Needham Boys Start Strong, Qualify One

The Needham Rockets opened up the 2012-2013 indoor track season with a junior varsity meet at Milton on Wednesday and a varsity meet at the Reggie Lewis Center on Thursday.

The JV meet at Milton was highlighted by performances from Lucas Jacobs (So) in the 300m dash,Giulian Trabucco (Jr) and Greg Liacopoulos (Sr) in the shot put, and from the 4x160yd relay team. Jacobs turned in a personal best time of 43.4 to finish with the top time of the day in the event. Similarly, Trabucco and Liacopoulos took the top two spots with throws of 35' 4" and 31' 8" respectively. The relay, run by James Cataldo (Jr), Niall Butchart (Fr), Ben Mesnik (Fr) and Jacobs, brought home a strong performance at the end of the evening.

Thursdays varsity meet saw the Needham Rockets picking up a win against the Braintree Wampatucks. The boys got off to a strong start with the Rockets sweeping the mile, lead by Adrian Amaya (Jr) and followed closely by Tommy Kelley (Jr) and John Benner (Fr). Amaya qualified for the Division II Championship with his time of 4:42.40. In a controlled effort, Needham took first and second in the next event, the 1000m run. Dan Alpert (Jr) out kicked teammate and captain, Tyler Hagen (Sr) for an additional 8 points towards the Rockets' cause. The 600m run saw captain Ned Connolly (Sr) come back strong for a second place finish and a personal best time of 1:29.72. Derek Howes (So) chipped in a third place as well.

With the injury to captain Kevin Walsh (Sr), Jack Strollo (So) has taken the opportunity to step up for the team. The 300m dash had Strollo finishing first followed by a third place finish from Aaron Maslow (So). In the straightaway events, Harry Hall (Jr) brought home 5 points for his first place finish in the 55HH, and the Rockets added another 4 from second and third place efforts from Colin Riley (Jr) and Alex O'Donnell (Sr) in the 55m dash. Both PR'd by nearly a third of a second, finishing at 7.15 and 7.17. In the 2-mile, the trio of Zak Heier (Sr), Liam Walsh (So), and Drew Khalaj (Fr) took the three scoring spots in a metronomic effort.

The field events were highlighted by yet another sweep of an event, this time in the shot put. Connolly turned in a PR for first place, followed by a PR by Ian Stewart (Sr) and then a third place from Trabucco pulling double duty on the two days. Needham also received a pair of third place finishes from Hall in the long jump and from Sid Yadav (Jr) in the high jump. With the meet already in hand, the Rockets closed the night with a win in the 4x400 relay, run by Strollo, Alpert, Howes and Hall.

The final score Thursday night was tallied at 61-34. Needham continues this week with the JV meet at Newton North on Wednesday and the varsity meet at the Reggie Lewis Center. The varsity team will take on the Weymouth Wildcats in what will no doubt be a close meet.

For full results from the Milton and Braintree meets, please visit Athletic.net

Lady Rockets Fly Past Braintree in Season Opener

Thursday evening December 13th, the Rockets opened up their season against the Braintree Wampatucks at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury and did not disappoint.  The girls' team outscored and outdid their opponents in nearly every event to win the meet scoring 64.67 points to Braintree's 30.33.  From the first shot of the starter's pistol, Needham gained control by sweeping the one mile and 1,000 meter runs won by sophomore Kaleigh Hughes (5:46.66) and senior captain Hallie Armstrong (3:22.22).  Finishing strong behind the victors, were Sarah Armstrong and Sammy Lerner as well as Rachel Blaustein and Julianna Donovan.

Meanwhile in classic three ring circus style, the high jump and shot put were being contested in different areas of the arena.  In the high jump, an event that Needham has struggled with in recent years, sophomore Lydia Phung soared to new heights clearing 4' 7" and placing second in the event while captains Christina Smith and Hallie Armstrong placed in a three-way tie with Braintree's Alex Pearse for third giving each athlete .33 points toward their team's total.  The shot put turned out to be another difficult event for the Rockets without their top returner Tasha Desir on the injured list.  The Wamps threw well up front to take first and second but sophomore Shaleah Guild stepped up in her first competition in nearly a year to snag third place with a throw of 28' 11".

Back on the oval, the Rockets looked to be in control again scoring four points in the 600 off the second and third place finishes of junior Kira Oberle and sophomore Isabel Cole.  The 300 turned out even better for Needham with senior captain Robin Kelly winning in a personal best time of 43.62 seconds.  When the gun went off to start the 2 mile, the Rockets were nearly guaranteed another sweep with senior captain Caroline Turner leading the way and getting the win in 12:22.01 with teammates Erica Koljonen and Daria Fortin finishing in second and third respectively.

