CRINITI'S HISTORIC WIN AND MCPHEE'S GUTSY PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHT DIVISIONALS

Meet Information
MIAA Division 1A Championships
November 11, 2022
Wrentham Developmental Park - Wrentham, MA
RESULTS
WRENTHAM, MA - A curveball in the form of a forecasted tropical storm was thrown at the MIAA earlier in the week, and a decision was made to move the Division 1 Championships up a day to Friday. That change aside, the conditions were the best in recent memory for The Minutemen at a Divisional Meet, with cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s. Coming into the meet there were two storylines for Lexington High School. First, could the Boys and Girls extend their streaks of qualifying for the All-State Championships to 10 straight. Second, how would senior Ava Criniti fair in her first real test against the top talent in the Bay State. On the Boys Side, Brookline High School repeated as Division 1A Team Champions, scoring 80 points with a ridiculous average time of 15:57. For context, their average time last year was 16:15. Framingham's Sam Burgess won the Individual Crown with a course record time of 14:38.87. Brookline's Girls also took home the title, with a total score of 64 points.
The Girls Division 1A Race went off first, and Criniti was out with the lead pack. That pack stayed tight with six runners hanging together through the first two miles. They began to string out in the heart of the Wrentham Bowls when Criniti surged downhill, putting a few meters on Needham freshman Greta Hammer. The two traded the lead a couple times over the final 800m, but with about 300m to go it appeared Hammer had gapped Criniti for good. After cresting the final hill of the race, Criniti found another gear, powering past Hammer and surging down the final stretch. However, with less than 50m left Newton South senior Amelia Everett charged past Hammer and came up on Criniti's shoulder poised to grab victory in the final strides. Criniti, however, was undaunted and found one final gear to seal the victory in dramatic fashion with a time of 17:50.86 officially. Everett finished second in 17:51.31, and Hammer third with a time of 17:51.77. Criniti's win makes her only the second LHS Girl in school history to win an MIAA Divisional Crown as an individual. The other to do it was Natasha Roetter (LHS '01).
Criniti's performance individual effort was impressive to say the least, but it was also necessary for her team as this year's Divisional Championships was the deepest field in recent memory. Next across the line for the Lex Girls was senior captain Uma Sanker. After gutting her way through a tough race at the Middlesex League Championships, she turned in her best race when her team needed her most on Friday. Her time of 19:41.00 placed her 28th overall. Following Sanker was The Minutemen's dynamic freshmen duo, who came through in nearly identical times as Nadia Abdinoor (20:05.30) and Meghan Caldera (20:05.70) placed 41st and 42nd respectively. As she has done for her team all season, junior Dora Liao came through. She was the Lex Girls' all important fifth runner, and turned in a personal best time of 20:24.70 to place 50th overall. With that effort, she punched her team's ticket to All-States. The Girls would finish with a total of 161 points, which would place them sixth overall (top-seven qualify). Along with the top-five, senior captain Mirra Payson ran 20:39.30 to finish 62nd. Senior Jasmine Sun was 72nd with a time of 20:47.60.
Final Girls Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Brookline - 64
2. Cambridge Rindge & Latin - 116
3. Needham - 130
4. Acton Boxborough - 152
5. Weymouth - 152
6. Lexington - 161
7. Newton North - 190
8. Westford Academy - 197
9. Newton South - 231
10. Wachusett - 238
The gun fired in the Boys Race, and The Minutemen were off to the races. Things quickly went off the rails though, as senior Aviv Spitz was pulled out the race at the one-mile mark due to an injury. Spitz has been a key part of the varsity squad all season, and with him out it meant the other members of the team had no safety net should one of the other top-five runners falter. Despite beginning to crack in the second mile, senior captain Aidan McPhee heard the message on the course that his teammate was out, and decided to do something about it. He gathered himself and began to surge through the pack. Just after the two-mile mark, he caught up to sophomore Max Zhang, who too had begun to break. McPhee tapped him on the shoulder and relayed the message that they two of them had to come through for their teammates. They worked together over the next three quarters of a mile before Zhang found his kick and charged away in the final 200m. In the end, McPhee's efforts landed him with a new PR of 17:05.50, which placed him 84th overall as LHS's fifth man. Zhang managed 81st with a time of 17:01.60. Further up in the race, junior Glenn Burcsu was first for The Minutemen - 20th overall - with a time of 16:01.80. Senior captain Antonio Lopez ran a lifetime best in the 5k to place 50th with a time of 16:33.20. Junior Joey "Candy Man" Ryan was right behind Lopez, running 16:34.70 to place 52nd overall. Also crossing the line for LHS with a PR was senior Jinn Janpathompong, who's time of 17:25.10 placed 104th. The Minutemen's top five combined for 283 points and an average time of 16:40, which landed them in 12th place overall. To give context into just how challenging a field they went up against, last year the final All-State qualifying team averaged 16:51. This year, it took an average of 16:27 to qualify. And while, the streak of consecutive All-State qualifiers will end at 9 for the LHS Boys, Burcsu's performance earned him a spot on the line next week as an individual.
