Division 2 Cross Country Sectional Championships: Whitinsville Christian girls, Groton-Dunstable boys No. 1 again

Two teams repeated their Division 2 sectional championships from 2023. Two more used strong individual performances to earn the team victory. And another two leaned on the depth of their lineups to finish atop the team standings on Saturday, November 9 over the 5-kilometer course at the Devens Willard Field Complex.

The top seven teams, plus the top 10 individual runners not on any of those teams, qualified for the Division 2 State Championship meet on Saturday, November 16 at Devens. In addition, two wild card teams were chosen based on the cumulative times of their five best finishers.

Here is a recap, in the order the races were run:

Division 2A Girls

Westwood High School placed a pair of runners in the top 10 individuals, and that was enough for the Wolverines to outpoint the field and capture the team championship.

Natalie Martin of Norwood High School took home the individual championship, clocking in 19 minutes, 8.35 seconds. Martin left the rest of the pack well behind, with Marrietta O’Connell ofMarblehead High School her closest chaser in second place (19:24.72).

Tea Pagnotti was sixth overall (19:47.94) and Susannah Rockers added a 10th-place finish (20:15.87) as the Wolverines compiled a total of 78 points. Walpole High School was the next closest compettor with 103 points, sparked by a fifth-place finish from Ila Zollo (19:39.46)

Sara Blanco of Boston Latin Academy was third (19:32.74) and Reilly Powell of Melrose High School fourth (19:38.07).
In the team competition, Lawrence High School placed third (113), followed by Canton High School (131), Minnechaug Regional (136), Masconomet Regional (208) and Marblehead High School (222).

Division 2A Boys

Marblehead swept the top three spots, led by a victory from Will Cerrutti, and the Magicians needed every bit of it to pull out the team championship.

With Nate Assa finishing second (16:15.48) and Jacob Szalewicz third (16:30.63), the Magicians compiled 65 points to just gain the edge on runner-up Plymouth North High School (67) and the rest of the pack.

Luke Zahurak of Walpole was fourth (16:33.2) and Noah Brilliant of Plymouth South High School fifth (16:38.16).

Meanwhile, Plymouth North had no runners in the top 10, but still took second ahead of Boston Latin School (77) and Walpole (86). Masconomet was fifth (167), followed by Duxbury High School (177) and Dartmouth High School (198).

Division 2B Girls

Maggie Kuchman of Holliston High School dominated the field, finishing nearly a full minute in front to cruise to the individual championship.

Amherst-Pelham Regional had no runners in the top 10 individuals, but that didn’t stop the Hurricanes from securing the team championship with 97 points. Newburyport High School was the next closest competitor (107).

Genevieve Dole was the top finisher for Amherst-Pelham in 13th (20:52.23) while Marit MacDonald was two spots back in 15th (21:06.85).

The race for second place went to Mia Rent of Wayland High School (19:43.94), followed closely by Madeline Mahoney of Nauset Regional (19:47.95). Annabelle Lynch of Holliston (19:56.14) and Anna Massaro of Bedford High School (20:00.34) completed the top five.

Newburyport just held off Northampton High School (108) for the runner-up trophy. Danvers High School and Bedford each scored 144, followed by Holliston (164) and Wakefield Memorial High School (187).

Division 2B Boys

Depth was key for Longmeadow High School, which didn’t place a runner in the top 10 individuals, but nonetheless finished with 95 points to hold off runner-up Wakefield (112) and the rest of the field.

Salis Gartner of Falmouth High School was the individual winner in 15:42.91. He was more than 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Will Conklin of Danvers (15:53.05).

Longmeadow had four runners from 11-20, led by Spence Deliso in 11th place (16:41.97). Finishing 18 to 20, in order, were Henry Sacco (16:58.63), Gregory Keane (16:59.23) and Jacob Abebe (17:07.80).

Caleb Barnes of Melrose High School was third (15:55.21), followed by Joseph Keroach of Ludlow High School (16:04.54) and Luke Chisum of Wayland (16:10.95).

Joining Longmeadow and Wakefield as Division 2 State Championship qualifiers were Amherst-Pelham (148), Wayland (149), Melrose (158), Pembroke High School (165) and Ashland High School (200).

Division 2C Girls

Whitinsville Christian School had the 1-2 punch of Emily Flagg and Emma Wierenga at the top of the individual standings, and that was enough for the Crusaders to bring home the team championship hardware, as well.

Flagg repeated her 2023 championship in the 2C race, clocking in at 18:07.32, more than a minute ahead of the next closest runner. That ended up being her teammate Wierenga (19:12.69), giving the Crusaders 80 total points and a third straight sectional championship. Medfield High School earned the runner-up trophy (104) behind a 10th-place from Chloe McCormack (20:40.03).

Other top five individuals were Elise Casso of Falmouth Academy (19:20.21), Marianna Kay of Bishop Fenwick High School (20:01.48) and Meghan McEleney of Groton-Dunstable Regional (20:05.43).

Groton-Dunstable placed third as a team (145), followed by Dover-Sherborn High School (151), Bishop Fenwick (152), Wilmington High School (191) and Old Rochester Regional (212).

Division 2C Boys

Greyson Duane earned the individual victory by more than two seconds, and sparked a strong performance from Groton-Dunstable, which easily secured the team championship for the second time in as many years.

With Andrew Kosiba placing third overall (16:46.19) and Evan Solger adding an eighth-place finish (17:09), the Crusaders posted 52 points to sit well ahead of runner-up Dover-Sherborn (102).

Lowell Copps of Bishop Stang High School crossed the line between Duane and Kosiba to take second overall (16:21.29). Also placing in the top five were Sean Parham of Norton High School (16:53.35) and Paul Steyer of Martha’s Vineyard High School (16:56.78).

Other team qualifiers were Medfield (112), Wilmington (183), Bishop Stang (192), Whitinsville Christian (203) and Archbishop Williams High School (221).