Kaegi, McNinch Win County Harrier Titles

Mount Greylock's Emily Kaegi run away with the Berkshire County cross country title on Saturday, a full minute ahead of second-place Lauren Farry of Pittsfield.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — From Emily Kaegi's perspective on Saturday afternoon, it was hard to see anyone running behind her.

But she had no trouble seeing those who came before her.

"Sometimes when I'm alone, I think of the girls that I looked up to, seeing them out ahead like i was today," Kaegi said after winning the girls varsity race at the Berkshire County cross country championships. "I was thinking of Jackie Lemme, Cate Costley, people like that."

And maybe trying to run them down?

"Maybe a little bit," Kaegi said with a smile.

Everyone else in Saturday's girls race was chasing Kaegi, but it was a tall order. She covered the 5-kilometer course in 19 minutes, 5 seconds — more than a full minute better than second-place Lauren Farry of Pittsfield (20:23).

As dominant as Kaegi was, the team title went to Lenox, which used the fifth- and sixth-place finishes of Alice Najimy and Ella King, respectively, to post a team score of 54 — 12 points better than second-place Pittsfield. Kaegi's Mounties finished fourth in a seven-team field.

The Mount Greylock boys ran away and hid in their team competition, placing all five runners in the top 20 for a team score of 47. Wahconah was a distant second with 71 points.

The top boys individual finisher was Lenox's Tucker McNinch with a time of 16:46, ahead of Hoosac Valley's Travis Ciempa (16:59) and Greylock's Carter Stripp (17:08).

McNinch said despite maintaining a healthy advantage from very early on, he was keenly aware of the threat posed by both his nearest competitors.

"I've run here twice this year, and I've gotten both races, but I've always gotten tough competition between Travis and Carter," McNinch said. "They've always pushed me to my limits every time I'm here.

"There's a lot of sharp turns. The course gave me a lot of opportunities to see where [Ciempa] was."

McNinch said in general the Mount Greylock course favors his style of running.

"Long downhills," he said. "I just love the long downhills. The short uphills, you can just surge through them. It helps out a lot."

Stripp was followed across the finish line by teammate Tommy Kirby in 17:13. Greylock's other scorers were Will Nolan in eighth (17:36), Sam Kobrin in 13th (17:48) and Archer Greenhalgh in 19th (18:18).
 

The top boys individual finisher was Lenox's Tucker McNinch.

Second-place Wahconah was led by fifth-place Marcus Duncan (17:26). Rounding out the team scores on the boys side were Lenox (78 points), Hoosac Valley (88), Monument Mountain (106), Taconic (136), Pittsfield (148) and the Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter School (253).

In the girls team competition, runner-up Pittsfield was followed by Monument Mountain (76 points), Mount Greylock (83), Hoosac (138), Wahconah (170) and Taconic (191).

Saturday's race was the last major tuneup for county runners before the Western Massachusetts Championships in Northfield on Nov. 9. The Mount Greylock boys and Lenox girls will be strong contenders to defend their 2012 Western Mass titles.

As for the final varsity event in the Berkshires this fall, Kaegi, like McNinch, is fond of the Mount Greylock course.

In fact, "fond" is really understating things.

And although the Mounties senior may end up coming back someday in a collegiate uniform (it's Williams College's home course and the site of many major regional events), she knows it won't be quite the same.

"Racing on my home course for the last time is pretty crazy," she said. "There are a lot of emotions coming out today."

Top 10 Girls
1. Kaegi (Greylock), 19:05; 2. Farry (Pittsfield), 20:23; 3. Heather Hassett (Monument), 20:39; 4. Hayley Bowers (Lee), 20:44; 5. Najimy (Lenox), 21:00; 6. King (Lenox), 21:27; 7. Sydnee Gallup (Hoosac), 21:28; 8. Alyson Berger (Monument), 21:49; 9. Makayla Powers (Pittsfield), 21:52; 10. Caroline Bissaillon (Monument), 21:54.

Top 10 Boys
1. McNinch (Lenox), 16:46; 2. Travis Ciempa (Hoosac), 16:59; 3. Stripp (Greylock), 17:08; 4. Kirby (Greylock), 17:13; 5. Duncan (Wahconah), 17:26; 6. Trevor Ciempa (Hoosac), 17:31; 7. Jared Haley (Hoosac), 17:36; 8. Nolan (Greylock), 17:36; 9. Ben Herrick (Lenox), 17:41; 10. Eric Klem Wahconah (17:41).