FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR LHS AFTER STELLAR DAY AT THE OCEAN STATE INVITATIONAL
Meet Information
Ocean State Invitational
September 24, 2022
Goddard State Park - East Greenwich, RI
RESULTS
EAST GREENWICH, RI - Each year throughout the Cross Country/Track & Field seasons The Minutemen often cross state lines to find the best competition. The meets change from year-to-year, but the one stalwart invitational that is on the calendar annually is the Ocean State Invitational at Goddard State Park. The meet draws top prep talent from across the Northeast to compete in Freshmen, JV and Championship Divisions. Last year's installment saw former Conard High School star Gavin Sherry set the course record by running 14:58.57. That record did not even last a full calendar year as Devan Kipyego from St. Raphael Acadamy (RI) broke the tape in this year's race with an impressive time of 14:57.70 to win the Boys Championship Race. In the team Championships, Westford Academy proved to be the team to beat on Saturday, winning with just 69 points over second place and two-time defending State Champion St. John's Prep's 138. The Minutemen got into the top-10 scoring 259 points. On the girls side, Cornwall (NY) senior Karrie Baloga did not set the course record, but did absolutely dominate the field, winning by over a minute with a time of 17:07.90. While her time was impressive it was not enough to lead her team to victory as the girls from Glastonbury (CT) won the title with 61 points. The Lex Girls for their efforts finished sixth overall with 111 points.
Highlights from the Freshmen Races
Proving that the future is in fact very bright for The Minutemen, the Freshmen Boys started off the day by taking the team title with 58 points. They bested the team from Guilderland (NY) by 20 points. Colin Smith led the way for the Boys by placing sixth overall with a time of 14:31.50. Also placing in the top-10 for The Minutemen was Sam Finch, who's time of 14:42.80 landed him ninth, and Will Parker (14:47.50) was 10th. Next across the line was Eric Zhang who's time of 14:53.60 placed 14th. He was followed by the all important fifth man, Owen Kuder who's time of 14:57.90 earned 19th place and sealed the victory for The Minutemen.
The Girls Freshmen Race saw The Minutemen be led by Nadia Abdinoor. The young harrier was the lone top five finisher among all LHS Freshmen, as she placed fourth with a time of 16:32.00. She was followed by Sophie Johnson (16:44.20) and Meghan Caldera (16:44.70) who placed eighth and ninth respectively. Next across the line for the Lex Girls was Thayer DiCerbo who's time of 17:13.70 was enough to earn 16th place. The fifth and final scorer for The Minutemen was Prachi Aggarwal who's time of 19:10.80 placed her 39th overall.
Highlights from the JV Races
In the JV race, The Minutemen showed strength in numbers with their one through five split being a minuscule 16 seconds. That tight split is what made the difference as the Boys once against bested the team from Guilford by a score of 64 to 74. As he did earlier in the week against Melrose, sophomore Alistair Rezvani led the way for The Minutemen, running 18:35.90 for his first 5k and placing seventh overall. He was followed by senior Jinn Janpathompong who ran a perfectly even split 18:40.60 to place ninth. Next for LHS was senior Jackson Monks (18:43.20) and senior captain Ian Miller (18:44.10) who placed 14th and 16th respectively. Finishing fifth for The Minutemen was Kyle Taylor (18:51.30) who's 18th place finish accounted for nearly the entire margin of victory as Guilford's number five runner did not come across the line for another 8 places. Sophomores Zach Barry (18:59.20) and Graham Schrodel (19:11.40) rounded out the top seven for the Boys.
In the Girls race, senior Serena Caira had the breakthrough race of all breakthrough races. Last year Caira ran this exact race, finishing 8th in 22:51.30. This year she went out more conservatively early on in the race before slowly working her way up through the pack over the second mile. In the final mile, to her surprise she had chased down all but one runner on the course and crossed the line with a massive personal best time of 21:41.90 to earn the silver medal. Caira's stellar performance was backed up by sophomores Claire Cunningham - who proved flair is more than a style, it's a mindset - and Mirei Saneyoshi. Their times of 22:04.10 and 22:06.50 earned them sixth and seventh respectively. Also placing top-10 was breakout sophomore and superman shirt winner Tanvi Samavedam, who placed 10th with a time of 22:31.50. Finishing as the all important fifth runner and sealing an impressive victory for the Lex Girls was senior Ashley Taylor. Her time of 22:34.60 placed 12th overall. Senior captain Sarah Lane (22:50.10) and junior Sarah Fu (23:16.70) were sixth and seventh for The Minutemen.
