.39; 2. Ben McWaters, Bromfield, 16:17.33; 3. Quinn Cook, Hopedale, 16:24.22; 4. Ben Stone, Hopedale, 16:40.68; 5. Jett Johnson, Parker Charter, 16:43.9; 6. Benjamin Harwood, Lenox, 16:44.56; 7. Jake Leone, Ayer Shirley, 16:49.08; 8. Cypress Lance, Parker Charter, 16:58.95; 9. Finnegan Voisin, Mt. Greylock, 17:05.53; 10. Zephyr Schermerhorn, Parker Charter, 17:10.65. Team results — 1. Parker Charter, 36; 2. Bromfield, 86; 3. Mt. Greylock, 90; 4. Hopedale, 109; 5. Lenox, 121; 6. Innovation Academy, 209; 7. Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion, 215; 8. Maynard, 252.
