Mount Greylock Girls, Boys Win Western Mass Titles
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- All fall, the Mount Greylock and Lenox girls cross country teams push one another.
On Saturday, they pushed each other well past the rest of the field in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Championships.
Mount Greylock earned a two-point victory over the Millionaires to take the title, but both the Mounties and Lenox were well ahead of the pack in the team competition: placing ninegirls in the top 12 between them.
Mount Greylock finished with 41 points and Lenox with 43. Mohawk Trail was a distant third with 115 points.
"We talk about [the rivalry] all the time because it's so important for our league that we have this competition, we have kids that are pushing each other an giving each other something to strive for," first-year Mount Greylock coach Hilary Greene said. "I know that if their kids hadn't been running as well as they have, ours wouldn't either.
"We're definitely helpful to each other. And I think the kids themselves have this friendly rivalry where they respect what everyone else has accomplished and they're able to feed off each other and gauge their races based on how their competitors are doing.
"We're fortunate in our league that we have such strong competition."
No one in the section could compete with the Mount Greylock boys at Stanley Park on Saturday.
The Mounties placed four runners in the top 10 on the way to compiling 47 points, easily outpacing runner-up Hampshire, which had 100.
Jesse Seid led the Mounties, coming home in 16 minutes, 50 seconds on the 5-kilometer course. The Mount Greylock senior was 21 seconds behind individual champion Chris Vayda of Hampshire.
Mount Greylock's Josh Cheung was fourth in 17:08. He was followed by seventh-grader Oliver Swabey (17:21) and senior Jacob Fink (17:24) in ninth and 10th, respectively. Theo Sandstrom rounded out the scoring for Mount Greylock, placing 22nd in 17:46.
Pope Francis' Emily Boutin won the girls' Division 2 race in 18:19, 10 seconds ahead of Mohawk's Meghan Davis.
Lenox's Grace Elliot (19:03) and Ellen Huth (19:09) were third and fourth, respectively, but the Mount Greylock trio of Josie Smith (19:21), Jacqueline Wells (19:24) and Kate Swann (19:38) were hot on their heels in fifth through seventh.
Eleventh-place Ainsley Abel (20:09) and 12th-place Hazel Scullin (20:41) rounded out the scoring for Mount Greylock.
In the girls D1 race, Amherst-Pelham's Sophia Jacobs-Town was nearly a minute better than the field, finishing in 17:56 ahead of Northampthon's Mary Yount (18:55).
Pittsfield's Cami Diehl (20:21) finished 11th to lead the Berkshire County contingent in D1. Wahconah's Haley Crosier (20:25) was right behind herin 12th place.
For the D1 boys, Taconic's Jake Paris (16:55) was the top county finisher in 17th place. The race for first place in Division 1 was the closest of the day with Amherst's Jack Yanko (15:41) outkicking West Springfield's Gabriel Medina (15:44) to claim the title.
The D1 boys race also produced the closest team finish, where Yanko's Amherst squad edged Northampton by a margin of 69-70.
That was just a hair closer than the margin for the Mounties, who showed once again that every finish counts.
"I think that was a lesson learned at our last race, at Berkshire County Invitational," Greene said of her team's 38-39 loss to the Millionaires two weeks ago. "Interestingly, this race went very similarly in terms of what the places were.
"We had some strength up front. And kids really went for it. It was very exciting."
DIVISION 1 BOYS
Team scores: 1. Amherst, 69; 2. Northampton, 70; 3. Holyoke, 76; 4. West Springfield, 122; 5. South Hadley, 128; 6. Belchertown, 185; 7. Taconic, 193; 8. Longmeadow, 202; 9. Minnechaug, 214; 10. Ludlow, 327; 11. Wahconah, 343; 12. Westfield, 348; 13. Chocopee Comp, 360; 14. Agawam, 379; 15. Springfield Central, 391; 16. East Longmeadow, 419; 17. Pittsfield, 464; 18. Springfield Sci-Tech, 573.
