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Methuen junior Mike O'Donnell outkicked Lowell ace Pat Coppinger in the final 100 meters to place first for the third straight meet as Methuen split a tri-meet, defeating Lawrence 17-46 but falling to unbeaten Lowell 22-39.

Dan O'Connel gave it that extra little burst of speed yesterday to help the Central Catholic boys cross country team make a little history.

O'Connell sprinted past Methuen No. 3 runner Conor Clark to grab sixth place and clinch a 27-29 victory over the Rangers, marking the first time in 14 years that Central has beaten the perennial power.

ANDOVER — Andover senior Ryan Cooney has taken the baton and run with it. An excellent distance runner, Cooney has been in the shadow of Warrior standouts Scott Waller and Simon Voorhees, who are currently competing for Stonehill and Lehigh respectively, over the last two years. Now that he’s finally Andover’s No. 1 runner, Cooney is determined to make the most of it, as he showed yesterday as the individual winner in the Warriors’ impressive 26-33 victory over Methuen. It was the second year in a row, after 10 straight setbacks, that Andover defeated the Rangers. In stifling humidity, Cooney ran throughout the 5K race in a threesome that included Methuen senior and personal nemesis Lucas Parsons and Ranger junior Mike O’Donnell. An excellent half-miler in track, Cooney made his move in the final 400 yards, sprinting to first in 16:33, three seconds ahead of runner-up O’Donnell and 12 seconds in front of Parsons. Cooney’s time was 26 seconds better than his best time on the Andover course last year and only 12 seconds off the course record set last year by Voorhees. It also signaled that he’s ready to make a bid as the area’s top runner.
“I’ve always had trouble with Lucas, who I think is a great runner, so I paced myself with him and made sure he didn’t pull away from me,” said Cooney. “I always have him in my mind when I run against Methuen, so I stayed with him and O’Donnell and then used my kick. “I loved having Scott and Simon to run with because they pushed me, but now it’s my turn and I have to prove myself.” Thanks to some extra mileage in the summer, Cooney certainly proved himself yesterday, as did the entire team. Last year, Andover won on a tiebreaker with Methuen following a 28-28 deadlock, but there was no such suspense this year. Fininshing fourth for Andover was junior Mike Maldari, who kicked past Methuen senior Conor Clark in the final 300 yards, and the Warriors took the next seven spots led by Charlie Schleifer, Evan Gaj and Max Galat in 6-7-8. “We didn’t think last year was a fluke and this proves it,” said Cooney. Andover coach Leo Lafond thought the team bounced back strong from an opening loss to powerhouse Lowell. “I was really glad the way we came back from that meet, both Ryan and the whole group,” said Lafond. “I thought we had a nice pack.” Mullins cruises In the girls race, Maggie Mullins had no trouble besting the heat and the field, cruising to first in 19:57 with rapidly improving sophomore teammate Leila Aruri 20 seconds back in second place. With Meg McPhee taking third, the Warriors clinched an 18-41 victory. Petty Kim was fourth for the Rangers and Marwah Haq. despite sweltering in the head with her hooded scarf and an aching calf muscle, came in sixth. Also running strong for Andover was Eliza Lewis in fifth while Sarah Warne completed the Andover scoring in seventh.

Senior co-captain Lucas Parsons scored his first career victory with a 15:16 over the 2.9-mile course, helping Methuen beat Tewksbury 27-29.