Time to say Grace
Natick’s Connolly wins second straight state title
CROSS COUNTRY
WRENTHAM — Add “Princess Grace” to the short list of Massachusetts’ all-time greatest distance runners.
Natick’s Grace Connolly ripped through the opening mile in 5 minutes, 22 seconds, and was never challenged yesterday as she easily captured her second straight Division 1 All-State title on the Wrentham Developmental Center course. The personable junior was the lone female harrier on the day to run under 18 minutes (17:50.18) and the second repeat winner since Peabody great Catarina Rocha captured consecutive titles in 2011 and 2012.
Connolly celebrated her win along with the performances of all the female runners on the grassy 3.1-mile layout.
“It’s such an honor to win and run against such great girls,” said Connolly, who will be vying for a second trip to the Foot Locker Nationals on Saturday in New York. “I wanted to go out in 5:20 . . . and stay consistent. I really wanted to do well and charge the hills. The first lap is flat and you can get a fast start. I knew I had to push it on the second lap.”
First-year harrier Margaret Donahue of Wellesley had a great day, outkicking last year’s Div. 2 All-State champion Bridget Mitchell of Milton for second in 18:07.53. Mitchell was in Donahue’s back pocket with her 18:08.39. Sarah Reichheld placed 17th in 19:09.37 to fuel ConcordCarlisle to somewhat of an upset in the team competition with 116 points to edge Wellesley’s 122.
On the boys side, the anticipated three-way duel between Tristan Shelgren of St. John’s Prep, Newton North’s Andrew Mah and Arlington’s Ryan Oosting never materialized as Shelgren surged shortly past the mile mark on the way to a convincing 15:15.82 win. Mah was a distant second in 15:37.94 and Brookline’s Lucas Aramburu clinched third in 15:45.86.
“I just wanted to go out and run strong,” said Shelgren. “I just tried to go with it. I was pretty comfortable through the first mile (4:48) and it felt pretty good. I knew (Mah) was right behind me and I knew I had to push hard.”
Oosting, last spring’s national 5,000-meter champion, was recovering from mononucleosis, but still raced to a sixth-place finish in 15:59.41.
St. John’s of Shrewsbury won the battle against defending champion Lowell, putting up 91 points to the Red Raiders’ 104. Wellesley took third overall with 116 points.
Ayer-Shirley’s Ethan Matthews set the pace early in the Div. 2 race against a tight 12-runner pack before Newburyport’s Sam Acquaviva switched gears to take the lead near the halfway point and pushed hard to a 15:58.81 win. Westwood’s Zach Conant was the best of the rest with a 16:06.77 and Nico Agosta of Parker Charter took third in 16:09.30.
“I was just trying to run my own race and I know Ethan likes to take it out hard,” said Acquaviva. “When I saw he had a big gap I used the rest of the race to close it. He’s been having a great season, but I was hoping he’d come back.”
Parker edged Pentucket with 90 points to the Sachems’ 95.
Central Mass champion Sarah Roffman of Littleton never trailed in the Div. 2 race as she drew clear of the field through a 5:45 first mile and raced to the win in 18:12.40. Madaket Nobill of Nauset (18:26.98) outsprinted Manchester Essex’ Eve Feuerbach (18:28.73) for the silver medal. Mount Greylock represented Western Mass well as it clinched first in the team competition with its 97-point victory.
“I wanted to stick with the pack for the first mile, but it didn’t work out that way,” said Roffman. “I came in wanting to win, but I knew it would be tough against such good runners. I knew I’d run faster here today.”