In the 55 meter hurdles, Smith was no match for her competition winning by a huge margin in 9.87 seconds.  Sophomore Grace Li stepped up to garner third place.  In the 55 meter dash, junior Blessing Ojini got out of the blocks well to snag the win and five more points for the Rockets running 7.87 seconds.  In the final field event of the night, Smith and Kelly combined for a solid one, two punch leaping 14' 10.75" and 14' 2" in the long jump.

Entering the 4 x 400, the Rockets had already outscored the Wamps and the relay was little more than a formality.  The team consisting of Lerner, Hughes, Blaustein and Hallie Armstrong picked up their final victory on the night finishing in 4:28.24.

Full results can be found at:
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/School.aspx?SchoolID=19349#S=12013

Next up for Needham is a dual meet with Weymouth Thursday December 20th at Reggie Lewis.  The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm.

Welcome to Indoor Track and Field 2012-13!

December is here.  Cross country is in the rear view and indoor track looms large on the horizon.  With practices starting this week and our first meet slated for Thursday December 13th, we turn our attention to the oval.  Both teams return strong contingents and add new talent and for the first time in six years, bring back a complete coaching line-up.  The possibilities for what the Rockets may achieve are endless.  Here is a complete list of our school records.

NEEDHAM HS INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD RECORDS

Girls
55m Dash        Violet King             7.32           2005
300m                Kim Kelly              41.50         2000
600m                Kim Kelly              1:41.11      1999
1,000m             Hallie Armstrong   3:06.17      2012
1 Mile              Emily Lipman         5:13.41      2008
2 Mile              Emily Lipman        11:12.32     2008
55m Hurdles    Christina Regan      8.80          1999
High Jump       Sarah Daoust          5' 5"          1999
Shot Put           Vilavone Simmai    36' 2"        1999
Long Jump       Sari Chang             17' 4"        1980
4 x 200 Relay   Jaclyn Raffol         1:46.96      2000
                         Liz Moderi
                         Kim Kelly
                         Jill Zagami
4 x 400             Kira Oberle            4:06.32      2012
                         Robin Kelly
                         Hallie Armstrong
                         Alison Pildner
4 x 800             Hannah Alpert       9:49.40      2011
                         Olivia Nolan
                         Hallie Armstrong
                         Alison Pildner

Boys
55m Dash        Cope Kharuharat    6.65           1995
300m               Kevin Walsh           36.79         2012
600m               Ben Lueders           1:26.16      2012
1,000m            Ben Lueders           2:35.73      2012
1 Mile              Tom Patterson        4:24.0        1971
2 Mile              Peter Loomis          9:22.0        1984
55 Hurdles       Peter Farlow           7.83           2011
High Jump       Wayne Shields        6' 5"          1981
Shot Put           Chip Huckins         56' 10.5"    1978
Long Jump       Peter Farlow          21' 6"         2011
4 x 200             Brian Hazzard       1:33.50       2011
                         Peter Farlow
                         Kevin Walsh
                         Ryan McGloin
4 x 400             Marc Chafin          3:28.0         1979
                         Brian Annese
                         Barry McMorrow
                         Brian Johnston
4 x 800             Jerry White           8:08.5          1979
                         Brian Annese
                         Brian Johnstron
                         Barry McMorrow

Needham Track Club Finishes High at Nike Cross Regional Championships!

In a late season decision, the girls' cross country program decided to attend the Nike Cross National (NXN) Northeast Regional Championships to test their meddle against the best programs east of New York and North of Maryland and Delaware.  The regional meet is used as a qualifier for the national championships to be held this coming weekend December 2nd in Portland, Oregon.  The NXN meets are not high school sanctioned and therefore the usual Needham Rockets competed under the pseudonym Needham Track Club and were under the watchful eye of Mike Turner as head coach.

Coach Turner had the following to say leading into the meet: "We went to Nike Northeast with the dual goal of having fun and celebrating the season, but also competing and finishing strong.  We knew we were up against the top teams from the eight northeast states including each state champion team.  When talking to the girls the night before the race, we decided that a top 20 finish would be great, and a top 10 finish would be epic."

And compete they did finishing 8th in the Championship race with 246 points, just four points away from 7th.  The team was led as they have been the last three meets by freshmen Margie Cullen, Julianna Donovan and Sarah Armstrong all recording top 40 finishes.  Senior captains Caroline Turner and Hallie Armstrong rounded out the scoring in 83rd and 128th places respectively and senior Erica Koljonen came across the line 198th.  In the girls' Open race, Needham TC also had solid performances from junior Daria Fortin and sophomore Claire Connors finishing in 63rd and 163 place.  In the boys' open race, junior Alex Elman placed 83rd as the only Needham athlete to toe the line.

To illustrate just how much this group of girls has improved over the course of the season as well as come together as a team when the stakes were high we can look to their early season performances as a comparison.
         
          * On September 22nd at the Amherst Invitational, Needham lost to Amherst 99-139. 
            At NXN Needham TC beat the Amherst Polar Cows (17th place) 246-410.
         
