RallyNorth.net

The Central Catholic boys cross country team is off to a 2-0 start, and a big reason is the improvement of two youngsters.

In yesterday's 15-48 rout of Tewksbury, sophomore Adam Gidley was second in 17:53 over the hilly 3.0-mile Lawrence course, just 10 seconds behind teammate Nate Webber, and junior Nick Morris was fourth. Morris was the Raiders' seventh man last year.

Running without top runners Jared Reddy and Ben Pare, both of whom are battling the flu, Methuen's boys cross country team still finished eighth among 36 teams in the Division 1 race at the McIntyre Invitational.

Pinkerton's boys cross country team did it again yesterday, much to the delight of head coach Mike Clark.

To win both this (Mount Washington Invitational) and  Souhegan on the same day last year was unprecedented, but to do it again is unbelievable," said Clark.

Methuen's top boys relay team ran a superb 30:10 to place first and set a meet record at the Clipper Relays at Newburyport yesterday.

Andrew Stamatopoulos led off and handed to Ben Pare, who ran 9:54 for his 2-mile leg and then handed to Jared Reddy, who overcame a 40-yard deficit to win going away, defeating runner-up Lowell by 33 seconds.

Hosting its season opener, Pentucket succumbed to Masconomet, 15-50, and Wilmington, 22-33. The Sachems were paced by Jason Cox (18:59 over the 2.95-mile course) and Kam Doe (19:35).

Opening day translated into a sparkler for the North Andover boys and girls cross country teams,which swept Amesbury and Georgetown.
Ally Brillaud, a senior, picked up her first career victory in the girls meet.
For the boys, both winner Max O'Brien and runner-up Darryll Varney snapped the old Georgetown course mark in a sweep.

North Reading's boys cross country team split its season-opening tri-meet, defeating host Triton, 20-36 and dropping a 21-40 verdict to a strong Hamilton-Wenham squad. Mark Rollff rolled to a third place finish overall for the Hornets, covering the 3.1 mile course in 16:41 with teammate Liam Cregan only four seconds behind to place fourth.

Brooks didn't even finish with a .500 record in the regular season, but it finished a strong second yesterday in the New England Div. 4 prep meet at Vermont Academy.

Middlesex finished with 44 ponts with Brooks next at 87. Josh Kirkman came in second individually with an 18:24 over the hilly 5K course while Ian Anderson was seventh  and Jon Choroszy was 13th for the Green and White, which also won the JV meet. 

Brian Cosgrove (first, 17:41), T.J. Howard (third, 18:08) and Andrew Buckless (fourth, 18:21) placed the victory for Triton (7-5). Jason Cox (17:51), Matt Pearsall (18:54), and Mark Pigott (19:01) all ran well for the Sachems (2-10).

Higher division, another title

Although Whittier moved up to the tougher upper division of the Commonwealth Conference this year, the move didn't faze sophomore Bryan Stanley in the least.

Pentucket's Jason Cox placed 12th overall (16:47) at North Reading High (2.85 miles). Mark Pigott finished 15th (17:22) for the Sachems (2-9). Matt Pearsall placed 16th (17:24). Connor Tribble finished 17th (17:25).

Runnerup Owls

Timberlane's boys cross country team finished second in the Seacoast League Meet at Dover High School, trailing only Winnacunnet. Colin Flinn was fourth for the Owls, running 17:28 for 5K, while Lou Saviano, Aidan Kimball and Craig Fram was 6-7-9.

Jason Cox placed fifth (18:07) at Ipswich High (3.1 miles) for Pentucket (2-7). Mark Pigott placed ninth (19:21). Lee House finished 10th (19:25).

Chris Pietrocarlo had a huge day, breaking 16 minutes (15:58) at the 3.05-mile Pinkerton course. The Astros defeated the rival Lancers as part of the annual Mack Plaque competition.