McDermott, Mount Greylock Repeat as State Nordic Champs

WOODFORD, Vt. – Mount Greylock sophomore Quinn McDermott Wednesday proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is not important how you start.

 

It is important how you finish.

 

McDermott finished two seconds ahead of the field to lead the Mounties to a dominating team state championship win at the MIAA Nordic Ski Championships at Prospect Mountain.

 

But his start? Well … it was not as impressive.

 

“I had some mishaps at the start,” McDermott said. “I was late in my start and I didn’t have my poles on. But I worked back to the front and kept it steady and just completely went as hard as I could on the last hill and finished.”

 

McDermott did go out with the first wave of racers and eventually caught up and passed everyone to edge Weston’s Lucas Daly with a time of 18 minutes, 6 seconds.

 

McDermott’s teammates – Ollie Swabey, Teague Murphy and Jude Bakija – finished third, 10th and 17th, respectively, as the Mounties earned an easy team victory with 31 points, well ahead of runner-up Concord Carlisle with 60.

 

The best boys cross country team in Berkshire County this winter highlighted a strong day for the county contingent at the championships.

 

Wahconah’s boys placed third out of 16 teams scoring at the event behind a ninth-place finish from Fritz Sanders (21:51). Racing as an individual, Hoosac Valley’s Justin Levesque placed fifth in the state, crossing the line in 18:45.

 

On the girls side, Lenox just missed defending its 2020 state championship. The Millionaires finished Wednesday with 40 points, just behind new state champ Concord Carlisle, which earned 36 points.

 

Berkshire County placed three girls teams in the top four as Mount Greylock and Wahconah finished third and fourth, respectively, behind Lenox.

 

The Millionaires benefited from a trio of outstanding performances in the girls race as Mary Elliot (21:16) placed third and Grace Elliot and Aidan Burns tied for eighth place.

 

The girls field was paced by Concord Carlisle’s Isabella Synnestvedt with a time of 20:20.

 

Although McDermott in the boys race had a shaky start in the state final, he was able to push through. And in a sport where the stronger racers often prefer to go out in the second and third waves to have people to chase, McDermott got the opportunity to pick off skiers in the first wave.

 

“I thought I had two more minutes than I did [before the start],” he explained. “So I didn’t have my poles on. So I couldn’t double pole as fast, and I was behind everybody. I tried to pass people on the uphill, but I got caught up with some people, and I fell. And then I had to put on my poles on the first downhill. And by then I was in last [in his wave], so I had to pass everybody.

 

“Lucas Daly passed me around 2K or so in, and I was behind him most of the race– right up until the last hill. Him being in my sights helped me to keep motoring and keep going, even though I was super tired and wanted to stop.”

 

There was no stopping the Mount Greylock boys, who did defend their 2020 state crown despite being a little short-handed.

 

“We lost Foster Savitsky, and he’s one of our top guys, but we were still feeling confident and good,” McDermott said. “We knew if we raced well, just raced like we always do, we would do great.”

 

The injury bug also bit the Lenox girls, which makes their runner-up finish all the more impressive.

 

“We lost three of our top six skiers, pretty much – COVID, a few injuries,” Millionaires coach Joe Bazanno said. “So having three girls we could really rely on with two dark horses, they did well. We’re happy for them.

 

“Mary [Elliot] coming in third was nice and two of our skiers tying for eighth, that’s good. It’s pretty much where we thought we would be, looking at the state teams and doing some research.”

 

Mount Greylock girls coach HIlary Greene said she also thought her squad did about as expected, two years removed from finishing second behind Lenox in the last, pre-COVID edition of the state meet.

 

“Third sounds good to me,” Greene said with a laugh. “Our goal and hopes are always that they cross the finish line, No. 1, and that they cross the finish line feeling good, like they gave it their all and it was a positive experience.

 

“For all of them, with one exception, a skier who struggled to see, actually, the all looked strong and felt good about it and were happy afterwards.”

 

Adding to Bazzano’s joy on Wednesday as he perused the result sheet was the fact that out of 32 teams (16 boys, 16 girls), five Berkshire County teams placed in the top four of their respective races.

 

“It’s good for the whole sport,” Bazzano said. “Wahconah got third and fourth, for the boys and girls, that’s huge, phenomenal. The Greylock girls came in third and the boys were fourth. Berkshire County is coming back. We had a little bit of a lull 10 years ago, but we’re strong again.

