Burrillville, Lincoln lead pack
Lions, Broncos take top spots at double dual meet
BURRILLVILLE – One week after a close call that resulted in a second-place finish, Lincoln High senior Abby O’Hern didn’t leave any traces of doubt en route to capturing her first- ever dual meet victory on Monday.
Technically, it was a double-dual meet as Burrillville, Lincoln, Mount St. Charles and Davies Tech gathered at the 3.1-mile cross-country course at Burrillville Middle School. With the hot sun bearing down, O’Hern stayed close with Burrillville High sophomore Isabel Costa before making a strong push with a quarter-mile remaining.
Costa was the first runner to emerge from the woods. Knowing that a hill – one that’s been known to break the spirit of a few runners over the years – was coming up, O’Hern felt the opportunity to strike was at hand. O’Hern knew the course was going to flatten out right before the finish line, hence if she could overtake Costa as they approached the hill, she liked her chances to complete what was a comeback performance.
“I find that hills are my strong suit. If I could pass (Costa) … I was able to put a huge gap between myself and her on the hill. By the time I got to the top of the hill, I went for it,” said O’Hern about a strategy that resulted in a first-place finish with a time of 21 minutes, 55 seconds.
On O’Hern finally breaking through with a win that hopefully serves as a spring board for even more good things to come, LHS girls coach Sue Carlson said, “I think she’s got a lot more confidence this year that she didn’t necessarily have before. She trained really hard this summer. She strung together several good workouts before this meet. I tell her to take the feeling she has during her workouts and apply that feeling toward her races. She’s more than capable. She’s just got tto believe in herself. She’s a senior. There’s no holding back.”
As for Costa, her second-place finish (22:07) opened the floodgates for a fflurry of Bronco finishers. Of the first 20 runners, 14 were wearing a Burrillville uniform. The Broncos upped their Northern Division record to 6-0 after sweeping past the Lions (22-39), Padtriots (15-50) and Mounties d(15-50).
Per BHS head coach Samantha Stanton, Costa is one of several first- or second-year runners that are expected to contribute this season and beyond.
“There are ups and downs dto being so young. Are they going to get nervous for big races?” said Stanton. “To record a sweep, hopefully it serves as a big confidence tbooster. They do work really hard, but the nice part is we have so many kids running in packs. That’s very helpful when it comes to training.”
In the boys race, Burrillville senior Mitchell Dailey went out strong and maintained a steady tempo on his way to coming in first (16:35). Dailey was followed by Lincoln senior Nick Gaitanis (second, 16:59) and Mount St. Charles junior Cee Jay Laquerre (third, 17:07). In the team race, the Lions edged the Broncos (27-28) but Burrillville got the better of Davies (15-50) and MSC (21-38).
“Mitchell is smart and works hard. He’s dedicated, but he manages to have fun with the rest of the guys,” said Stanton. “He knew what he wanted to do out there and that’s where he’s at. He can be comfortable and still believe that he can pull it off. He’s always very sure of himself.”
At Burrillville Middle School – 3.1 miles
BOYS
Team standings Lincoln 27, Burrillville 28 Burrillville 15, Davies Tech 50 Burrillville 21, Mount St. Charles 38
Lincoln 19, Mount St. Charles 38 Mount St. Charles 18, Davies Tech 39
Local placements
1. Mitchell Dailey ( B) 16:35; 2. Nick Gaitanis ( L) 16:59; 3. Cee Jay Laquerre ( MSC) 17:07; 4. Dominic Savastano ( B) 17:26; 5. Chris Lezon ( L) 17:33; 6. Ben Martins ( L) 18:06; 7. Luscas Raimano ( B) 18:14; 8. Brian Roy ( L) 18:23; 9. Garrett Dailey ( B) 18:27; 10. Mike Vito ( L) 18:28; 11. Ben Happenny ( MSC) 18:29; 12. Owen Noecker ( MSC) 18:54; 13. Seth Boulet ( B) 18:58; 14. Collin Boisvert ( B) 19:01; 15. Jake Trimble ( B) 19:13; 16. Patrick Riordan ( L) 19:14; 15. Everett Misto ( MSC) 19:15; 18. Sean Grupo ( B) 19:21; 19. Austin Balon ( L) 19:23; 20. Garrett Dailey ( B) 19:37.
GIRLS
Team standings Burrillville 22, Lincoln 39 Burrillville 15, Davies Tech 50 Burrillville 15, Mount St. Charles 50
Lincoln 23, Mount St. Charles 32 Mount St. Charles 15, Davies Tech 50
Local placements
1. Abby O’Hern ( L) 21:55; 2. Isabel Costa ( B) 22:07; 3. Kaitlyn Potter ( B) 22:18;
4. Haley Allen ( B) 22:22; 5. Carson Cole ( L) 22:37; 6. Emily Allard ( B) 22:48; 7. Madison Ludovici ( B) 23:26; 8. Victoria LaMontagne ( B) 23:30; 9. Madeline LaSata ( B) 23:32; 10. Haley Labossiere ( B) 23:35; 11. Abby Ludovici ( B) 24:16;
12. Ashley Thibault ( L) 24:51; 13. Ava Noecker ( MSC) 25:03; 14. Mikki Felice ( B) 25:05; 15. Avery Clifford ( B) 25:24;
16. Hannah Rigby ( B) 25:41; 17. Kaitlyn Pristawa ( B) 26:27; 18. Emma Charbineau ( MSC) 27:11; 19. Isabella Desaulniers ( MSC) 27:12; 20. Lauren Romano ( B) 27:18.