RIVALRY RENEWED: THE MINUTEMEN TAKE DOWN READING
Meet Information
Reading Dual Meet
October 18, 2022
Lincoln Field - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - The latter half of the 2010s saw the Reading Boys program, which once held a winning streak on the Outdoor Track that spanned 30 years, fall back to the middle of the pack both on the track as well on the trails. In recent years, the Rockets Cross Country team has made a resurgence under Head Coach Mike Connolly. Last year's team bested The Minutemen in their dual meet, before LHS beat the Rockets by just three points at the League Championships. Reading's Boys did have the final say however, with a dominating performance at the All-State Championships. The Rockets came to Lexington have battled through a number of injuries during the season, while still managing to maintain the best record in the Liberty Division. That would not be the case when they left Lincoln Field, as The Minutemen came through with their best performance of the season. LHS's top-seven varsity runners all ran personal bests on the LHS Home Course to win by a score of 22-37. On the Girls side, the Lex Girls continued their winning ways, sweeping the Rocket by a score of 15-50. LHS's Girls were led once again by another record breaking run by superstar Ava Criniti. The senior harrier bested her own Home Course Record by 11-seconds, to win the race with a time of 18:39.
Junior Glenn Burcsu led the way for The Minutemen. He and Reading senior Jack Quinn went stride for stride over the first 2.5 miles of the race, before Burcsu made a strong move over the final 800m to gap Quinn and take the victory in a new personal best and #9 all-time performance by an LHS athlete of 16:40. Next across the line for The Minutemen was senior captain Antonio Lopez. He was also able to pull away from a Reading competitor over the final stretch of the race. He surged across the finish line with a time of 17:08 to finish third overall. While the top two led the way, it was the pack attack for LHS that won the day. Junior Joey "Candy Man" Ryan finish fifth with a PR of 17:17. Senior captain Aidan McPhee turned in a lifetime best on the Home Course to place sixth in 17:20. Sophomore Max Zhang's seventh place finish in 17:26 put the finishing touches on the victory for LHS, while senior Aviv Spitz's (17:29) eighth place and sophomore Nathan Cunningham's (18:00) 11th place finishes put an exclamation point on the day as both athletes bested members of Reading's top-five. Along with the top-seven, senior Jinn Janpathompong (18:04), senior captain Ian Miller (18:17), and junior captain Toshio Yuki (18:55) rounded out the varsity squad for LHS.
In the Girls Race it was four seniors and a freshman who took care of business for the Lex Girls. Behind Criniti's performance, senior captains Mirra Payson (20:00) and Uma Sanker (20:18) both ran season bests at the Home Course to place second and third. Fellow classmate Jasmine Sun was next in 20:44. Finishing out the top-five was Nadia Abdinoor who dipped under 21 minutes for the first time over 5k, with a final time of 20:53. Along with the top-five, it was junior Dora Liao (21:04) and Meghan Caldera (21:07) who were next across the line. Sophomore Brett Castro turned in a strong race by finishing with a time of 21:38. Freshmen Thayer DiCerbo and Mirei Saneyoshi were #9 and #10 for the Lex Girls. The two crossed the finish line with a time of 21:44 and 21:45 respectively.
Up Next
The Minutemen will return to Lincoln Field on Tuesday, October 25th to face the Red and Black from Winchester on Senior Day. On the Boys side, Winchester comes in with the best dual meet record in the Liberty Division but will have to beat a surging LHS squad to claim the Division Crown. Both the Lex Girls and Winchester were bested by Arlington earlier in the season, but this meet will provide a great test for the two teams. The meet is set to begin at 4:30pm.
Reading Dual Meet
October 18, 2022
Lincoln Field - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - The latter half of the 2010s saw the Reading Boys program, which once held a winning streak on the Outdoor Track that spanned 30 years, fall back to the middle of the pack both on the track as well on the trails. In recent years, the Rockets Cross Country team has made a resurgence under Head Coach Mike Connolly. Last year's team bested The Minutemen in their dual meet, before LHS beat the Rockets by just three points at the League Championships. Reading's Boys did have the final say however, with a dominating performance at the All-State Championships. The Rockets came to Lexington have battled through a number of injuries during the season, while still managing to maintain the best record in the Liberty Division. That would not be the case when they left Lincoln Field, as The Minutemen came through with their best performance of the season. LHS's top-seven varsity runners all ran personal bests on the LHS Home Course to win by a score of 22-37. On the Girls side, the Lex Girls continued their winning ways, sweeping the Rocket by a score of 15-50. LHS's Girls were led once again by another record breaking run by superstar Ava Criniti. The senior harrier bested her own Home Course Record by 11-seconds, to win the race with a time of 18:39.
Junior Glenn Burcsu led the way for The Minutemen. He and Reading senior Jack Quinn went stride for stride over the first 2.5 miles of the race, before Burcsu made a strong move over the final 800m to gap Quinn and take the victory in a new personal best and #9 all-time performance by an LHS athlete of 16:40. Next across the line for The Minutemen was senior captain Antonio Lopez. He was also able to pull away from a Reading competitor over the final stretch of the race. He surged across the finish line with a time of 17:08 to finish third overall. While the top two led the way, it was the pack attack for LHS that won the day. Junior Joey "Candy Man" Ryan finish fifth with a PR of 17:17. Senior captain Aidan McPhee turned in a lifetime best on the Home Course to place sixth in 17:20. Sophomore Max Zhang's seventh place finish in 17:26 put the finishing touches on the victory for LHS, while senior Aviv Spitz's (17:29) eighth place and sophomore Nathan Cunningham's (18:00) 11th place finishes put an exclamation point on the day as both athletes bested members of Reading's top-five. Along with the top-seven, senior Jinn Janpathompong (18:04), senior captain Ian Miller (18:17), and junior captain Toshio Yuki (18:55) rounded out the varsity squad for LHS.
In the Girls Race it was four seniors and a freshman who took care of business for the Lex Girls. Behind Criniti's performance, senior captains Mirra Payson (20:00) and Uma Sanker (20:18) both ran season bests at the Home Course to place second and third. Fellow classmate Jasmine Sun was next in 20:44. Finishing out the top-five was Nadia Abdinoor who dipped under 21 minutes for the first time over 5k, with a final time of 20:53. Along with the top-five, it was junior Dora Liao (21:04) and Meghan Caldera (21:07) who were next across the line. Sophomore Brett Castro turned in a strong race by finishing with a time of 21:38. Freshmen Thayer DiCerbo and Mirei Saneyoshi were #9 and #10 for the Lex Girls. The two crossed the finish line with a time of 21:44 and 21:45 respectively.
Up Next
The Minutemen will return to Lincoln Field on Tuesday, October 25th to face the Red and Black from Winchester on Senior Day. On the Boys side, Winchester comes in with the best dual meet record in the Liberty Division but will have to beat a surging LHS squad to claim the Division Crown. Both the Lex Girls and Winchester were bested by Arlington earlier in the season, but this meet will provide a great test for the two teams. The meet is set to begin at 4:30pm.