          * On October 6th at the Thetford Invitational, Needham lost to Champlain Valley Union
            (Vermont) 70-144.  At NXN Needham TC beat Champlain Valley XC Club (9th place)
            246-251.

The previous two stats really describe the last four weeks of the season beautifully.  The Rockets may not have won every meet they entered but they sure as heck didn't lose them either.  In the words of Coach Turner, "On race day, the girls did what they have done all year; they raced to an epic eighth place finish and then broke into an impromptu finish line dance party"

Full results can be found at: http://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?news_id=65518-2012-Results-NXN-Northeast-Regional

Daria

Claire

Caroline

 

Margie

Sarah and Julianna

Hallie

Erica

Amaya, Hagen Finish Well at All-States.

And they're off!

Qualifying for the All-State Championships is a pretty tall order and no Needham Boys' team has done so since 1984.  But this fall, two individuals accomplished the feat becoming just the 5th and 6th Needham athletes to toe the line at the state meet in the 21st century!  After finishing 2nd and 12th at divisionals, Adrian Amaya and Tyler Hagen competed in the first All-State meet of their high school careers and represented the Rocket program well.

Amaya finishes strong.

Hagen runs tough.

As the gun sounded, 179 of the state's best sprinted toward the bottom of the mountain.  After a conservative first 1,000 meters that saw all runners pack it in with no one wanting to overly exert themselves on the tactical Northfield course, Jonathon Green of Saint John's Shrewsbury took a commanding lead.  Green would run uncontested to the finish line smashing the five year old course record in impressive fashion recording a time of 15:29.  Behind the leader, Amaya and Hagen settled into top 30 positions.  Throughout the race, the Needham athletes stayed aggressive and worked hard to maintain their positions.  Coming off the final bend, both Amaya and Hagen sprinted hard for the line finishing in 24th (16:44) and 36th (16:57) respectively.

Many times an athlete begins a season with a set of goals in mind and sometimes the athlete not only meets those goals but exceeds them and is faced with a quick reevaluation.  It was a true testament to Adrian Amaya's and Tyler Hagen's mental flexibility and strength that they rose to the challenge of a new goal and tackled it with confidence and poise.

Full results can be found at: http://www.mstca.org/Fall_Season/Fall%202012/Results%20div%201%20boys%2011.17.12.htm.

Lady Rockets Finish 3rd in State Championships.

Saturday November 17th, Needham cross country traveled west to Northfield to compete in the MIAA All-State Championships and placed third in the highly competitive field.  After a tough runner-up finish at the divisional meet a week prior, the Rockets were set to face the top four teams from divisions 1, 2 and 3 on the storied Northfield Mountain course.  Included in the field were 2012 division 3 champions and 2011 state champions Whitman-Hanson as well as 2012 division 1 and 2 champions Lowell and Lincoln-Sudbury.  But in the end, it was Peabody who stole the show scoring 110 points and led by individual winner Catarina Rocha.  Rocha ran the first 1,000 meters up the challenging Northfield course sitting comfortably in the front group before pulling away to the second fastest time ever recorded at Northfield 18:06.12 and winning by a massive 45 seconds. 

But behind the wake of Rocha unfolded a hotly contested battle for second place in the team scoring between Lincoln-Sudbury and Needham yet again.  And just like at divisionals it was Needham who set the tone with Margie Cullen racing to an outstanding 8th place finish overall in 19:26 followed closely by Lincoln-Sudbury's Sydney Clary in 9th.  Needham continued their dominance with Julianna Donovan and Sarah Armstrong running stride for stride as they've done all season long finishing 19th (19:52) and 25th (20:02) respectively.  Next across the line were Morgane Butler and Katie LaScaleia from Lincoln-Sudbury finishing in 28th and 32nd.  Caroline Turner rebounded from a tough divisional meet by outkicking her L-S counterpart Sam Cook by one place finishing in 20:28.  With four runners in, the Rockets clearly held the advantage over the Warriors but it was Daniela Hargus who stepped up for her team by placing 76th overall to give Lincoln-Sudbury the edge they needed.  Hallie Armstrong was the fifth runner in for Needham finishing in 93rd place in 21:07.  When all runners were in, Needham and Lincon-Sudbury were separated by one point with the Warriors scoring 117 to the Rockets' 118.  Whitman-Hanson finished 4th (124) and Amherst 5th (135) closing out what had to be one of the closest team finishes in championship history with just 25 points separating the top five.

Full results can be found at: http://www.mstca.org/Fall_Season/Fall%202012/Results%20div%201%20girls%2011.17.12.htm

Saturday November 24th, Needham Girls' XC will close out their season by competing in the prestigious Nike Cross Country Regional Championships at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, NY.

Turner Named League MVP for 2012 Cross Country Season.

In a post season wrap-up, BSC coaches unanimously voted Needham senior captain Caroline Turner the Most Valuable Player for the conference.  Turner led the Rockets throughout the regular season to the teams' first ever conference title (11-0) and only lost to three other BSC athletes in dual meet competition.  Prior to the conference meet, Turner fell ill and was unable to run at full strength but still managed a gritty 8th place finish.  Turner was also instrumental in creating a competitive yet supportive team atmosphere from day one of the season.

