A head start for Oosting?
Spy Ponder figures to set pace
With Peabody’s Marcelo Rocha moving on to Providence College, the battle for Division 1 cross country bragging rights this fall figured to be between Tristan Shelgren of St. John’s Prep and Andrew Mah of Newton North. Both harriers, though, could be running for second place with the emergence of Ryan Oosting of Arlington.
The junior Spy Ponder took the spring track circuit by storm, pulling off the mile/two-mile double with seemingly ease before surging to victory in North Carolina to capture the national title in the 5,000. What’s especially impressive about Oosting is his ability to successfully kick hard off a fast pace. Come Nov. 18 and the All-State championships, look for him to front the pack early and be alone at the finish at the Wrentham Developmental Center.
Brookline’s Lucas Aramburu had a fabulous 2016 season and his thirdplace finish at the state meet makes him a strong favorite to challenge Oosting. Patrick Craemer of St. John’s of Shrewsbury and Thomas Lingard of Lexington both cracked the state’s top 10 last season and will be looking to move up into the top five, adding to what should be an enormously talented lead pack. Thomas Weiss of Wellesley and Eli Gappelberg of Lexington should find the gently rolling 3.1-mile Wrentham layout to their liking after navigating the short, steep hills of Gardner Golf Course last fall. Izaien Lugo of Holyoke should also benefit.
In Div. 2, Nico Agosta of Parker Charter pushed state champion Jack Carleo of Newburyport last year and is the clear favorite to break the tape this go around. Carleo’s teammate, Sam Acquaviva, could very well duel with Agosta after finishing fourth, along with Ethan Matthews of AyerShirley, Patrick Guinee of Manchester Essex and Tyler Morris of Weston. Steven O’Driscoll of Norwell could be the darkhorse in the Div. 2 hunt after following up a ninth-place all-states showing with breakthrough seasons in both indoor and outdoor track. Added depth in the division comes from Quinn Cantrill of Parker Charter, Matt Greatorex of Wakefield, Brandon Hall of Hopedale and Nick Murphy of Pentucket each cracked the top 15, and finished under 17 minutes.
On the girls circuit, Natick junior Grace Connolly is as much a lock in Div. 1 as Peabody great Catarina Rocha was when she captured consecutive All-State titles in 2012 and 2013. Connolly tore away from the field last year and was never threatened as she finished a numbing 58 seconds in front of Margot Ehrenthrol of Concord-Carlisle. Defending her title is first on the reigning Massachusetts Gatorade Runner of the Year’s fall bucket list, along with returning to the Foot Locker championships in December after taking ninth.
The real battle in Div. 1 will be for second place. Junior Sophia Jacobs-Towns of Amherst-Pelham was third last year and was closely followed by Nicole Clermont of Franklin, Jamie Falla of Wachusett, Jillian Callahan of Plymouth South and Olivia Sheffield of Lowell. Caroline Barry of Newton South could be in the top three after establishing personal bests on the track and Wachusett’s Bailie Falla will one to watch following an 11th-place finish as a freshman.
Div. 2 returns defending champion Bridget Mitchell of Milton and runner-up Ashley Walker of Westwood, and it should prove to be worth the price of admission at Wrentham to watch these two harriers pound it out.
Eve Feuerbach of Manchester Essex always seems to run well in big meets and should be well within striking distance. Several top-10 harriers are back, including Sophia Masciarelli of Holy Name, Elise O’Leary and Ella Affanato, both of of Milton, Lauren Grela of Ursuline and Kaylee Dunn of TriCounty. Jackie Wells of Mohawk Trail was 11th as an eighth-grader and should only be better this season.