A VALIANT SECOND HALF CHARGE FALLS SHORT AS LEX GIRLS FINISH 6th AT NXR
Meet Information
Nike Cross Regionals Northeast
November 22, 2025
Bowdoin Park - Wappingers Falls, NY
RESULTS
WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY - Since last fall ended with a sixth place finish at the Nike Cross Northeast Regionals (NXR), the seven girls that made up that team anxiously awaited their chance to return together, and make their marks at Bowdoin Park. After a dream season that included an MIAA Division 1 State Championship, Saturday, they were back at NXR. The meet, which boasts the finest collection of prep teams from New England, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, serves as the qualifier for the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon. This year's Northeast Regional featured 31 teams vying for one of the two coveted spots at NXN. While the Lex girls were among the favorites to qualify entering Saturday, and their top-five averaged nearly a minute faster than last year, it was simply not their day, as the team once again finished sixth overall.
Bowdoin Park has long been a course that challenges the best cross country athletes from the Northeast both physically and mentally. The wide hope start quickly bottlenecks into a narrow trail network after about 300m. Athletes must race out hard across a flat field to get themselves into position during that opening stretch. If they get caught in the back of the race at the bottleneck, there is simply not enough space on the course to move up through a crowded field. At the same time, runners who go out too fast across the opening stretch are quickly swallowed up by the course's vaunted hill that winds its way from the bottleneck all the way to the midway point of the race, getting steeper and steeper as athletes approach its peak. Unfortunately, the Lex girls fell victim to the bottleneck. And, as quickly as the race began for the best cross country team in LHS history, their team's hopes of qualifying for NXN were essentially gone after 400m.
Despite the result, The Minutemen had a lot to be proud of on Saturday. Superstar sophomore Janie Conrad did manage to successfully navigate the opening stretch, and went on to deliver a tremendous race. At the half-mile mark, Conrad sat in 22nd place, and began to work her way up towards the lead group. She cruised by the mile mark in 5:46, and by the halfway point, the LHS sophomore was up to 14th place. She continued to pour it on over the final half of the race, and in the last mile managed to overtake two of the best runners in the country. Conrad's Bay State rival and NXN qualifier, Needham's Greta Hammer, as well as the defending champion in the Mile at New Balance Nationals, Union Catholic (NJ) junior Paige Sheppard, finished just behind her in 11th and 12th respectively. In the end, Conrad's 10th place finish in time of 18:15.8 earned her second-team all-region honors.
By the time The Minutemen's next pack of four runners - sophomore Ella Tyson, and juniors Alycia Charest, Erin Ehmann, and Callie Glenn - made it to the half-mile mark, the group was stuck between 92nd and 100th place. While things were bleak at that point, a tremendous amount of credit it due to those girls. On a course like Bowdoin Park, it would have been easy to simply pack it in, and give a less than full effort once they saw themselves so far behind. However, the girls fought with everything they could over remainder of the race to work their way up into contention. In the end, Tyson climbed her way up to 54th place with a time of 19:28.6. Charest, one of the team's captains, managed 60th place with a time of 19:31.3. Ehmann (19:42.4) crossed the line in 75th place. And Glenn (19:58.0) came through in 94th. It as a similar story for the team's senior captains. Thayer DiCerbo and Meghan Caldera were caught far in the back early on, and did their best to navigate the crowded field. In the end DiCerbo (20:27.0) came through in 133rd place, while Caldera (20:46.0) finished in 157th place in what was each of their last high school cross country races.
Final Girls Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Union Catholic XC Club - 74
2. Champlain XC Club - 127
3. PCXC - 133
4. Ridgewood XC - NJ - 184
5. Cumberland XCTF - 189
6. Lexington Elite - 199
7. IrwinXC - 222
8. Billerica XC Club - 246
9. Princeton Cranbury Track Club - 279
10. PVI - 300
Along with Lexington girls team, the boys were represented by junior Patrick Noonan. Early on everything looked to be going according to plan for the LHS junior. He ran a relaxed opening mile, and by the midway point had moved into 28th place. Noonan continued to pass people over the downhill portion of the course, and sat in 21st position when he approached the 2-mile mark. Unfortunately, the nature of the latter portion of the course has a way of grinding down runners who struggle to maintain very strong downhill running form. That issue reared its head at Noonan who simply ran out of gas over the final mile. In the end he managed a 48th place finish in a time of 16:32.7. Meanwhile the race was won by Sean Gray of Portsmouth (RI) in 15:21.2.
With that, Lexington's cross country season is now officially over. On paper it the 2025 team could well be argued as boys and girls group in school history. Each took home the hardware at the Middlesex League Championship. The girls were champions at the MIAA Division 1A meet, while the boys earned a runner-up finish. At the Meet of Champions, the team had its highest combined finish ever, with the girls taking the title, and the boys finishing fourth overall. However, the story of this team goes far beyond the accolades or the records. They were a team that overcame obstacles. One that prioritized the team's goals over individual ones. A team that made it a point to bond away from practice, in order to build the trust needed to achieve at the highest level. They were in every way, a family. Loud, funny, talented, and in the end, one that will be remembered for generations to come. While the team now will turn the page to Indoor Track & Field, there is no doubt that what they accomplished together this fall will only power the winter and spring.
Up Next
Indoor Track & Field begins, as is tradition, on the first Saturday in December. Senior captains Ainsley Cuthbertson and Aidan Raney will compete in two separate season opener meets on Saturday, December 6th.