Additionally Turner, as well as Margie Cullen, Julianna Donovan, Sarah Armstrong, Katie Horton, Adrian Amaya and Tyler Hagen were named BSC All-Stars for excellence in competition throughout the 2012 season.  Congratulations to all recipients.

Needham Girls' Cross Country Wins Sportsmanship Award

In an announcement made by the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association in conjunction with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association the NHS girls' cross country team has been presented with the 11th annual Ted Dutkiewicz Team Sportsmanship Award.  "One of (Ted's) great desires was seeing that high school cross country was conducted in a fair and equitable manner with sportsmanship the goal that all athletes and coaches should keep foremost in their mind."  Congratulations to Coach O'Connell and the girls' team on yet another great accomplishment!

Cullen Wins Divisional Title! Girls Finish 2nd to Lincoln-Sudbury.

Cullen, Armstrong and Donovan at the front.

When all was said and done, everyone appeared to be thinking the same thing... what if?  What if we hadn't gotten sick?  What if we hadn't gotten injured?  What if someone had made a move just the little bit sooner?  But really there is no point in thinking "what if" because at the end of the day everyone gave it their all.  After a long and lustrous season, the girls' cross country team stood on the second step of the podium with medals round their necks and heads held high confirming the highest ever team finish at the Eastern Massachusetts Division 2 Championships in program history!

As the gun sounded and the field sprinted across the starting area at the Wrentham Developmental Center, the division 2 race which was billed as a dual meet between Needham and Lincoln-Sudbury was shaping up as just that.  The fearless freshmen triumvirate of Margie Cullen, Sarah Armstrong and Julianna Donovan ran straight to the front with Caroline Turner in tow and began to dictate the pace as they've done on numerous occasions this fall.  However, Lincoln-Sudbury was quick to counter as sophomore Sydney Clary ran toe-to-toe with Cullen and teammates Morgane Butler, Katie LaScaleia and Sam Cook filled in the ranks.

Cullen runs clear for the win with dad John celebrating behind.

As the field passed the one mile mark, Cullen and Armstrong continued to work together pushing the pace, each one looking the likely winner as  Donovan dropped back just slightly but stayed within striking distance.  As the leaders entered the second mile, Cullen, Clary and Sami Carey of Mansfield opened a gap on their competitors and teammates.  Meanwhile, Turner fought mightily to hold position while teammate Hallie Armstrong who had started more conservatively was closing hard and gaining places rapidly.  As Cullen neared the third mile, she had successfully dropped all of her competition and cruised in to the finish line for the win in 18:53.4 one place and six seconds ahead of Clary.  Donovan who had made a late race surge, managed a magnificent 5th place showing in 19:12.6.  Sarah Armstrong, tiring from her early efforts, held on to 8th place (19:23.8), while Turner finished 18th (19:55.7) and Hallie Armstrong kicked hard to finish 23rd (20:06.5).  Teammates Katie Horton and Rachel Blaustein finished 61st and 78th respectively.

Turner rounds the bend for home.

              
In the end, the L-S Warriors were just too strong as they defeated the Rockets 51-55.  Chelmsford finished a distant third with 105 points.  The second place showing qualified Needham for the All-State Championships to be held at Northfield Mountain and affords them a shot at a state title.

The boys were in a bit of a different scenario.  With no one team standing out as favorites above anyone else, the division appeared wide open.  As the race started a group of athletes formed at the front including Needham's Adrian Amaya, Tommy Kelley and Tyler Hagen along with several runners from defending champion Lincoln-Sudbury, Chelmsford, Billerica and Cambridge Rindge and Latin.  No one wanted to take the lead and consequently the mile was passed at a pedestrian pace.

Amaya strings out the field with Stubbs and Cooney in tow.

As the leaders passed the two mile mark, Amaya began to stretch out the field with freshman sensation Sam Stubbs of Cambridge Rindge and Latin and Quinn Cooney of Chelmsford in hot pursuit.  Hagen and Kelley seemed to struggle mightily as they navigated the undulating Wrentham course and gradually lost contact with the top group.  Meanwhile, Alex Elman who had gone out more conservatively made a valiant effort to move through the field and tow teammates Zak Heier, John Benner and Ben Baron along with him.

As the leaders rounded the final hairpin, it was Stubbs who made the definitive move to the front outkicking Amaya for the win and becoming the first freshman in Massachusetts state history to break the 16:00 barrier by the slimmest of margins.  Amaya held on for second place in a PR of 16:03.3.  Hagen finished 12th (16:37.8), Kelley 41st (17:18.0), Heier 58th (17:35.1), Benner 59th (17:35.4), Baron 62nd (17:39.2) and Elman 68th (17:49.5). 

