If you look atop the CAL Baker boys cross country standings, you’ll find one team that stands by itself.
Amesbury.
And now, heading into next week’s final regular season meet, there’s only one question left to ask: Can the Redhawks close it out?
Because on Wednesday afternoon, the Redhawks made the long trip over to Ravenswood Park, and held on to beat host Manchester Essex for the 26-31 victory. It’s a result that keeps the Redhawks (4-0) undefeated on the year and puts them in sole possession of first place, with only next Wednesday’s meet at Ipswich standing between them and an outright CAL Baker title.
Then even without having the overall meet medalist, it was once again depth winning the day for the visitors. Josiah Fugate was the top Amesbury runner in second place (16:36), and he was followed by teammates Harrison Sullivan in third (16:58), Ty Giangregorio in sixth (17:10), Ben Clocher in seventh (17:13) and Mather Sekelsky in eighth (17:23).
“The boys continue to perform well and improve,” said Amesbury coach Ernie Bissaillon. “Our front runners have been consistent, and our depth at the 4-through-7 has really helped us out in these close meets. I could not be happier for them.”
Then in the other race at Ravenswood Park, the Amesbury girls dropped a 19-38 final to Manchester Essex. Scoring for the Redhawks was Faith Mainville in fourth (22.35), Seguin Weeks in fifth (22:46), Maya Ciupolla in eighth (23:34), Jovi Bailin in 10th (24:05) and Oksana Smith in 11th (24:35).
NEWBURYPORT: Both teams win close to stay perfect
As Wednesday’s race was reaching the last half-mile for the lead pack, one fact became abundantly clear.
The Newburyport boys needed to push.
After the first couple of runners crossed the finish line at Essex Tech’s 2.95-mile course, the Clippers appeared to be in decent shape. But in order to win the day and stay perfect on the season, there needed to be a kick by some runners in crimson and gold to earn the necessary spots inside of the top-10.
And guess what? These Clippers proved to be clutch.
Needing every single placement they got, the Clipper boys were able to go on the road and pull off the razor-thin victory over the Hawks, 27-29. Sophomore star Nordeen Fadil was the overall meet medalist on the day after crossing in 16:38, with All-Star senior Jack DeJordy finishing just one second behind him. But for the Clippers (3-0), the meet was won thanks to Greg Higgins pushing to cross in seventh (16:58), Finn Deveney being right behind in eighth (17:19), and Sam Tramontana gutting it out to take ninth (17:51).
And the other race had its fair share of excitement, too.
Except there was a little less stress for the Newburyport girls, who also stayed undefeated on the year following a 24-35 win over Essex Tech. The host Hawks were able to crown the meet medalist on the afternoon. But what followed was a sea of Clippers (3-0), as it was Ella Peddie in second (20:26), Lydia Boddy in third (20:38), Lauren LaRosa in fifth (21:13), Riley Boddy in sixth (21:24) and Morgan Boddy in eighth (21:40).
Both Newburyport teams will travel to Lynnfield next Wednesday.
TRITON: McBee and Ferris break Viking home course record
Wednesday was a historic afternoon for the Triton boys.
For years now, Old Town Hill has served as the home course for the Vikings, and has been considered by many as one of — if not the — toughest 3.1-mile tracks in the entire Cape Ann League. And in speaking strictly to the history of the Viking boys on that track, the school record has been held by Graham Stedfast since 2020. The former program great posted a 17:40 on that memorable day six years ago, before going on to have a fantastic distance running career at UMass Lowell.
But on Wednesday, that record was finally broken.
… Twice!
During an epic 23-33 victory for Triton over traditional powerhouse Hamilton-Wenham, both Cassidy McBee and Josh Ferris vaulted themselves atop the school’s history book. It was McBee crossing first in 17:17 to set a new program mark, with Ferris not far behind him in second at 17:37. Collectively across all CAL runners at Old Town Hill, it was the third- and fourth-fastest times ever recorded, respectively.
Then rounding out the day for the winners, Ezra Carlson took fifth overall (19:04), Casey Wallwork was sixth (20:11) and Bryce Porter was ninth (20:38). It was also a victory that got the Vikings (2-2) back to .500 heading into next week’s regular season finale against Georgetown.
“It was a good day for our boys,” said Triton coach Joe Colbert. “Hamilton-Wenham is always really good, so I was very happy with the way our kids competed.”
Meanwhile in the other race, the Triton girls dropped a 20-41 final to Hamilton-Wenham. Senior star Mia Jaworski took third overall for the Vikings (2-2) in 22 minutes flat, and behind her it was teammates Hannah Earley in fifth (22:23), Scarlett Nelezen in 10th (26:19), Lulu Towne in 11th (26:29) and Cami Bonafede in 12th (26:58).