BOYS FALL ONE POINT SHY OF LIBERTY DIVISION CROWN; GIRLS DOMINATE WINCHESTER
Meet Information
Winchester Dual Meet
October 24, 2024
Horn Pond - Woburn, MA
RESULTS
WINCHESTER, MA - The Minutemen traveled to Horn Pond to face off against Winchester on Tuesday. The Red and Black came in with an undefeated record in the Middlesex League Liberty Division, and after The Minutemen thwarted Winchester's boys from earning the Division Crown last fall, LHS knew they were in for a fight. Despite the fact that freshmen phenom Patrick Noonan (15:05) and senior captain Joey "The Candyman" Ryan (15:12) both dipped under the three-mile course record to finish one-two, the Red and Black exacted their revenge over The Minutemen and won by a score of 27-28 to clinch the Liberty Division Championship. On the girls' side it was a completely different story as LHS proved that they are peaking at the perfect time of the season. The Lex Girls won in dominating fashion by a score of 15-48.
After Noonan and Ryan, Winchester seniors Wesley Kaukas-Quinn and Tyler Johnson crossed the line. That meant that the Boys Race came down to a four person battle between WHS juniors Nicholas Walker and Owen Bernstein, and LHS freshmen Trevor Stevens and Caleb Ford. The quartet were separated by no more than a few strides for the majority of the race. As they approached the steep downhill no more than 100 meters from the line, the issue was still in doubt as Walker, Bernstein and Stevens came barreling towards the line. Walker crossed first, then Bernstein just edged out Stevens - the two runners were both given a time of 15:48 - and Ford came through a few seconds later in 15:52. With both squads having placed four runners, the score was knotted at 18 points a piece. Unfortunately for The Minutemen, WHS senior Erik Bergstrom had broken away from juniors Nathan Cunningham, Max Zhang, and senior Owen Lawler. He crossed the line in ninth place to seal the victory for his team. Cunningham crossed next in 16:14, followed by Zhang (16:15) and Lawler (16:16). Freshman Eric House continued his late season surge, and finished 14th overall in a time of 16:21. He was followed by junior Zach Barry (16:28) and fellow classman Owen Ross was the 10th finisher for LHS in a time of 16:32.
The Lex Girls suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Arlington nearly a month ago. However, since then they have taken on the pack attack mentality that is the hallmark of all great cross country teams, and simply run over nearly all of the competition that has been put in their way. That pack mentality was on fine display on Tuesday as the time that separated The Minutemen's top finisher senior captain Dora Liao (19:07) and their fifth, freshman Callie Glenn (19:26) was a mere 19 seconds. In between the book ends was the sophomore trio of Meghan Caldera (19:18), who followed up the best 5k of her career last week with an equally impressive performance over three miles. Nadia Abdinoor (19:22) proved that she is back to the form that made her the top freshmen in the Middlesex League last fall. And, Sophie "Snacks" Johnson (19:25) had quite simply the best performance of her career to date. Next across the line was senior Samara McVey who finished seventh overall in a time of 19:39. She was followed by freshmen Erin Ehmann (19:42) and Alycia Charest (19:43). Lucy Kontos continues to test her limits each week. The first year cross country junior was ninth for her team in a time of 19:44. Freshman Josie Bettencourt rounded out the top-10 for the Lex Girls with a time of 20:05.
Up Next
The saying goes that every athlete dreams of a second chance. This Monday, October 30th, The Minutemen will get theirs as the Middlesex League Championships return to the Woburn Country Club for the 53rd installment of the oldest league championship meet in Massachusetts. Five titles will be on the line on Monday, as the freshmen will compete in a 3k co-ed race with the lowest combined boys and girls team scores taking home the prize. That will be followed up by the Girls and Boys JV Championship Race. Finally, The Minutemen's top-seven will have the chance to prove how they stack up against the best the League has to offer. The first race will begin at 2:30pm, and full details on the Championships can be found HERE.
Winchester Dual Meet
October 24, 2024
Horn Pond - Woburn, MA
RESULTS
WINCHESTER, MA - The Minutemen traveled to Horn Pond to face off against Winchester on Tuesday. The Red and Black came in with an undefeated record in the Middlesex League Liberty Division, and after The Minutemen thwarted Winchester's boys from earning the Division Crown last fall, LHS knew they were in for a fight. Despite the fact that freshmen phenom Patrick Noonan (15:05) and senior captain Joey "The Candyman" Ryan (15:12) both dipped under the three-mile course record to finish one-two, the Red and Black exacted their revenge over The Minutemen and won by a score of 27-28 to clinch the Liberty Division Championship. On the girls' side it was a completely different story as LHS proved that they are peaking at the perfect time of the season. The Lex Girls won in dominating fashion by a score of 15-48.
After Noonan and Ryan, Winchester seniors Wesley Kaukas-Quinn and Tyler Johnson crossed the line. That meant that the Boys Race came down to a four person battle between WHS juniors Nicholas Walker and Owen Bernstein, and LHS freshmen Trevor Stevens and Caleb Ford. The quartet were separated by no more than a few strides for the majority of the race. As they approached the steep downhill no more than 100 meters from the line, the issue was still in doubt as Walker, Bernstein and Stevens came barreling towards the line. Walker crossed first, then Bernstein just edged out Stevens - the two runners were both given a time of 15:48 - and Ford came through a few seconds later in 15:52. With both squads having placed four runners, the score was knotted at 18 points a piece. Unfortunately for The Minutemen, WHS senior Erik Bergstrom had broken away from juniors Nathan Cunningham, Max Zhang, and senior Owen Lawler. He crossed the line in ninth place to seal the victory for his team. Cunningham crossed next in 16:14, followed by Zhang (16:15) and Lawler (16:16). Freshman Eric House continued his late season surge, and finished 14th overall in a time of 16:21. He was followed by junior Zach Barry (16:28) and fellow classman Owen Ross was the 10th finisher for LHS in a time of 16:32.
The Lex Girls suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of Arlington nearly a month ago. However, since then they have taken on the pack attack mentality that is the hallmark of all great cross country teams, and simply run over nearly all of the competition that has been put in their way. That pack mentality was on fine display on Tuesday as the time that separated The Minutemen's top finisher senior captain Dora Liao (19:07) and their fifth, freshman Callie Glenn (19:26) was a mere 19 seconds. In between the book ends was the sophomore trio of Meghan Caldera (19:18), who followed up the best 5k of her career last week with an equally impressive performance over three miles. Nadia Abdinoor (19:22) proved that she is back to the form that made her the top freshmen in the Middlesex League last fall. And, Sophie "Snacks" Johnson (19:25) had quite simply the best performance of her career to date. Next across the line was senior Samara McVey who finished seventh overall in a time of 19:39. She was followed by freshmen Erin Ehmann (19:42) and Alycia Charest (19:43). Lucy Kontos continues to test her limits each week. The first year cross country junior was ninth for her team in a time of 19:44. Freshman Josie Bettencourt rounded out the top-10 for the Lex Girls with a time of 20:05.
Up Next
The saying goes that every athlete dreams of a second chance. This Monday, October 30th, The Minutemen will get theirs as the Middlesex League Championships return to the Woburn Country Club for the 53rd installment of the oldest league championship meet in Massachusetts. Five titles will be on the line on Monday, as the freshmen will compete in a 3k co-ed race with the lowest combined boys and girls team scores taking home the prize. That will be followed up by the Girls and Boys JV Championship Race. Finally, The Minutemen's top-seven will have the chance to prove how they stack up against the best the League has to offer. The first race will begin at 2:30pm, and full details on the Championships can be found HERE.