THE MINUTEMEN PUNCH TICKETS TO ALL-STATES WITH A PAIR OF TOP 5 FINISHES AT DIVS
Meet Information
MIAA Division 1A Championships
November 11, 2023
Gardner Municipal Golf Course - Gardner, MA
RESULTS
GARDNER, MA - For the first time in their history, The Minutemen competed at the MIAA Cross Country Divisional Championships outside of eastern Massachusetts. Since 2012, the Championships were held at the Wrentham Developmental Center, and prior to that had been competed on the crown jewel of New England cross country courses - Historic Franklin Park - for decades. However, back in 2021, the divisional realignment instituted across all sports by the MIAA meant that what was once the Eastern, Central, and Western Mass championships would now be statewide divisional meets. They would feature big schools racing other big schools, and the small schools competing against other small schools. It was a great idea, in theory, but not in practice. The Division 1 Championships - where only 16 of the 121 teams (13%) who compete in the Division 1A, 1B, and 1C meets hail from west of the I-495 belt - were held in a location far more remote than Wrentham or certainly Boston. In addition, the fine folks who organize Central Mass meets did so for these Division 1 Championships with the same pomp and ceremony of a Tuesday afternoon dual meet in September. This included a finish line spectators had a difficult time finding even with a map, and an awards ceremony wedged between the fifth green of the municipal golf course and the aptly named Green St, which was lined with cars.
Despite the lack luster settings, The Minutemen showed up to Gardner with the goal of qualifying for the Division 1 All-State Championships at Fort Devens next weekend. Both the Boys and Girls teams made that happen with a pair of top five finishes. The Boys Race was won by the team from Newton South (64 points). While runner-up B.C. High finished with 95 points. The Minutemen ended up fourth overall with a score of 120 points. On the girls' side, it was Cambridge Rindge & Latin led by the tremendous run of junior Aoife Shovlin - the overall champion in 18:16.77 - who just edged out Weymouth by a score of 111 to 114. The Lex Girls only had one runner break the top-20, but their tight pack landed them fifth overall with 142 points.
The Minutemen were led, as they have been all season, by their one-two punch of senior captain Joey "The Candyman" Ryan and freshman phenom Patrick Noonan. Both of the LHS harriers placed in the top-seven, which was a feat only matched by Newton South and B.C. High. The race got off to a fast start as the eventual champion Chris Larnard of B.C. High drove the pace over the rolling hills of the Gardner Golf Course. Ryan and Noonan laid off that early pace and let things develop over the first lap. They then slowly inched their ways up closer to the leaders over the back half of the race and continued to keep that pressure on over the final stretch. In the end it was Ryan who placed first for The Minutemen with a time of 15:59.05. That was good enough for fourth place. Noonan was next, sixth overall, with a time of 16:04.47. Next for LHS was fellow freshman Caleb Ford. He landed in 27th place overall with a time of 16:49.29. Fellow classmate Trevor Stevens was fourth across the line for The Minutemen. He battled his way around the course in 17:01.95 to place 33rd. Junior Nathan Cunningham (17:29.40) rounded out the top five for The Minutemen with a 50th place finish. Cunningham was followed immediately by senior Owen Lawler (17:30.57) who placed 51st, and junior Max Zhang (17:35.85) who placed 56th. Overall it was a strong effort by LHS, and after a year hiatus from the All-State Championships, they are back to competing with the class of the Bay State.
