2024 XC SEASON GETS OFF TO THE RACES AT CLIPPER RELAYS
Meet Information
23rd Annual Clipper Relays
September 7, 2024
Maudslay State Park - Newburyport, MA
RESULTS
NEWBURYPORT, MA - The 2023 Cross Country season saw both the Boys and Girls teams place in the top-10 at the All-State Championships. With six and four athletes returning from each of those squads respectively, The Minutemen were excited to get back to racing and see if they could take the next step as a program. The 2024 season debuted, as is tradition, at the Annual Clipper Relays hosted by Newburyport. Billerica's top Girls team took home the overall crown with a blistering time of 35:05, which bested second place by over a minute. The Lex Girs' top team made a strong statement that they are ready to compete at the highest levels this season. They battled all the way to the finish to earn a bronze medal with a time of 36:19, just one second behind second place North Andover. In the Boys Race, it was the team from Marblehead that took the top spot with a time of 29:29. LHS's top team came through in seventh overall with a time of 30:31.
There was plenty of anticipation for the high school debut of freshman Janie Conrad. As an eighth grader last spring, Conrad proved she could compete at a national high school level in the Steeplechase in just her first time running the event. However, toeing the line in a full on high school cross country race is another level of competition altogether. Despite the jump in class, Conrad maintained her composure and turned in a tremendous debut for the Lex Girls. The freshman anchored LHS's top team with an adjusted split (the anchor legs are a bit longer than the first two legs) of 11:37, which was the fastest time on the day. After taking the spring off, junior captain Meghan Caldera showed that she is back with all the fight and fire she brings to her team. Her split of 12:12 was a massive improvement over last year's race, and was second for The Minutemen on Saturday. The sophomore trio of Erin Ehmann (12:19), Callie Glenn (12:19), and Alycia Charest (12:20) were next for the Lex Girls. While another freshman, Ella Tyson (12:21), had a huge debut of her own. Senior Brett Castro (12:50) and junior captain Thayer DiCerbo (12:51) turned in great season openers, while sophomore Josie Bettencourt (13:18) and Claire Cunningham (13:38) rounded out the top-10 for The Minutemen.
On the boys' side, it was sophomore Trevor Stevens who led the way for The Minutemen. Stevens was the second leg of his relay, and drove his team back up to the top pack with a 9:42 split. Senior captain Max Zhang turned in a great performance as well with a split of 10:01 for the nearly 2-mile loop. Fellow classmate Nathan Cunningham (10:08) was next for The Minutemen. His time was a massive improvement over his performance last year. Sophomore Owen Ross turned in an adjusted split of 10:11. He was followed by senior James Joseph (10:20) and junior Colin Smith (10:21). Junior Owen Kuder, who's adjust split of 10:29 was just ahead of fellow Liam Singh (10:30) and senior Danny Ryans (10:30), led a tightly packed middle group for LHS. And, senior Zach Barry turned in the 10th fastest split for The Minutemen, as his adjusted time was 10:35.
Up Next
The Minutemen have a quick turnaround, as they are back in action for their home opener against Wakefield this Tuesday, September 10th. Despite being from the Middlesex League's small-school Freedom Division, the Warriors have been one of the powers of the League for nearly a decade, and boast the only Boys team with multiple League crowns since 2017. In addition to the competition, this dual meet will feature FAT timing and live results for what is likely the first time in Middlesex League dual meet history. Action will begin at Lincoln Field in Lexington at 4:15pm.
23rd Annual Clipper Relays
September 7, 2024
Maudslay State Park - Newburyport, MA
RESULTS
NEWBURYPORT, MA - The 2023 Cross Country season saw both the Boys and Girls teams place in the top-10 at the All-State Championships. With six and four athletes returning from each of those squads respectively, The Minutemen were excited to get back to racing and see if they could take the next step as a program. The 2024 season debuted, as is tradition, at the Annual Clipper Relays hosted by Newburyport. Billerica's top Girls team took home the overall crown with a blistering time of 35:05, which bested second place by over a minute. The Lex Girs' top team made a strong statement that they are ready to compete at the highest levels this season. They battled all the way to the finish to earn a bronze medal with a time of 36:19, just one second behind second place North Andover. In the Boys Race, it was the team from Marblehead that took the top spot with a time of 29:29. LHS's top team came through in seventh overall with a time of 30:31.
There was plenty of anticipation for the high school debut of freshman Janie Conrad. As an eighth grader last spring, Conrad proved she could compete at a national high school level in the Steeplechase in just her first time running the event. However, toeing the line in a full on high school cross country race is another level of competition altogether. Despite the jump in class, Conrad maintained her composure and turned in a tremendous debut for the Lex Girls. The freshman anchored LHS's top team with an adjusted split (the anchor legs are a bit longer than the first two legs) of 11:37, which was the fastest time on the day. After taking the spring off, junior captain Meghan Caldera showed that she is back with all the fight and fire she brings to her team. Her split of 12:12 was a massive improvement over last year's race, and was second for The Minutemen on Saturday. The sophomore trio of Erin Ehmann (12:19), Callie Glenn (12:19), and Alycia Charest (12:20) were next for the Lex Girls. While another freshman, Ella Tyson (12:21), had a huge debut of her own. Senior Brett Castro (12:50) and junior captain Thayer DiCerbo (12:51) turned in great season openers, while sophomore Josie Bettencourt (13:18) and Claire Cunningham (13:38) rounded out the top-10 for The Minutemen.
On the boys' side, it was sophomore Trevor Stevens who led the way for The Minutemen. Stevens was the second leg of his relay, and drove his team back up to the top pack with a 9:42 split. Senior captain Max Zhang turned in a great performance as well with a split of 10:01 for the nearly 2-mile loop. Fellow classmate Nathan Cunningham (10:08) was next for The Minutemen. His time was a massive improvement over his performance last year. Sophomore Owen Ross turned in an adjusted split of 10:11. He was followed by senior James Joseph (10:20) and junior Colin Smith (10:21). Junior Owen Kuder, who's adjust split of 10:29 was just ahead of fellow Liam Singh (10:30) and senior Danny Ryans (10:30), led a tightly packed middle group for LHS. And, senior Zach Barry turned in the 10th fastest split for The Minutemen, as his adjusted time was 10:35.
Up Next
The Minutemen have a quick turnaround, as they are back in action for their home opener against Wakefield this Tuesday, September 10th. Despite being from the Middlesex League's small-school Freedom Division, the Warriors have been one of the powers of the League for nearly a decade, and boast the only Boys team with multiple League crowns since 2017. In addition to the competition, this dual meet will feature FAT timing and live results for what is likely the first time in Middlesex League dual meet history. Action will begin at Lincoln Field in Lexington at 4:15pm.