THE MINUTEMEN BLOW PAST BELMONT; MOVE TO 2-0 ON THE SEASON
Meet Information
Belmont Dual Meet
September 19, 2023
Lincoln Field - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - After dispatching the Melrose Red Hawks last week, Tuesday, The Minutemen were at home once again. This time they faced off against their first Middlesex League Liberty Division competition of the year in the form of Belmont. The Marauders proved to be no match for Lexington's Boys or Girls, as the Lex Girls took the first seven places in the race on their way to a perfect 15-50 sweep. On the boys' side, The Minutemen took seven of the top-10 places, and won by a score of 22 to 39. With that, both teams now sit at 2-0 on the young season.
For the first time this year, the Lex Girls' top three toed the starting line together. Senior captain Dora Liao, sophomore Meghan Caldera, and senior Samara McVey made up The Minutemen's top relay that placed fourth at Clipper Relays 10 days ago. However, the trio have not had the chance to compete as a group. That change on Tuesday, as Liao, Caldera, and McVey ran no more than a few strides apart for the entire 5000m race. After coming through the mile in 6:44, the group stayed right together over the hilly second mile to the tune of a 13:38 split that had given them plenty of breathing room from the rest of the field. As they came down the homestretch, the only thing left to decide was in what order would they finish. Liao ended up crossing the finish line first in 20:58 for her first career win at LHS. Caldera also came in at 20:58, and McVey was just behind in 20:59. Sophomore Sophie "Snacks" Johnson showed that she is ready to be a staple of the Lex Girls' varsity squad as she placed fourth overall with a huge home course PR of 21:16. LHS's fifth runner was freshman Callie Glenn, who came across the line in a time of 21:25 in the first 5k of her high school career. Next across the line was sophomore Thayer DiCerbo, who had a great bounce-back effort to finish in 21:52. Freshman Alycia Charest (22:11) had a very strong second go around on the home course as she stayed completely in control and improved her time from last week by over a minute to place seventh overall. Junior Tanvi Samavedam (22:34), freshman Josie Bettencourt (22:48), and sophomore Prachi Aggarwal (23:24) rounded out the top-10, as they finished ninth, 10th, and 13th respectively.
While the Marauders lost a lot of talent from last year's team that placed fourth at the League Championships, they still boast junior Jared Rife who is the top returner in the League from a year ago. Rife gave a strong effort against LHS, as he crossed the finish line in 16:32. However, he was simply no match for freshman Patrick Noonan. The young harrier went right to the lead from the moment the gun fired and executed his race strategy to perfection. He came through the mile in a cool 5:18, before he dropped a 5:08 mile over Baskin and Loring. In the end, Noonan crossed the line in 16:14. That time put him in a tie for #2 all-time on the LHS home course. Noonan was certainly tremendous, but not to be overlooked was the efforts of fellow classmate Trevor Stevens. The ninth-grader ran a perfectly even split 16:58 for his 5k debut, and with that time placed third overall for his team. After Belmont's Mark Chumack came through in fourth place, The Minutemen potted in the next five places on their way to victory. Junior Nathan Cunningham paced fifth in 17:24. Fellow classmate Zach Barry (17:32) took the success he saw on the track last spring and let it out on Tuesday to the tune of a sixth place finish. Freshman Owen Ross grinded his way to earn the all important fifth position - seventh overall - for his team in a time of 17:36. Next for The Minutemen were the Finch brothers. Sam and Henry both cross the line in 17:44, as the two placed eighth and ninth respectively. The final three varsity finishers for LHS included senior captain Toshio Yuki (17:56) who placed 11th overall. He was followed by sophomore Liam Singh and freshman Holden Cassity who both ran 18:14 to finish 13th and 14th respectively.
Up Next
The Minutemen will travel to Goddard State Park in Rhode Island this Saturday, September 23rd for the Ocean State Invitational. Top prep talent from around the northeast are expected at what has become one of the premier cross country meets of the season. LHS will compete in all four sections - Championship, Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman - of the Large School Division. The first race will go off at 8:45am.