This year's group, and specifically the effort of Aidan McPhee will be remembered as one of the finest "team" efforts from an LHS Boys Squad. The varsity boys were held out of a number of races early in the season to help them be rested and ready for Championship Season. For their efforts, and their patience, they came through at both the League and Divisional Championships with their best performances of the year. But what made this group special, is that they were in fact a team in every sense of the word. McPhee and Zhang were both right on the edge of their personal limits on Friday, but when they learned that their teammate needed to be picked up they found they had more to give. They were not racing for time or for place, they were racing for each other, and that is the epitome of what Cross Country is about. It has been a privilege to watch them grow together and fight for one another this season.
Final Boys Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Brookline - 80
2. Newton North - 97
3. Westford Academy - 109
4. B.C. High - 133
5. Saint John's Prep - 169
6. Lowell - 192
7. Boston Latin - 209
8. Acton Boxborough - 214
9. Newton South - 232
10. Andover - 244
12. Lexington - 283
Up Next
The Lex Girls and Burcsu will now head to Fort Devens for the MIAA Division 1 All-State Championships. The course has been altered from the one that was traversed in October at the Baystate Invitational, and the flat layout should make for blistering times. The Girls will race at 1pm, and the Boys race will go off right after at 1:45pm.
MIAA Division 1A Championships
November 11, 2022
Wrentham Developmental Park - Wrentham, MA
RESULTS
WRENTHAM, MA - A curveball in the form of a forecasted tropical storm was thrown at the MIAA earlier in the week, and a decision was made to move the Division 1 Championships up a day to Friday. That change aside, the conditions were the best in recent memory for The Minutemen at a Divisional Meet, with cloudy skies and temperatures in the 60s. Coming into the meet there were two storylines for Lexington High School. First, could the Boys and Girls extend their streaks of qualifying for the All-State Championships to 10 straight. Second, how would senior Ava Criniti fair in her first real test against the top talent in the Bay State. On the Boys Side, Brookline High School repeated as Division 1A Team Champions, scoring 80 points with a ridiculous average time of 15:57. For context, their average time last year was 16:15. Framingham's Sam Burgess won the Individual Crown with a course record time of 14:38.87. Brookline's Girls also took home the title, with a total score of 64 points.
The Girls Division 1A Race went off first, and Criniti was out with the lead pack. That pack stayed tight with six runners hanging together through the first two miles. They began to string out in the heart of the Wrentham Bowls when Criniti surged downhill, putting a few meters on Needham freshman Greta Hammer. The two traded the lead a couple times over the final 800m, but with about 300m to go it appeared Hammer had gapped Criniti for good. After cresting the final hill of the race, Criniti found another gear, powering past Hammer and surging down the final stretch. However, with less than 50m left Newton South senior Amelia Everett charged past Hammer and came up on Criniti's shoulder poised to grab victory in the final strides. Criniti, however, was undaunted and found one final gear to seal the victory in dramatic fashion with a time of 17:50.86 officially. Everett finished second in 17:51.31, and Hammer third with a time of 17:51.77. Criniti's win makes her only the second LHS Girl in school history to win an MIAA Divisional Crown as an individual. The other to do it was Natasha Roetter (LHS '01).