Nike Cross Regionals Northeast
November 22, 2025
Bowdoin Park - Wappingers Falls, NY
RESULTS
WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY - Since last fall ended with a sixth place finish at the Nike Cross Northeast Regionals (NXR), the seven girls that made up that team anxiously awaited their chance to return together, and make their marks at Bowdoin Park. After a dream season that included an MIAA Division 1 State Championship, Saturday, they were back at NXR. The meet, which boasts the finest collection of prep teams from New England, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, serves as the qualifier for the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) in Portland, Oregon. This year's Northeast Regional featured 31 teams vying for one of the two coveted spots at NXN. While the Lex girls were among the favorites to qualify entering Saturday, and their top-five averaged nearly a minute faster than last year, it was simply not their day, as the team once again finished sixth overall.
Bowdoin Park has long been a course that challenges the best cross country athletes from the Northeast both physically and mentally. The wide hope start quickly bottlenecks into a narrow trail network after about 300m. Athletes must race out hard across a flat field to get themselves into position during that opening stretch. If they get caught in the back of the race at the bottleneck, there is simply not enough space on the course to move up through a crowded field. At the same time, runners who go out too fast across the opening stretch are quickly swallowed up by the course's vaunted hill that winds its way from the bottleneck all the way to the midway point of the race, getting steeper and steeper as athletes approach its peak. Unfortunately, the Lex girls fell victim to the bottleneck. And, as quickly as the race began for the best cross country team in LHS history, their team's hopes of qualifying for NXN were essentially gone after 400m.
Despite the result, The Minutemen had a lot to be proud of on Saturday. Superstar sophomore Janie Conrad did manage to successfully navigate the opening stretch, and went on to deliver a tremendous race. At the half-mile mark, Conrad sat in 22nd place, and began to work her way up towards the lead group. She cruised by the mile mark in 5:46, and by the halfway point, the LHS sophomore was up to 14th place. She continued to pour it on over the final half of the race, and in the last mile managed to overtake two of the best runners in the country. Conrad's Bay State rival and NXN qualifier, Needham's Greta Hammer, as well as the defending champion in the Mile at New Balance Nationals, Union Catholic (NJ) junior Paige Sheppard, finished just behind her in 11th and 12th respectively. In the end, Conrad's 10th place finish in time of 18:15.8 earned her second-team all-region honors.
By the time The Minutemen's next pack of four runners - sophomore Ella Tyson, and juniors Alycia Charest, Erin Ehmann, and Callie Glenn - made it to the half-mile mark, the group was stuck between 92nd and 100th place. While things were bleak at that point, a tremendous amount of credit it due to those girls. On a course like Bowdoin Park, it would have been easy to simply pack it in, and give a less than full effort once they saw themselves so far behind. However, the girls fought with everything they could over remainder of the race to work their way up into contention. In the end, Tyson climbed her way up to 54th place with a time of 19:28.6. Charest, one of the team's captains, managed 60th place with a time of 19:31.3. Ehmann (19:42.4) crossed the line in 75th place. And Glenn (19:58.0) came through in 94th. It as a similar story for the team's senior captains. Thayer DiCerbo and Meghan Caldera were caught far in the back early on, and did their best to navigate the crowded field. In the end DiCerbo (20:27.0) came through in 133rd place, while Caldera (20:46.0) finished in 157th place in what was each of their last high school cross country races.
Final Girls Team Scores (Top 10)
1. Union Catholic XC Club - 74
2. Champlain XC Club - 127
3. PCXC - 133
4. Ridgewood XC - NJ - 184
5. Cumberland XCTF - 189
6. Lexington Elite - 199
7. IrwinXC - 222
8. Billerica XC Club - 246
9. Princeton Cranbury Track Club - 279
10. PVI - 300
Along with Lexington girls team, the boys were represented by junior Patrick Noonan. Early on everything looked to be going according to plan for the LHS junior. He ran a relaxed opening mile, and by the midway point had moved into 28th place. Noonan continued to pass people over the downhill portion of the course, and sat in 21st position when he approached the 2-mile mark. Unfortunately, the nature of the latter portion of the course has a way of grinding down runners who struggle to maintain very strong downhill running form. That issue reared its head at Noonan who simply ran out of gas over the final mile. In the end he managed a 48th place finish in a time of 16:32.7. Meanwhile the race was won by Sean Gray of Portsmouth (RI) in 15:21.2.
With that, Lexington's cross country season is now officially over. On paper it the 2025 team could well be argued as boys and girls group in school history. Each took home the hardware at the Middlesex League Championship. The girls were champions at the MIAA Division 1A meet, while the boys earned a runner-up finish. At the Meet of Champions, the team had its highest combined finish ever, with the girls taking the title, and the boys finishing fourth overall. However, the story of this team goes far beyond the accolades or the records. They were a team that overcame obstacles. One that prioritized the team's goals over individual ones. A team that made it a point to bond away from practice, in order to build the trust needed to achieve at the highest level. They were in every way, a family. Loud, funny, talented, and in the end, one that will be remembered for generations to come. While the team now will turn the page to Indoor Track & Field, there is no doubt that what they accomplished together this fall will only power the winter and spring.
Up Next
Indoor Track & Field begins, as is tradition, on the first Saturday in December. Senior captains Ainsley Cuthbertson and Aidan Raney will compete in two separate season opener meets on Saturday, December 6th.