Top 10 and local finishers: 1. Jack Yanko, Amherst, 15:41; 2. Gabriel Medina, West Springfield, 15:44; 3. Benjamin Gordon, Northampton, 16:08; 4. Jason Beaver, Agawam, 16:11; 5. Justin Kennedy, Holyoke, 16:30; 6. Tobias L'Esperance, Northampton, 16:38; 7. Jack Merck, West Springfield, 16:43; 8. Tommy Li, Longmeadow, 16:46; 9. Aidan Shea, Amherst, 16:49; 10. Eben Saveson, Northampton, 16:49; 17. Jacob Paris, Taconic, 16:55; 34. Chris Adams, Taconic, 17:343; 41. Mike LaFreniere, Taconic, 17:46; 50. Zabion Powell, Taconic, 18:05; 53. Sean Cicchetti, Taconic, 18:07; 57. Thomas Rabasco, Taconic, 18:13; 61. PJ Pharmer, Wahconah, 18:20; 63. Anthony Hunt, Pittsfield, 18:23; 64. Hayden Kendall, Wahconah, 18:27; 67. Tyler Olds, Wahconah, 18:31; 69. Brandon Pelkey, Taconic, 18:33; 74. Carlton Brooks, Wahconah, 18:53; 82. Brodie Calvert, Wahconah, 19:11; 87. Brophy Brian, Pittsfield, 19:22; 98. Jack Archey, Pittsfield, 19:57; 103. Michael Eagar, Wahconah, 20:20; 107. Lucas Wildrick, Wahconah, 20:36; 111. Jake Brazeau, Pittsfield, 21:00; 112. Thomas Rindfuss, Pittsfield, 21:02; 115. Conor Mooney, Pittsfield, 21:24; 121. George Bissell, Pittsfield, 21:42.
DIVISION 2 BOYS
Team scores: 1. Mount Greylock, 47; 2. Hampshire, 100; 3. Frontier, 127; 4. Lenox, 135; 5. Monument Mountain, 160; 6. Pope Francis, 163; 7. Monson, 171; 8. Granby, 266; 9. Greenfield, 287; 10. Lee, 289; 11. Hopkins, 292; 12. Mount Everett, 332; 13. Mohawk Trail, 334; 14. Palmer, 335; 15. Putnam, 406; Westfield Tech, 430; 17. Mahar, 457; 18. Gateway, 483; 19. Hampden Charter, 503; 20. Sabis, 516; 21. Hoosac Valley, 601.
Top 10 and local finishers: 1. Chris Vayda, Hampshire, 16:29; 2. Jesse Seid, Mount Greylock, 16:50; 3. Carsten Carey, Frontier, 16:54; 4. Josh Cheung, Mount Greylock, 17:08; 5. Dennis Simmons, Mohawk, 17:10; 6. Daniel Markey, Pope Francis, 17:10; 7. Colin Young, Lenox, 17:11; 8. CottonHewes, Palmer, 17:18; 9. Oliver Swabey, Mount Greylock, 17:21; 10. Jacob Fink, Mount Greylock, 17:24; 13. Peter LaRochelle, Monument Mountain, 17:26; 16. Maxwell Adam, Lenox, 17:39; 17. Grayson Duval, Mount Everett, 17:41; 20. Cole Duval, Mount Everett, 17:42; 22. Theo Sandstrom, Mount Greylock, 17:46; 25. Jakin Miller, Mount Greylock, 17:52; 28. Renzo Vargas, Lenox, 17:53; 30. Keegan Leach, Monument Mountain, 18:00; 32. Diego Salinetti, Monument Mountain, 18:09; 37. Caleb Pollard, Monument Mountain, 18:29; 40. Charlie McWeeny, Mount Greylock, 18:33; 41. Maxime Leger, 18:37; 43. Dennis Love, Lenox, 18:38; 48. Kevin Robertson, Monument Mountain, 18:49; 50. Evan Heath, Lee, 18:52; 57. Zach Bianco, Lee, 19:12; 58. Sebastian Dowd-Smith, Lee, 19:14; 59. John Broderick, Monument Mountain, 19:16; 62. Matthew Kane, Mount Everett, 19:27; 63. Garret Roche, Lee, 19:28; 65. Daniel Snow, Lee, 19:33; 69. Justin Levesque, Hoosac Valley, 19:48; 75. Ely Carroll, Lenox, 20:02; 89. Josh Perrier, Lee, 20:52; 91. Andrew McCArthy, Monument Mountain 20:55; 101. Andy McCormack, Lenox, 21:25; 117. Shaine Dowd-Smith, Lee, 22:08; 123. Ben Monteleone, Mount Everett, 22:31; 125. Micah Ketchen, Mount Everett, 22:42; 128. Charles Vion, Mount Everett, 22:54; 144. Brandon Miller, Hoosac Valley, 25:29; 145. Doug LaDouceur, Hoosac Valley, 25:51; 147. Jesse Wooley, Hoosac Valley, 27:11; 149. Shaun Astorino, Hoosac Valley, 28:24; 151. Patrick Walsh, Hoosac Valley, 42:55.
GIRLS DIVISION 1
Team scores: 1. Amherst-Pelham, 24; 2. Northampton, 64; 3. Agawam, 81; 4. Wahconah, 110; 5. Longmeadow, 164; 6. Ludlow, 186; 7. Minnechaug, 200; 8. Pittsfield, 201; 9. Chicopee Comp, 281; 10. Chicopee, 285; 11. East Longmedow, 317; 12. Springfield Cental, 332; 13. Westfield, 374; 14. Taconic, 382; 15. West Springfield, 407; 16. Belchertown, 474.