When all runners were in and the score had been calculated, it was Chelmsford who came out victorious scoring 53 points well ahead of runner-up Cambridge Rindge and Latin (87), Lincoln-Sudbury (104) and Mansfield (130).  Needham had to settle for 6th place with 167, still their highest divisional finish since 2007.  Individually, Amaya and Hagen qualified for the state meet and will represent Needham at Northfield Mountain.

Full results can be found at: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/12/ma/Nov10_MIAAEa_set1.shtml.

Photos courtesy of Ken Horton and Jocko Rooney.

MIAA Divisional Championships This Weekend

Saturday November 10th members of the boys' and girls' cross country teams will travel to the Wrentham Developmental Center to compete in the Eastern Massachusetts Division 2 Championships.  Historically this meet has been held at Franklin Park in Boston but the city closed the park to all activities this fall for a much needed renovation and so the MIAA and MSTCA has chosen to embrace the Developmental Center as their new home for the first installment of postseason competition.  It is at this divisional meet that teams and individuals may qualify for the All-State Championship held later this month at Northfield Mountain.  Both boys' and girls' teams hope to place in the top four in their division to secure a spot at All-States.

For the boys, the division appears to be fairly wide open with Mansfield, Chelmsford, Lincoln-Sudbury, Cambridge Rindge and Latin and Billerica all vying for one of the coveted top spots.  Mansfield a perennial powerhouse had appeared to be in a down year but is recently coming off a decisive win at the Hockomock League Championships just one week ago.  The Hornets finished 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 17th to score just 42 points to runner-up Oliver Ames' 79 with a five man average time of 16:47 and a spread of just 42 seconds.  Chelmsford could also be in the running for the title coming off a strong second place finish at the Merrimack League Championships behind MA #1 ranked Lowell.  The last time the Rockets qualified for the All-State Championships was 1984 and this year they stand a very legitimate chance of making it back to the big dance.  Coming off a great regular season, the Rockets' most notable big meet performance came on October 13th at the Bob McIntyre Twilight meet where they finished 3rd, averaging 16:44 for their top five and defeated Cambridge Rindge and Latin by a mere two points.  The division 2 race should be a shoot-out.

On the distaff side, there are really only two teams on paper that stand a chance at a title.  Year in and year out the Lincoln-Sudbury girls have proven they have what it takes to win.  After loosing a close race with Masconomet last year, the Warriors are out for redemption.  This year's squad has been relatively quiet on the invitational front save for a win in the varsity "F" race at the prestigious Reebok Manhattan Invitational at storied Van Cortland Park in the Bronx.  But where Lincoln-Sudbury appears to be the favorite going into Divisionals, the Needham Rockets look to be the only team within striking distance.  Each team has its own strengths with the battle for divisional supremacy shaping up to be a doozy.  Other teams on the bubble to qualify for All-States are Chelmsford, Franklin and Masconomet.

Race Schedule:

9:00 a.m. Girls' D6
9:25 a.m. Girls' D5
9:50 a.m. Girls' D4
10:20 a.m. Boys' D6
10:45 a.m. Boys' D5
11:10 a.m. Boys' D4
(Break)
12:30 p.m. Girls' D3
12:55 p.m. Girls' D2
1:20 p.m. Girls' D1
1:50 p.m. Boys' D3
2:15 p.m. Boys' D2
2:40 p.m. Boys' D1  

Cullen Claims Conference Crown! Girls' Team Finishes First; Boys Fourth at BSC Meet.

Girls leaders just before the 1 mile mark.

Leading up to the Bay State Conference Championships the Needham girls' cross country team was 11-0.  They had beaten everyone in the league, they had finished fourth at Theford, second at Amherst and won the Twilight Invitational and yet they still felt like there was something left to prove.  And so they proved it, winning the meet with a score of 35 points, 29 ahead of both Newton North and Weymouth.  If beating all the teams in the BSC during head-to-head competition was unprecedented, winning the conference meet outright with the lowest team score of any winning team in the last eight years was unheard of.  In fact, the Rockets were so dominant that if the conference meet was scored like a dual with every other team combining their efforts to make one "super-team", Needham still would have taken it 28-29!

Margie Cullen sprinting to win!

As the gun went off and a horde of girls sprinted across the field at Coakley Middle School in Norwood, Needham went straight to the front.  Passing the one mile mark at 5:50 was Margie Cullen and Natick's Sarah Lagan with Caroline Turner, Sarah Armstrong and Julianna Donovan as well as Newton North's Evie Heffernan and Sonya Jampel and Weymouth's Ashley Betts in arrears.  Cullen and Lagan held down the accelerator while battling back and forth for the lead and began to string the field out.  But it was Needham's fantastic four that kept the pace and the pressure high and slowly the front pack splintered apart with only Lagan able to keep up.  With just over a half mile to go, Cullen threw the knockout punch and ran away to a solo win covering the 5k course in 18:50 and becoming the first freshman to win the BSC meet since Ashley Davidson of Natick in the fall of 2000.  Lagan held on to finish 2nd in 18:54 with Armstrong and Donovan claiming 3rd and 4th respectively.  Turner who has been strong for the Rockets all season overcame an off day to finish 8th in 19:27 and Hallie Armstrong ran tough to place 19th.  Katie Horton and Rachel Blautein rounded out the scoring for Needham placing 21st and 24th.