Highlights from the Championship Races
After dominating the early races, The Minutemen toed the line with the best of the best in the Championship Race with the goal of cracking the top-10. They did just that with junior Glenn Burcsu leading the way in his 2022 Season debut. The junior harrier grinded his way through the trails of Goddard Park to finish 31st overall in a time of 16:58.30. Next for LHS was senior captain Aidan McPhee who bested his time from last year by nearly a minute, running 17:18.10 to finish 44th overall. Joey "Candy Man" Ryan followed up his breakout performance at Clipper Relays with an even more impressive race. Running a PR of 17:24.10, Ryan finished 52nd overall. Freshman Max Zhang turn in a huge PR of his own in his first 5k of his sophomore season. He ran his way to 65th place with a time of 17:35.50. Senior captain Antonio Lopez turned in a time of 17:38.40 to place fifth for The Minutemen, 67th overall. Sophomore Nathan Cunningham (18:16.60) and junior captain Toshio Yuki (19:05.60) were 88th and 113th respectively.
The Lex Girls were spearheaded by superstar senior Ava Criniti. Following a similar plan that saw Serena Caira run her way to the podium in the JV race, Criniti started in the middle of the pack in the first mile before slowly asserting herself over the second half of the race. She then unleashed her signature kick for the first time on a 5k cross country course to put a stamp on her fifth place finish with a time of 19:01.70. Following Criniti, senior captain Mirra Payson breezed to a time of 20:29.80 to finish 19th overall. Next it was senior captain Uma Sanker (21:10.60) and the one-two punch of senior Jasmine Sun (21:35.40) and junior Dora Liao (21:36.00). The trio placed 25th, 31st and 32nd respectively. Junior Maya Dubrovsky (22:44.00) finished 53rd overall.
Up Next
The Minutemen open up Middlesex League Liberty Division competition this Tuesday as they travel to the new Belmont High School course at the Victory Gardens at Rock Meadow. The meet is set to begin at 4:15pm.
Ocean State Invitational
September 24, 2022
Goddard State Park - East Greenwich, RI
RESULTS
EAST GREENWICH, RI - Each year throughout the Cross Country/Track & Field seasons The Minutemen often cross state lines to find the best competition. The meets change from year-to-year, but the one stalwart invitational that is on the calendar annually is the Ocean State Invitational at Goddard State Park. The meet draws top prep talent from across the Northeast to compete in Freshmen, JV and Championship Divisions. Last year's installment saw former Conard High School star Gavin Sherry set the course record by running 14:58.57. That record did not even last a full calendar year as Devan Kipyego from St. Raphael Acadamy (RI) broke the tape in this year's race with an impressive time of 14:57.70 to win the Boys Championship Race. In the team Championships, Westford Academy proved to be the team to beat on Saturday, winning with just 69 points over second place and two-time defending State Champion St. John's Prep's 138. The Minutemen got into the top-10 scoring 259 points. On the girls side, Cornwall (NY) senior Karrie Baloga did not set the course record, but did absolutely dominate the field, winning by over a minute with a time of 17:07.90. While her time was impressive it was not enough to lead her team to victory as the girls from Glastonbury (CT) won the title with 61 points. The Lex Girls for their efforts finished sixth overall with 111 points.
Highlights from the Freshmen Races
Proving that the future is in fact very bright for The Minutemen, the Freshmen Boys started off the day by taking the team title with 58 points. They bested the team from Guilderland (NY) by 20 points. Colin Smith led the way for the Boys by placing sixth overall with a time of 14:31.50. Also placing in the top-10 for The Minutemen was Sam Finch, who's time of 14:42.80 landed him ninth, and Will Parker (14:47.50) was 10th. Next across the line was Eric Zhang who's time of 14:53.60 placed 14th. He was followed by the all important fifth man, Owen Kuder who's time of 14:57.90 earned 19th place and sealed the victory for The Minutemen.
