Specht leads Lions to sweep
Lincoln sneaks past North Smithfield
LINCOLN – Last fall, veteran Lincoln High head coach Sue Carlson received some good news when she discovered Bay View middle schooler Carson Cole would be attending LHS as a freshman.
“We were at a dual meet, and Carol Beaudette told me, ‘One of my girls is coming your way, and she gave me her name,’” Carlson said. “She said that she was very good.”
Carlson learned of another promising harrier heading her way in the late spring. She turned out to be talented distance runner Riley Specht, who decided to forego playing soccer in favor of cross-country.
“Her mom came up to me at an outdoor meet and said something to the
effect of, ‘Riley’s thinking about coming out for your team,’” she added. “I just told her, ‘We’d be glad to have her.’ Deep down, I was elated.”
It was easy to tell during a multi-team Northern Division meet on Monday afternoon at Chase Farm Park. Specht sailed to the individual victory, covering the hilly, treacherous 3.1-mile course in 23:10, while junior Abbey O’Hern took second (23:50) and Cole fourth (24:35).
Thanks to the outings, and two more, the Lions eked out a wild 27-30 triumph over pesky, ever-improving North Smithfield, then tacked on wins over Woonsocket (20-35), North Providence (16-49) and Central Falls (15-50).
LHS improved to 6-1 on the young campaign, though the Northmen upped its mark to 4-2 following respective 15-50 pastings of the Patriots, Warriors and Cougars.
“Abbey was crucial, finishing second overall, and so was Riley, obviously,” Carlson noted. “Carson’s ability to take fourth was pivotal because she gave us those three low numbers. Ashley Thibault came in 10th (26:08), and that also helped, but I still say Carson was a big surprise. She had gone to Bay View in junior high, but she was living in Lincoln, and her mom told me she’d return for high school.
“I’m elated with those two additions, Riley and Carson, and I’m excited about how well they all ran,” she continued.
As the parade of girls crossed the finish line, it appeared as if North Smithfield had garnered the victory over the hosts. Sophomore Madison Tiner led her contingent in third overall (24:23), while Autumn Casey (25:23), Katie Grist (25:25) and Rita Marcotte (25:33) congregated for sixth and seventh and eighth.
But the key cog happened to be Thibault; as the fifth harrier for Lincoln, she and Miku Lavalee crossed the stripe in 26:08 and tied for 10th, but the official gave the lean to Thibault. Kasmira Galla’s 20th-place finish eventually clinched the triumph.
“We were one spot off,” shrugged Northmen chief Amy Gravell. “”We had a nice tight pack, going third, sixth, seventh and eighth, so it could have gone either way … We had nine of the top 15 spots, so we were very consistent, and the girls ran very well.
“The times were appropriate for the chal- lenging nature of the race course and the heat factor. The surprising thing is all girls’ times were interchangeable, as the usual 2-3-4 girls went 3-4-5 for us.”
Woonsocket sophomore Nicole Dioh paced the Villa Novans, taking fifth in 24:54, while classmate Peyton Cahill placed ninth (25:35) and senior Ellie Carr 19th (29:50). Despite the loss to the Lions, Woonsocket manufactured three wins over Central Falls, Davies and North Providence (the closest at 25-31) to climb to 3-3 in league action.
“I played soccer last year, but I decided in the spring I liked running more,” Specht said after her top placement. “When it comes to this race, we’ve practiced here before, but we’ve never actually run the whole course. It’s really, really difficult.
“There’s this double hill that’s called ‘Menna Mountain’ (after boys’ head coach John Menna), and it’s one big hill, then flattens out, and then you have to climb up another steep hill before you have to run down a huge one.
“That was really tough, especially in his heat.”
Stated O’Hern: “Last year, I know I didn’t break 24 (minutes), so this was a pretty good time for me. It was really hot, really hilly and really rocky. There was a really steep hill about a mile and a half in, and having to climb two of them, it just beats you up.
“When I found out Riley and Carson were going to run for us, I thought, ‘Good!’ because we need more strong runners, and we needed all of them here.”
For Davies, junior Ramona Batista managed 21st overall in 30:05, while frosh Julianna Rosado took the next spot in 30:11.
Central Falls was led by Brazilea Schenck in 25th (30:51).
Lincoln 27, North Smithfield 30
Lincoln 20, Woonsocket 35
Lincoln 16, North Providence 39
Lincoln 15, Central Falls 50
North Smithfield 15, Davies 50
North Smithfield 15, Central Falls 50
North Smithfield 15, North Providence 50 Woonsocket 15, Central Falls 50 Woonsocket 20, Davies 35 Woonsocket 25, North Providence 31
North Providence 23, Davies 32
Area placements
1. Riley Specht (L) 23:10; 2. Abbey O’Hern (L) 23:50; 3. Madison Tiner (NS) 24:23; 4. Carson Cole (L) 24:35; 5. Nicole Dioh (W) 24:54; 6. Autumn Casey (NS) 24:23; 7. Katie Grist (NS) 25:25; 8. Rita Marcotte (NS) 25:33; 9. Peyton Cahill (W) 25:35; 10. Ashley Thibault (L) 26:08; 11. Miku Lavallee (NS) 26:09; 12. Lexi Brandao (NS) 27:53; 13. Kat Brandao (NS) 28:31; 14. Hope Smith (NS) 28:59; 15. Kayla Butler (NS) 29:28; 16. Emma Buttimer (NS) 29:33; 17. Victoria Roberton (NS) 29:36; 18. Claire Guertin (NS) 29:43; 19. Ellie Carr (W) 29:50; 20. Kasmira Galla (L) 29:56; (others) 21. Ramona Batista (D) 30:05; 22. Julianna Rosado (D) 30:11; 25. Brazilea Schenck (CF) 30:51; 29. Kathia Dioh (W) 31:45; 32. Nadia Vazquez (CF) 32:20; 34. Anya Lora (D) 33:06.