While the boys' team didn't make quite the waves that the girls did, they still put up a very solid showing despite running without three of their top seven and utilizing a conservative team approach.  Team records in the Bay State Conference are decided during the regular season dual meets.  Thus the conference meet serves as little more than an exhibition with potential bragging rights going to any team that avenges a regular season loss.  The NHS boys hope to qualify for the All-State Championships held in three weeks at Northfield Mountain but before that goal becomes a reality, there are several hurdles they need to get over between now and then including getting healthy.

The boys run relaxed.

Boys leaders

As the race got under way, a pack of blue and gold eased off the starting line at a pedestrian pace.  Conversely, Newton North's Gabe Montague took the race by the scruff of the neck and proceeded to hammer the first couple of miles towing along a pack of four including teammate Mike Schlichting, Wellesley's Danny Palladino and Weymouth's Nolan Parsley.  Parsley seemed to be the class of the field with a recent win in the McIntyre Twilight invitational and a 2 mile PR on the track of 9:26 but it was Montague (perhaps spurred on by the presence of his teammate) that kept pushing the pace.  Meanwhile behind the front pack, Needham's Tyler Hagen and Adrian Amaya battled with Brookline's Jesse Fajnzylber and Framingham's Brian Gilligan for best of the rest.  Further back in the field,  captain Zak Heier, Alex Elman, Ben Baron, Mike Newfield and Brendan Gillis bided their time waiting for the right moment to make their move.  Just after two miles the pack of five began working their way up through the field before ultimately finishing 30th, 32nd, 37th, 39th and 40th.  Meanwhile, Amaya and Hagen gave the Rockets a strong one-two punch by finishing 7th and 8th in 16:31 and 16:34 respectively.  Even with a rather modest effort the boys' team managed to place 4th overall merely falling short to Newton North, Brookline and Wellesley.

Haley Filippine leads teammates Alex Clifford and Emily Wills.

There were several other top ten finishes for the Rockets including a second place by Alex Turner in the boys' Freshmen race.  Turner sprinted off the line and led nearly from start to finish before ultimately getting out kicked by Natick's Chris Peabody.  Both athletes were timed at 8:45 for the 2.5k distance.  Alex Cohen also finished well placing 6th in the same event.

In the boys' JV 5k, Drew Khalaj competed well finishing 4th overall in a personal best time of 17:26.  Finishing behind Khalaj but still garnering top twenty honors were Jack Strollo, Cal Fleming, Nathan Maynard and Derek Howes.  In the girls' JV race, Haley Rayment ran straight to the front of the pack while teammate Haley Filippine took a more cautious approach.  In the end, both athletes prevailed with Filippine finishing in 9th and Rayment taking 12th.

Full results can be found at: http://www.coolrunning.com/results/12/ma/Oct27_BaySta_set1.shtml.

Next up for the Rockets is the MSTCA Coaches Invitational at the Developmental Center in Wrentham.  The meet is Saturday November 3rd and is scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m.

A victorious girls' team poses for the paparazzi.

Photos courtesy of Kim Benner and Ken Horton.

Girls Win First BSC Title in Program History! Boys Finish Regular Season at 9-2.

Bay State Conference Champions: Girls finish regular season 11-0.

Turner on her way to victory.

Coach O'Connell

Tuesday October 23rd, Needham hosted their final home meet of the season against the Wellesley Raiders and both Rocket teams came out victorious.  The girls' team entered the meet undefeated in conference competition and continued to do what they've done all season long: win.  Caroline Turner, Margie Cullen, Sarah Armstrong, Julianna Donovan and Rachel Blaustein eased into the race on the first lap running just off the pace of Wellesley's Eileen Monagle and Valerie Collins.  To the uninitiated spectator, it would appear that Wellesley was in control as several more of their athletes filled in behind.  On the second lap however, Collins began to fade as the quartet of Turner, Cullen, Armstrong and Donovan continued to stalk their prey.  With 400 meters remaining, Needham threw in a surge and caught the tiring Wellesley runner.  To Monagle's credit, as all five athletes sprinted for the line, she held onto 4th place to prevent a complete Needham sweep.  None-the-less, Turner a senior,  finished fastest to win in 20:41 in her final race at Cutler Park.  Armstrong and Cullen finished 2nd and 3rd with Donovan 5th.  Blaustein finished 8th, Daria Fortin 11th and Erica Koljonen 14th in Needham's 19-36 rout of Wellesley. 