 

“There will be a lot of excitement [next year]. And the best part is the kids are dancing together [at Prospect after Wednesday’s races], having fun. They know each other. There are very few sports where the coaches and the kids get together after the race and really enjoy each other’s company.”

 

More photos from this event here.

 

Team Results

1. Mount Greylock, 31 points; 2. Concord Carlisle, 60; 3. Wahconah, 81; 4. Weston, 84; 5. Newton South, 97; 6. Wellesley, 100; 7. Lenox, 145; 8. Wayland, 153; 9. Acton Boxboro, 155; 10. Westford Academy, 156; 11. Newton North, 169; 12. Amherst, 238; 13. Winchester, 255; 14. Mohawk Trail, 284; 15. Nashoba, 345; 16. Dover Sherborn, 363.

 

Top 10

1. Quinn McDermott, Mount Greylock, 18 minutes, 6 seconds; 2. Lucas Daly, Weston, 18:08; 3. Ollie Swabey, Mount Greylock, 18:12; 4. Ian Brenner, Newton South, 18:29; 5. Justin Levesque, Hoosac Valley, 18:45; 6. Xander Scopinich-Burgel, Concord Carlisle, 19:13; 7. Andrew Krieger, Acton Boxboro, 19:37; 8. Liam Sakakeeny, Newton South, 19:49; 9. Fritz Sanders, Wahconah, 19:51; t-10. Levyn Brenner, Newton South, 20:02; t-10. Teague Murphy, Mount Greylock, 20:02.

 

Hoosac Valley: 5. Justin Levesque, 18:45; 33. Dave Scholz, 21:38.

 

Lenox: 14. Thomas Leger, 20:18; 37. Dennis Love, 21:45; 42. Ben Ames, 21:53; 52. Finn Jolly, 22:36; 53. Sean Cestone, 22:38; 56. Ben Harwood, 22:52.

 

Mount Greylock: 1. Quinn McDermott, 18:06; 3. Ollie Swabey, 18:12; t-10. Teague Murphy, 20:02; 17. Jude Bakija, 20:30; 21. Declan Rogers, 20:49; 35. Ezra Holzapfel, 21:40.

 

Wahconah: 9. Fritz Sanders, 19:51; 18. Brennan Andersen, 20:42; 25. Aiden Garcia,21:02; 29. Scott Duma, 21:30; 33. Riley Gladu, 21:38; 48. Colby Robb, 22:12.

 

Team Results

1. Concord Carlisle, 36 points; 2. Lenox, 40; 3. Mount Greylock, 53; 4. Wahconah, 59; 5. Newton North, 93; 6. Wellesley, 129; 7. Wayland, 165; 8. Newton South, 180; 9. Winchester, 184; 10. Mohawk Trail, 192; 11. Acton Boxboro, 198; 12. Westford Academy, 212; 13. Weston, 225; 14. Amherst, 257; 15. Dover Sherborn, 304; 16. Nashoba, 376.

 

Top 10

1. Isabella Synnestvedt, Concord Carlisle, 20 minutes, 20 seconds; 2. Clara Lake, Newton North, 20:21; 3. Mary Elliot, Lenox, 21:16; 4. Emily Appleby, Lincoln Sudbury, 21:29; t-5. Finn Feist, Concord Carlisle, 22:02; t-5. Lillie Salgado, Newton North, 22:02; 7. Annie Miller, Mount Greylock, 22:09; t-8. Grace Elliot, Lenox, 22:19; t-8. Aidan Burns, Lenox, 22:19; 10. Sarah Kirincich, Concord Carlisle, 22:29.

 

Hoosac Valley: 35. Natalie Pompi, 26:03; 53. Mallory Mazzeo, 27.50.

 

Lenox: 3. Mary Elliot, 21:16; t-8. Grace Elliot, 22:19; t-8. Aidan Burns, 22:19; 21. Medeja Rudzinskaite, 24:21; 30. Genevieve Collins, 25:15.

 

Mount Greylock: 7. Annie Miller, 22:09; 13. Neillie Swabey, 23:46; 15. Lily McDermott, 23:58; 18.Lauren Miller, 24:09; 25. Lainey Gill, 24:56; 36. Erin Keating, 26:04.

 

Wahconah: 11. Vienna Mahar, 23:31; 12. Quinn Walton, 23:38; 17. Olivia Langenheim, 24:08; 19. Jocelyn Sommers, 24:15; 32. Mars Rabuse, 25:43; 49. Julia Langenheim, 27:10.