The Girls Freshmen Race saw The Minutemen be led by Nadia Abdinoor. The young harrier was the lone top five finisher among all LHS Freshmen, as she placed fourth with a time of 16:32.00. She was followed by Sophie Johnson (16:44.20) and Meghan Caldera (16:44.70) who placed eighth and ninth respectively. Next across the line for the Lex Girls was Thayer DiCerbo who's time of 17:13.70 was enough to earn 16th place. The fifth and final scorer for The Minutemen was Prachi Aggarwal who's time of 19:10.80 placed her 39th overall.
Highlights from the JV Races
In the JV race, The Minutemen showed strength in numbers with their one through five split being a minuscule 16 seconds. That tight split is what made the difference as the Boys once against bested the team from Guilford by a score of 64 to 74. As he did earlier in the week against Melrose, sophomore Alistair Rezvani led the way for The Minutemen, running 18:35.90 for his first 5k and placing seventh overall. He was followed by senior Jinn Janpathompong who ran a perfectly even split 18:40.60 to place ninth. Next for LHS was senior Jackson Monks (18:43.20) and senior captain Ian Miller (18:44.10) who placed 14th and 16th respectively. Finishing fifth for The Minutemen was Kyle Taylor (18:51.30) who's 18th place finish accounted for nearly the entire margin of victory as Guilford's number five runner did not come across the line for another 8 places. Sophomores Zach Barry (18:59.20) and Graham Schrodel (19:11.40) rounded out the top seven for the Boys.
In the Girls race, senior Serena Caira had the breakthrough race of all breakthrough races. Last year Caira ran this exact race, finishing 8th in 22:51.30. This year she went out more conservatively early on in the race before slowly working her way up through the pack over the second mile. In the final mile, to her surprise she had chased down all but one runner on the course and crossed the line with a massive personal best time of 21:41.90 to earn the silver medal. Caira's stellar performance was backed up by sophomores Claire Cunningham - who proved flair is more than a style, it's a mindset - and Mirei Saneyoshi. Their times of 22:04.10 and 22:06.50 earned them sixth and seventh respectively. Also placing top-10 was breakout sophomore and superman shirt winner Tanvi Samavedam, who placed 10th with a time of 22:31.50. Finishing as the all important fifth runner and sealing an impressive victory for the Lex Girls was senior Ashley Taylor. Her time of 22:34.60 placed 12th overall. Senior captain Sarah Lane (22:50.10) and junior Sarah Fu (23:16.70) were sixth and seventh for The Minutemen.
Highlights from the Championship Races
After dominating the early races, The Minutemen toed the line with the best of the best in the Championship Race with the goal of cracking the top-10. They did just that with junior Glenn Burcsu leading the way in his 2022 Season debut. The junior harrier grinded his way through the trails of Goddard Park to finish 31st overall in a time of 16:58.30. Next for LHS was senior captain Aidan McPhee who bested his time from last year by nearly a minute, running 17:18.10 to finish 44th overall. Joey "Candy Man" Ryan followed up his breakout performance at Clipper Relays with an even more impressive race. Running a PR of 17:24.10, Ryan finished 52nd overall. Freshman Max Zhang turn in a huge PR of his own in his first 5k of his sophomore season. He ran his way to 65th place with a time of 17:35.50. Senior captain Antonio Lopez turned in a time of 17:38.40 to place fifth for The Minutemen, 67th overall. Sophomore Nathan Cunningham (18:16.60) and junior captain Toshio Yuki (19:05.60) were 88th and 113th respectively.
The Lex Girls were spearheaded by superstar senior Ava Criniti. Following a similar plan that saw Serena Caira run her way to the podium in the JV race, Criniti started in the middle of the pack in the first mile before slowly asserting herself over the second half of the race. She then unleashed her signature kick for the first time on a 5k cross country course to put a stamp on her fifth place finish with a time of 19:01.70. Following Criniti, senior captain Mirra Payson breezed to a time of 20:29.80 to finish 19th overall. Next it was senior captain Uma Sanker (21:10.60) and the one-two punch of senior Jasmine Sun (21:35.40) and junior Dora Liao (21:36.00). The trio placed 25th, 31st and 32nd respectively. Junior Maya Dubrovsky (22:44.00) finished 53rd overall.
Up Next
The Minutemen open up Middlesex League Liberty Division competition this Tuesday as they travel to the new Belmont High School course at the Victory Gardens at Rock Meadow. The meet is set to begin at 4:15pm.