The boys' race on the other hand could not have been more different.  Both teams entered the meet with a record of 8-2 but having been dealt losses by different teams.  Needham's Adrian Amaya and Tyler Hagen ran straight to the front with Wellesley's Danny Palladino.  Behind the front-running trio, a sea of Wellesley and Needham runners flowed over the paths and trails of Cutler Park.  The Rockets ran tough to finish in alternating order as Amaya lowered his own course record for the third time this season finishing in 16:24 with Palladino a close second in 16:26.  Hagen finished a solid 3rd in 16:44, Tommy Kelley 5th in 16:59, John Benner 7th in 17:13 and Zak Heier came on strong to close out the fop five running 10th in 17:31.  When all was said and done, Needham eked out a 26-29 win over Wellesley putting nine runners ahead of the Raiders' sixth.

John Benner, Zak Heier and Alex Elman run as a pack.

Captain Noah Mertz looking determined.

Previously, both Rocket teams easily defeated the Framingham Flyers in a dual meet held on October 16th.  While counting toward their win/loss record, the meet lacked any true excitement and was merely a stepping stone toward greater accomplishments as the season comes to a close.

Full results can be found at: http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/School.aspx?SchoolID=19349. 

Cross Country at its Best

I just came across this article on Milesplit... definitely worth a read.

http://ny.milesplit.com/articles/94688-musings-of-a-rookie-xc-dad

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Greatness isn't achieved over night.  It isn't achieved over the course of a season or even a year.  It isn't achieved just because you improve your win/loss record or drop your personal best time.  Greatness is achieved through hard work, through progress made and lessons learned.  Greatness is achieved by always pushing to be better than you are and that's one of the best parts of our sport.  But to have a great team, or a great program or to leave a great legacy it's important to stop and remind ourselves where we came from.

This season the boys' and girls' teams have been at the top of their game with the boys currently at 8-2 and the girls at 10-0 and both teams coming off high finishes at the McIntyre Twilight Invitational just last weekend.  If the girls get an expected victory against Wellesley this coming Tuesday October 23rd, it will mark the first time in program history that the Lady Rockets will have won a Bay State Conference Championship.  Equally impressive, the #17 ranked Needham boys http://ma.milesplit.com/articles/93770-top-25-coaches-poll-10-08-12 are well positioned to make a run at the All-State Championships next month, an honor that has not been achieved in 28 years!

Through a bit of research and uncovering of results, it appears that NHS cross country used to be a powerhouse program in year's past.  The boys' team won the Bay State Conference Championships in 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975 and 1984 and qualified for All-States in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1984.  In 1970, the boys' team placed 2nd at All-States and in 1971 they won the Divisional Championships!  Needham has had numerous individual success stories too beginning with back-to-back Divisional Championships by Paul Keating in 1969 and 1970 at none other than Franklin Park.  Following the success of Keating, teammates Steve McMorrow and Tim Sullivan took the same titles in 1974 and 1975 respectively.  In recent memory, the Rockets have qualified four individuals for All-States; Charles Beard (class of '06), Sam Miller (class of '08), Dan Shields (class of '10) and Tommy Kelley (class of '14).

On the girls' side, the evidence is a little less clear.  According to Neil Duross (cross country and track coach at NHS from 1969 to 1984) "in 1974 we had one girl on the team... in 1979 several fairly good girl runners were on the team. The next several years the girls got better and better but they were never recognized as an official team."  MSTCA official Kevin O'Malley coached at Needham in the 80s and 90s and wrote the following: "The BSC was probably the last conference to add girl teams. The girls ran the JV races until I think Newton North and Brookline came into the league. Newton dominated and Walpole had some great teams.  Katie Masselam was the best NHS runner in XC as she made All-States twice, and was a Division 3 All-American at Middlebury."  More recently, four athletes from NHS have qualified individually for All-States; Emily Lipman (class of '08), Katina Russell (class of '10), Olivia Nolan (class of '12) and Caroline Turner (class of '13).  The last and possibly only girls' team from Needham to qualify for All-States was in the fall of 2010.

This fall has been a special one for the Rockets.  Both teams have worked hard, competed well and begun to see the fruits of their labor.  But there are still meets to be won and championships to be tackled before it's all said and done and I for one am excited to see what the future holds!

         Left to right: Mark Murray (Wellesley 2 mile record holder), Eric Kilburn (Needham 2 mile record holder), Steve Ridge (880 yard record holder) and Rich Benner (Wellesley 1 mile record holder).

Steve McMorrow (Needham 1 mile record holder) and Rich Benner in 1972 Cross Country Dual Meet @ Wellesley

Needham's Tim Sullivan and Wellesley's Paul Murray

Tim Sullivan of Needham leading  the Bay State Conference Championships in 1977 - Between '73 and '77 Needham only lost 3 XC meets.  Tim only lost one dual meet from his sophmore to senior years.

