Lenox Girls Finish Second in State
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Finishing as the No. 2 team in all of Division 2 for the second year in a row?
Not exactly what the Lenox girls cross country team had in mind on Saturday. But not too shabby, either.
"All said and done, it's a pretty good place to be in," Lenox coach Jeanne Teasdale said. "We ran hard. We ran smart. We did everything we needed to do, but we just fell a little bit short today.
"I think we're all happy to have this outcome today."
Junior Emma Jourdain finished eighth in the state to lead the Millionaires to their second straight runner-up finish. Milton captured the team title with 58 points; Lenox ended up with 104 points.
In the boys D2 race, Mount Greylock senior Tommy Kirby placed second in the state, covering the 5-kilometer Stanley Park course in 15 minutes, 40 seconds and coming in 19 seconds behind Andrew Ernst, who led Marblehead to the team championship.
Kirby and the Mounties finished fourth in the state with 195 points. Everyone was chasing Marblehad's team total of 51.
Contributing for Mount Greylock were junior Evan Arthur in 29th place, junior Cameron Castonguay, sohpomore Owen Brandriss and freshman Jacob Fink.
Drury's Connor Meehan (16:50) placed 51st in the state. Hoosac's Jared Haley (17:13) was 84th. Lee's Sam Harding (17:29) was 112th, and Lenox's Connor McNinch (17:40) finished 128th.
In the Division 1 girls race, Wahconah's Gabrielle Orlando (20:55) and Kat Bruce (21:18) finished 146th and 159th, respctively. The D1 girls title went to Lincoln-Sudbury's Ariel Keklak, who finished in 17:25.
The fastest Division 2 girl was Bellingham's Sarah Edwards, who finished in 18:12.
In addition to the Lenox girls, the D2 field included Mount Greylock and a pair of individuals from Monument Mountain, Grace and Meryl Phair, who finished 119th and 120th in a time of 20:40.
Mount Greylock's girls team was led by freshman Margo Smith, who finished 24th with a time of 19:12.
A few spots ahead of Smith was Lenox freshman Magdalena SOrrentino (18:52); a few spots behind Smith was Lenox senior Emily Tibbetts (19:16).
But the difference between second and third place for the Millionaires was the next two Lenox runners across the finish line: freshmen Tate Morrison and Marion Huth, who finished 54th and 62nd, respectively. Those points kept Lenox well ahead of third-place Tewksbury (145 points).
"It was really our fourth and fifth runners who were running together -- they were key players today," Teasdale said.
Lenox loses four seniors off this year's squad, including one runner who has been a key player throughout the Millionaires' dominance of Western Mass the last two seasons: Tibbetts.
"Emily has been on the team since eighth grade," Teasdale said. "She's been an inspiration to the younger runners for many years. She's leaving a legacy, along with the other seniors.
"I think our girls have just inspired our younger team to do their best. I think you're going to see, for years to come, a strong team, and a group of kids who works together. It is a team sport. They think it's individual, but it's really a team sport."