Final Boys Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Newton South - 64
2. B.C. High - 95
3. Cambridge Rindge & Latin - 111
4. Lexington - 120
5. Brookline - 128
6. Acton-Boxborough - 168
7. Lowell - 207
8. St. John's Prep - 229
9. Newton North - 231
10. Wachusett - 258
Over the second half of the year, it has been the emerging depth of the Lex Girls that has brought them to a point where they could compete at an All-State level. After the team graduated four of the seven girls who helped them place sixth at this Divisional Meet last year, it was difficult to piece together a top tier varsity squad in the early stages of the season. However, with the return to form of senior Samara McVey and sophomore Nadia Abdinoor, along with the emergence of freshmen Callie Glenn and Erin Ehmann, LHS was ready for what Division 1A had to throw at them on Saturday. LHS's top seven was basically welded together in the early stages of the race, and while Aoife Shovlin was at the front setting a blistering pace that would crack much of the field, the Lex Girls wisely sat back in the pack waiting to strike. That move began to unfold just past the halfway point when McVey, Glenn and sophomore Meghan Caldera charged down the hill just past the finish line of the two loop course. At that point the trio sat around the 40th position. When they crossed the finish line, that had moved up nearly 20 places each. McVey led the way for The Minutemen. She crossed the line in 19th place in a time of 20:01.93. Caldera was right behind her in 20th place with a time of 20:03.51. Glenn (20:07.71) was next after she grinded her way up the homestretch to place 23rd overall. While they did not have their best stuff on Saturday, senior captain Dora Liao (20:40.42) and Abdinoor (20:48.77) showed true heart as they gutted out the final half of the race to place 38th and 42nd overall. Their efforts sealed the fifth place finish for their team, with a 1 to 5 delta of just 47 seconds. After the top five, it was Ehmann who placed 45th with a time of 20:51.91, and sophomore Sophie "Snacks" Johnson rounded things out with a 50th place finish in 21:12.73.
Final Girls Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Cambridge Rindge & Latin - 111
2. Weymouth - 114
3. Newton North - 123
4. Acton-Boxborough - 129
5. Lexington - 141
6. Needham - 168
7. Westford Academy - 174
8. Brookline - 188
9. Wachusett - 229
10. Andover - 274
Up Next
The Minutemen will now travel to Fort Devens for the MIAA Division 1 All-State Championships. After two different layouts of the space at Willard Park did not satisfy meet directors last year, this year's design will be another iteration of the space in the hopes of creating a more challenging course for the student-athletes. Action will get underway on Saturday, November 18th at 12:30pm with the Boys Division 1 Race. That will be followed immediately by the Girls Division 1 Race at 1:15pm.
MIAA Division 1A Championships
November 11, 2023
Gardner Municipal Golf Course - Gardner, MA
RESULTS
GARDNER, MA - For the first time in their history, The Minutemen competed at the MIAA Cross Country Divisional Championships outside of eastern Massachusetts. Since 2012, the Championships were held at the Wrentham Developmental Center, and prior to that had been competed on the crown jewel of New England cross country courses - Historic Franklin Park - for decades. However, back in 2021, the divisional realignment instituted across all sports by the MIAA meant that what was once the Eastern, Central, and Western Mass championships would now be statewide divisional meets. They would feature big schools racing other big schools, and the small schools competing against other small schools. It was a great idea, in theory, but not in practice. The Division 1 Championships - where only 16 of the 121 teams (13%) who compete in the Division 1A, 1B, and 1C meets hail from west of the I-495 belt - were held in a location far more remote than Wrentham or certainly Boston. In addition, the fine folks who organize Central Mass meets did so for these Division 1 Championships with the same pomp and ceremony of a Tuesday afternoon dual meet in September. This included a finish line spectators had a difficult time finding even with a map, and an awards ceremony wedged between the fifth green of the municipal golf course and the aptly named Green St, which was lined with cars.
Despite the lack luster settings, The Minutemen showed up to Gardner with the goal of qualifying for the Division 1 All-State Championships at Fort Devens next weekend. Both the Boys and Girls teams made that happen with a pair of top five finishes. The Boys Race was won by the team from Newton South (64 points). While runner-up B.C. High finished with 95 points. The Minutemen ended up fourth overall with a score of 120 points. On the girls' side, it was Cambridge Rindge & Latin led by the tremendous run of junior Aoife Shovlin - the overall champion in 18:16.77 - who just edged out Weymouth by a score of 111 to 114. The Lex Girls only had one runner break the top-20, but their tight pack landed them fifth overall with 142 points.