Top 10 and local finishers: 1. Sophia Jacobs-Towns, Amherst, 17:56; 2. Mary Yount, Northampton, 18:55; 3. Sarah Ross, Agawam, 19:08; 4. Isabella Shepard, Amherst, 19:22; 5. Erin Clotfelter, Amherst, 19:39; 6. Julia Hopley, Amherst, 19:46; 7. Rosie Ingmann, Northampton, 19:58; 8. Zada Forde, Amherst, 20:17; 9. Jocelyn Rondeau, South Hadley, 20:17; 10. Kendyl Vermette, Ludlow, 20:18; 11. Cami Diehl, Pittsfield, 20:21; 13. Haley Crosier, Wahconah, 20:25; 17. Gabrielle Orlando, Wahconah, 20:45; 21. Danielle Orlando, Wahconah, 21:06; 24. Alexis Henderson, Wahconah, 21:31;30. Emelyn Theriault, Pittsfield, 21:51; 34. Abby Kittler, Pittsfield, 22:04; 41. Kaitlyn Olds, Wahconah, 22:19; 42. Simira Hanger, Taconic, 22:19; 61. Becca Morris, Wahconah, 23:07; 64. Haley Lenski, 23:10; 67. Sydney Ferris, Pittsfield, 23:23; 69. Megan Francoeur, Pittsfield, 23:33; 70. Gianna Maddalena, Pittsfield, 23:33; 74. Maddie Malumphy, Pittsfiel, 23:49; 81. Lila Robera, Taconic, 24:26; 89. Champoux Callie, Taconic, 25:07; 91. Julia Latura, Taconic, 25:12; 93. Kailey Sultaire, Taconic, 25:17; 100. Reagan Miller, Taconic, 25:57; 112. Amy Zheng, Taconic, 27:41.
GIRLS DIVISION 2
Team scores: 1. Mount Greylock, 41; 2. Lenox, 43; 3. Mohawk Trail, 115; 4. Hampshire, 141; 5. Southwick-Tolland, 142; 6. Pope Francis, 149; 7. Monson, 200; 8. Lee, 237; 9. Frontier, 247; 10. Monument Mountain, 260; 11. Hoosac Valley, 298; 12. Greenfield, 339; 13. Granby, 347; 14. Gateway, 424; 15. Palmer, 433; 16. Sabis, 530; 17. Putnam, 534; 18. Westfield Tech, 549.
Top 10 and local finishers: 1. Emily Boutin, Pope Francis, 18:19; 2. Meghan Davis, Mohawk, 18:29; 3. Grace Elliot, Lenox, 19:03; 4. Ellen Huth, Lenox, 19:09; 5. Josie Smith, Mount Greylock, 19:21; 6. Jacqueline Wells, Mount Greylock, 19:24; 7. Kate Swann, Mount Greylock, 19:38; 8. Grace Phair, Monument Mountain, 19:44; 9. Magdelena Sorrentino, Lenox, 20:05; 10. Ava Bachman, Lenox, 20:06; 11. Ainsley Abel, Mount Greylock, 20:09; 12. Hazel Scullin, Mount Greylock, 20:29; 14. Margo Smith, Mount Greylock, 20:53; 17. Marion Huth, Lenox, 21:03; 18. Miriam Bakija, Mount Greylock, 21:13; 20. Jessie Scrimo, Lenox, 21:23; 26. Audrey Touloukian, Lenox, 21:52; 27. Brianna Kelly, Lee, 21:52; 32. Amber MacDowell, Lee, 22:11; 38. Anna Martin, Lee, 22:24; 45. Natiya Cilli, Hoosac Valley, 22:37; 47. Jamie Barthe, Hoosac Valley, 22:40; 57. Carly Duval, Mount Everett, 23:21; 58. Kiera O'Rourke, Monument Mountain, 23:21; 63. Eliza Philip, Monument Mountain, 23:46; 64. Aurora Maldonado, Monument Mountain, 23:50; 66. Alyssa Garabedian, Hoosac Valley, 24:02; 67. Olivia Johnosn, Lee, 24:06; 70. Sarah Field, Hoosac Valley, 24:36; 72. Aubrey Pederson, Monument Mountain, 24:46; 75. Paige Barrow, Hoosac Valley, 24:49; 77. Heather Dennis, Lee, 25:02; 79. Sarah Wohl, Monument Mountain, 25:04; 82. Emily Holian, Lee, 25:12; 84. Gabby Theirling, Monument Mountain, 25:29; 87. Rayanna Therrien, Hoosac Valley, 25:39; 94. Alannah McGrath, Hoosac Valley, 26:02; 104. Madison Haywood, Lee, 27:16.