Crosier, Salinetti Win County Season Opener
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- Monument Mountain sophomore Diego Salinetti said course knowledge came in handy at Wednesday's Berkshire County cross country lid-lifter.
But, that said, he did not really know how the course was going to play out going into the race.
"Honestly, I wasn't sure how I was going to do because of the conditions with the rain before the race and everything," Salinetti said after placing first with a time of 17 minutes, 11.71 seconds, seven and a half seconds ahead of the field.
"I know parts of this course get really muddy. I wasn't quite feeling it before the start. But once I passed coming out of the field on that second lap, I felt so good. Then, I was just trying to stay in front of that one right behind me the whole time. It felt good.
Salinetti helped the Spartans to a pair of dual meet wins, over Lenox and Mount Greylock, as all nine Berkshire County cross country teams competed on Monument Mountain's home course.
Taconic's boys scored four duals, earning a record of 3-1. Lee's boys went 2-1, and Mount Greylock, Wahconah and Mount Everett each picked up a win on opening day.
In the girls meet, Wahconah junior Haley Crosier finished 10 seconds ahead of the field, finishing first in 20:11.84 and helping her team to dual meet wins over Taconic and Lee.
Crosier jumped out in front from the gun and led wire-to-wire, beating a pair of Mount Greylock Mounties across the finish line. Mount Greylock's Jacqueline Wells (20:21.73) and Katherine Swann (20:24.02) finished second and third, respectively.
"In the middle, I found myself slowing down a little, but at the end, I knew I had to pick it up and push harder for the pace," Crosier said.
"I didn't really expect anything because these girls are very competitive, and they're super good. And they train super hard. So I didn't really know where I would stand. So I wanted to start fast to see where I was going to be for the season, so I just tried to go hard."
Lenox, Mount Greylock and Lee joined Mount Greylock in picking up a pair of wins in dual competition. Pittsfield and Hoosac Valley each earned a win.
"The team worked hard," Crosier said. "I can say that Wahconah really pushed each other and helped each other. When we saw each other, we cheered each other on. It was good."
Lenox, Mount Greylock and Pittsfield dominated the top 20 in the girls race.
The Millionaires, led by fourth-place Grace Elliott (20:26.41), placed four finishers in the top 11.
Mount Greylock had seven of the top 20 runners, and Pittsfield, paced by Cami Diehl (20:50.63) in sixth, had five out of the top 15.
Monument Mountain's boys had five finishers in the top 20, including Salinetti. Peter LaRochelle (17:19.80) and Keegan Leach (17:37.64) were third and fourth, respecively.
Taconic's Jacob Paris (17:19.12) was the runner-up and was joined by teammate Chris Adams (18:31.62) in the top 10.
In the duals, Monument easily bettered opponents Lenox (18-40) and Mount Greylock (16-44).
"We've got a pretty good team this year," Salinetti said. "I'm really looking forward to it. I feel like it's going to be a pretty good season."
Girls Top 20
1. Haley Crosier, Wahconah, 20:11.84; 2. Jacqueline Wells, Mount Greylock, 20:21.73; 3. Katherine Swann, MG, 20;24.02; 4. Grace Elliott, Lenox, 20:26.41; 5. Ava Bachman, Len, 20:26.41; 6. Cami Diehl, Pittsfield, 20:50.63; 7. Kellie Harrington, Pitt, 21:09.82; 8. Alice Culver, Len, 21:39.93; 9. Megan Francoeur, Pitt, 21:42.39; 10. Grace Malone, MG, 21:44.71; 11. Ellen Huth, Len, 21:47.51; 12. Lil McDermott, MG, 22:01.37; 13. Abby Kittler, Pitt, 22:15.64; 14. Sophia Mele, MG, 22:18.38; 15. Isabella Penna-Ward, Pitt, 22:19.26; 16. Emelyn Theriault, Pitt, 22:25.46; 17. Olivia Gamberoni, Wah, 22:40.43; 18. Miriam Bakija, MG, 22:49.00; 19. Cecilia Malone, MG, 23:13.02; 20. Sarah Polumbo, MG, 23:15.25.
Girls Team Scores
Lenox 15, Monument Mountain 48
Lenox 16, Taconic 47
Mount Greylock 15, Monument Mountain 50
Mount Greylock 15, Taconic 50
Pittsfield 15, Taconic 49
Monument Mountain 16, Hoosac Valley 47
Wahconah 19, Taconic 40
Wahconah 25, Lee 32
Hoosac Valley 15, Mount Everett 50
Lee 15, Mount Everett 50
Lee 17, Hoosac Valley 43
Boys Top 20
1. Diego Salinetti, Monument Mountain, 17:11.71; 2. Jacob Paris, Taconic, 17:19.12; 3. Peter Larochelle, MM, 17:19.80; 4. Keegan Leach, MM, 17:37.64; 5. Ted Yee, Lenox, 17:40.81; 6. Cole Duval, Mount Everett, 17:52.44; 7. Caleb Pollard, MM, 17:53.76; 8. Ollie Swabey, Mount Greylock, 18:06.64; 9. Chris Adams, Tac, 18:31.62; 10. Justin Levesque, Hoosac Valley, 18:34.23; 11. Emanual Brown, Pittsfield, 18:43.23; 12. Colin Young, Len, 18:50.13; 13. Adam Boscarino, MM, 18:55.45; 14. Dennis Love, Len, 18:57.88; 15. Jack Archey, Pitt, 19:00.90; 16. John Broderick, MM, 19:02.94; 17. Tony Hunt, Pitt, 9:10.53; 18. Parker Winters, MG, 19:16.68; 19. Chrlie McWeeny, MG, 19:17.45; 20. Corban Miller, MG, 19:18.50.
Boys Team Scores
Monument Mountain 18, Lenox 40
Taconic 26, Lenox 31
Monument Mountain 16, Mount Greylock 44
Mount Greylock 26, Taconic 30
Taconic 25, Pittsfield 31
Taconic 16, Wahconah 46
Wahconah 21, Lee 40
Mount Everett 19, Hoosac Valley 40
Lee 20, Mount Everett 40
Lee 20, Hoosac Valley 43
Complete results available here.