The Minutemen were led, as they have been all season, by their one-two punch of senior captain Joey "The Candyman" Ryan and freshman phenom Patrick Noonan. Both of the LHS harriers placed in the top-seven, which was a feat only matched by Newton South and B.C. High. The race got off to a fast start as the eventual champion Chris Larnard of B.C. High drove the pace over the rolling hills of the Gardner Golf Course. Ryan and Noonan laid off that early pace and let things develop over the first lap. They then slowly inched their ways up closer to the leaders over the back half of the race and continued to keep that pressure on over the final stretch. In the end it was Ryan who placed first for The Minutemen with a time of 15:59.05. That was good enough for fourth place. Noonan was next, sixth overall, with a time of 16:04.47. Next for LHS was fellow freshman Caleb Ford. He landed in 27th place overall with a time of 16:49.29. Fellow classmate Trevor Stevens was fourth across the line for The Minutemen. He battled his way around the course in 17:01.95 to place 33rd. Junior Nathan Cunningham (17:29.40) rounded out the top five for The Minutemen with a 50th place finish. Cunningham was followed immediately by senior Owen Lawler (17:30.57) who placed 51st, and junior Max Zhang (17:35.85) who placed 56th. Overall it was a strong effort by LHS, and after a year hiatus from the All-State Championships, they are back to competing with the class of the Bay State.
Final Boys Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Newton South - 64
2. B.C. High - 95
3. Cambridge Rindge & Latin - 111
4. Lexington - 120
5. Brookline - 128
6. Acton-Boxborough - 168
7. Lowell - 207
8. St. John's Prep - 229
9. Newton North - 231
10. Wachusett - 258
Over the second half of the year, it has been the emerging depth of the Lex Girls that has brought them to a point where they could compete at an All-State level. After the team graduated four of the seven girls who helped them place sixth at this Divisional Meet last year, it was difficult to piece together a top tier varsity squad in the early stages of the season. However, with the return to form of senior Samara McVey and sophomore Nadia Abdinoor, along with the emergence of freshmen Callie Glenn and Erin Ehmann, LHS was ready for what Division 1A had to throw at them on Saturday. LHS's top seven was basically welded together in the early stages of the race, and while Aoife Shovlin was at the front setting a blistering pace that would crack much of the field, the Lex Girls wisely sat back in the pack waiting to strike. That move began to unfold just past the halfway point when McVey, Glenn and sophomore Meghan Caldera charged down the hill just past the finish line of the two loop course. At that point the trio sat around the 40th position. When they crossed the finish line, that had moved up nearly 20 places each. McVey led the way for The Minutemen. She crossed the line in 19th place in a time of 20:01.93. Caldera was right behind her in 20th place with a time of 20:03.51. Glenn (20:07.71) was next after she grinded her way up the homestretch to place 23rd overall. While they did not have their best stuff on Saturday, senior captain Dora Liao (20:40.42) and Abdinoor (20:48.77) showed true heart as they gutted out the final half of the race to place 38th and 42nd overall. Their efforts sealed the fifth place finish for their team, with a 1 to 5 delta of just 47 seconds. After the top five, it was Ehmann who placed 45th with a time of 20:51.91, and sophomore Sophie "Snacks" Johnson rounded things out with a 50th place finish in 21:12.73.
Final Girls Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Cambridge Rindge & Latin - 111
2. Weymouth - 114
3. Newton North - 123
4. Acton-Boxborough - 129
5. Lexington - 141
6. Needham - 168
7. Westford Academy - 174
8. Brookline - 188
9. Wachusett - 229
10. Andover - 274
Up Next
The Minutemen will now travel to Fort Devens for the MIAA Division 1 All-State Championships. After two different layouts of the space at Willard Park did not satisfy meet directors last year, this year's design will be another iteration of the space in the hopes of creating a more challenging course for the student-athletes. Action will get underway on Saturday, November 18th at 12:30pm with the Boys Division 1 Race. That will be followed immediately by the Girls Division 1 Race at 1:15pm.