Criniti's performance individual effort was impressive to say the least, but it was also necessary for her team as this year's Divisional Championships was the deepest field in recent memory. Next across the line for the Lex Girls was senior captain Uma Sanker. After gutting her way through a tough race at the Middlesex League Championships, she turned in her best race when her team needed her most on Friday. Her time of 19:41.00 placed her 28th overall. Following Sanker was The Minutemen's dynamic freshmen duo, who came through in nearly identical times as Nadia Abdinoor (20:05.30) and Meghan Caldera (20:05.70) placed 41st and 42nd respectively. As she has done for her team all season, junior Dora Liao came through. She was the Lex Girls' all important fifth runner, and turned in a personal best time of 20:24.70 to place 50th overall. With that effort, she punched her team's ticket to All-States. The Girls would finish with a total of 161 points, which would place them sixth overall (top-seven qualify). Along with the top-five, senior captain Mirra Payson ran 20:39.30 to finish 62nd. Senior Jasmine Sun was 72nd with a time of 20:47.60.
Final Girls Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Brookline - 64
2. Cambridge Rindge & Latin - 116
3. Needham - 130
4. Acton Boxborough - 152
5. Weymouth - 152
6. Lexington - 161
7. Newton North - 190
8. Westford Academy - 197
9. Newton South - 231
10. Wachusett - 238
The gun fired in the Boys Race, and The Minutemen were off to the races. Things quickly went off the rails though, as senior Aviv Spitz was pulled out the race at the one-mile mark due to an injury. Spitz has been a key part of the varsity squad all season, and with him out it meant the other members of the team had no safety net should one of the other top-five runners falter. Despite beginning to crack in the second mile, senior captain Aidan McPhee heard the message on the course that his teammate was out, and decided to do something about it. He gathered himself and began to surge through the pack. Just after the two-mile mark, he caught up to sophomore Max Zhang, who too had begun to break. McPhee tapped him on the shoulder and relayed the message that they two of them had to come through for their teammates. They worked together over the next three quarters of a mile before Zhang found his kick and charged away in the final 200m. In the end, McPhee's efforts landed him with a new PR of 17:05.50, which placed him 84th overall as LHS's fifth man. Zhang managed 81st with a time of 17:01.60. Further up in the race, junior Glenn Burcsu was first for The Minutemen - 20th overall - with a time of 16:01.80. Senior captain Antonio Lopez ran a lifetime best in the 5k to place 50th with a time of 16:33.20. Junior Joey "Candy Man" Ryan was right behind Lopez, running 16:34.70 to place 52nd overall. Also crossing the line for LHS with a PR was senior Jinn Janpathompong, who's time of 17:25.10 placed 104th. The Minutemen's top five combined for 283 points and an average time of 16:40, which landed them in 12th place overall. To give context into just how challenging a field they went up against, last year the final All-State qualifying team averaged 16:51. This year, it took an average of 16:27 to qualify. And while, the streak of consecutive All-State qualifiers will end at 9 for the LHS Boys, Burcsu's performance earned him a spot on the line next week as an individual.
This year's group, and specifically the effort of Aidan McPhee will be remembered as one of the finest "team" efforts from an LHS Boys Squad. The varsity boys were held out of a number of races early in the season to help them be rested and ready for Championship Season. For their efforts, and their patience, they came through at both the League and Divisional Championships with their best performances of the year. But what made this group special, is that they were in fact a team in every sense of the word. McPhee and Zhang were both right on the edge of their personal limits on Friday, but when they learned that their teammate needed to be picked up they found they had more to give. They were not racing for time or for place, they were racing for each other, and that is the epitome of what Cross Country is about. It has been a privilege to watch them grow together and fight for one another this season.
Final Boys Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Brookline - 80
2. Newton North - 97
3. Westford Academy - 109
4. B.C. High - 133
5. Saint John's Prep - 169
6. Lowell - 192
7. Boston Latin - 209
8. Acton Boxborough - 214
9. Newton South - 232
10. Andover - 244
12. Lexington - 283
Up Next
The Lex Girls and Burcsu will now head to Fort Devens for the MIAA Division 1 All-State Championships. The course has been altered from the one that was traversed in October at the Baystate Invitational, and the flat layout should make for blistering times. The Girls will race at 1pm, and the Boys race will go off right after at 1:45pm.