Belmont Dual Meet
September 19, 2023
Lincoln Field - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - After dispatching the Melrose Red Hawks last week, Tuesday, The Minutemen were at home once again. This time they faced off against their first Middlesex League Liberty Division competition of the year in the form of Belmont. The Marauders proved to be no match for Lexington's Boys or Girls, as the Lex Girls took the first seven places in the race on their way to a perfect 15-50 sweep. On the boys' side, The Minutemen took seven of the top-10 places, and won by a score of 22 to 39. With that, both teams now sit at 2-0 on the young season.
For the first time this year, the Lex Girls' top three toed the starting line together. Senior captain Dora Liao, sophomore Meghan Caldera, and senior Samara McVey made up The Minutemen's top relay that placed fourth at Clipper Relays 10 days ago. However, the trio have not had the chance to compete as a group. That change on Tuesday, as Liao, Caldera, and McVey ran no more than a few strides apart for the entire 5000m race. After coming through the mile in 6:44, the group stayed right together over the hilly second mile to the tune of a 13:38 split that had given them plenty of breathing room from the rest of the field. As they came down the homestretch, the only thing left to decide was in what order would they finish. Liao ended up crossing the finish line first in 20:58 for her first career win at LHS. Caldera also came in at 20:58, and McVey was just behind in 20:59. Sophomore Sophie "Snacks" Johnson showed that she is ready to be a staple of the Lex Girls' varsity squad as she placed fourth overall with a huge home course PR of 21:16. LHS's fifth runner was freshman Callie Glenn, who came across the line in a time of 21:25 in the first 5k of her high school career. Next across the line was sophomore Thayer DiCerbo, who had a great bounce-back effort to finish in 21:52. Freshman Alycia Charest (22:11) had a very strong second go around on the home course as she stayed completely in control and improved her time from last week by over a minute to place seventh overall. Junior Tanvi Samavedam (22:34), freshman Josie Bettencourt (22:48), and sophomore Prachi Aggarwal (23:24) rounded out the top-10, as they finished ninth, 10th, and 13th respectively.
While the Marauders lost a lot of talent from last year's team that placed fourth at the League Championships, they still boast junior Jared Rife who is the top returner in the League from a year ago. Rife gave a strong effort against LHS, as he crossed the finish line in 16:32. However, he was simply no match for freshman Patrick Noonan. The young harrier went right to the lead from the moment the gun fired and executed his race strategy to perfection. He came through the mile in a cool 5:18, before he dropped a 5:08 mile over Baskin and Loring. In the end, Noonan crossed the line in 16:14. That time put him in a tie for #2 all-time on the LHS home course. Noonan was certainly tremendous, but not to be overlooked was the efforts of fellow classmate Trevor Stevens. The ninth-grader ran a perfectly even split 16:58 for his 5k debut, and with that time placed third overall for his team. After Belmont's Mark Chumack came through in fourth place, The Minutemen potted in the next five places on their way to victory. Junior Nathan Cunningham paced fifth in 17:24. Fellow classmate Zach Barry (17:32) took the success he saw on the track last spring and let it out on Tuesday to the tune of a sixth place finish. Freshman Owen Ross grinded his way to earn the all important fifth position - seventh overall - for his team in a time of 17:36. Next for The Minutemen were the Finch brothers. Sam and Henry both cross the line in 17:44, as the two placed eighth and ninth respectively. The final three varsity finishers for LHS included senior captain Toshio Yuki (17:56) who placed 11th overall. He was followed by sophomore Liam Singh and freshman Holden Cassity who both ran 18:14 to finish 13th and 14th respectively.
Up Next
The Minutemen will travel to Goddard State Park in Rhode Island this Saturday, September 23rd for the Ocean State Invitational. Top prep talent from around the northeast are expected at what has become one of the premier cross country meets of the season. LHS will compete in all four sections - Championship, Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman - of the Large School Division. The first race will go off at 8:45am.