Undefeated Needham 1975 - In Fall 1975 Needham went 1, 2, 4, 6 at the conference meet with Scott Walters, Tim Sullivan, Chris Laucks, and Kevin McMorrow. At Divisionals they went 1, 6, 12, 20 with Sullivan, Walters, Laucks and Kevin McMorrow.

Photos courtesy of Rich Benner

Girls Win McIntyre Twilight; Boys FInish 3rd!

Saturday evening October 13th at the Barnstable Fairgrounds in Falmouth the sun began to set and the temperature dropped into the low 40s but the Rockets' afterburners glowed hot!  The girls' team continued to impress as they beat all-comers in the large school division varsity race scoring 47 points to outdistance Newton South with 78 and Notre Dame Academy Hingham with 83.  The victory marked the first major invitational win for the girls' team in program history and hopefully will springboard them into post-season success.

The field bolted from the starting line, a mass of bodies coursing with adrenaline.  Needham quickly formed a pack at the front with Caroline Turner, Margie Cullen, Sarah Armstrong, Julianna Donovan and Katie Horton all running in the top 15.  Turner and Cullen passed the one mile mark in a brisk 5:44 with Armstrong and Donovan at 5:50 and Horton another five seconds back.  During the second lap of the three lap 5k course, it became evident that Needham was firing on all cylinders as all five girls hit two miles in under 12:30.  With just over a half mile remaining, Cullen began to open up a small gap on Turner as the two ran tough all the way to the line finishing in 3rd (18:48) and 5th (18:57) respectively.  Donovan, Armstrong and Horton contributed greatly to the team's success finishing in 11th (19:20), 12th (19:21) and 19th (19:55).  Remarkably, Needham improved its team's top five average time on the same course by one minute 37 seconds from one year ago!

Not to be outdone, the NHS boys' team ran their hearts out to finish third in the team competition a mere three points behind perennial powerhouse Brookline.  Up front, the Warriors' Aaron Klein and the Rockets' Adrian Amaya fought back and forth before the fast early pace took its toll on a tiring Amaya as Klein beat him down the stretch.  Amaya still managed to record his second fastest time of the season finishing 6th overall in 16:12.  Behind Amaya, Tyler Hagen continued to impress as he ran a gutsy race to finish 10th in a big personal best time of 16:20.  Tommy Kelley ran tough to finish 32nd in 16:52, with John Benner, Alex Elman, Liam Walsh and Zak Heier rounding out the top seven.
Bishop Feehan won decisively by taking the overall team title with 53 points, Brookline was second with 135 and Needham squeaked into third with 138 beating Cambridge Rindge and Latin by 6 points.

Other highlights on the night for the Rockets included three finishers in the top 15 of the boys' JV race as Drew Khalaj finished 10th in 17:35, Mike Newfield 12th in 17:39 and Alex Turner 14th in 17:45.  Brendan Gillis also had a great race to finish 21st in 17:55.  For all four athletes it was their first time breaking the 18:00 barrier.  In the girls' JV race Daria Fortin continued her run back to form after an injury layoff and finished 22nd overall in 21:33.  Hayley Rayment had a phenomenal effort to finish 48th in 22:22 cutting one minute and 43 seconds off her personal best time!

Full results can be found at: http://ma.milesplit.com/meets/122500-bob-mcintyre-twilight-cross-country-invitational-meet

Next up for Needham is a dual meet on Tuesday October 16th versus Framingham at FHS.  The meet is scheduled to begin with the varsity boys' race at 4:00 p.m.

Rockets Defeat Natick; Dismantle Norwood

JV boys getting ready at the start.

Emily Wills runs in the rain.

Wednesday October 10th, the Rockets traveled across town to Elm Bank Reservation in Natick to take on the Red and Blue and the Mustangs and both boys' and girls' teams came away victorious.  The varsity boys' race took an unusual direction with Natick opting to run a tempo and sacrifice the meet in preparation for their dual with Walpole next week.  The Rockets had been planning on marking the pace of their rivals but after a slow first mile on the pancake-flat course it was apparent that Natick was not prepared to rise to the occasion.  Meanwhile Norwood, a program that has struggled in recent years, was never a part of the equation.  The Rockets ran together as a pack and finished 1-9 on the 2.5 mile course to beat both teams 15-50.  Captain Zak Heier was officially given the win in a time of 14:54.  Finishing with the senior were, Alex Turner, John Benner, Alex Elman, Liam Walsh, Brendan Gillis, Adrian Amaya, Tyler Hagen and Tommy Kelley.

Varsity boys get down to business.

A mere half hour earlier, freshman Drew Khalaj led the way in the JV race upping the tempo during the later stages to get the victory.  In a highly unusual situation, Khalaj's winning time of 14:24 turned out to be the fastest time on the day by a full 30 seconds!  Finishing behind the fleet freshman were a large group of Needham athletes taking places 3-12.  The JV race also set the stage for a dominant effort by the Lady Rockets as they took 6 of the top 10 spots.  The race was led from start to finish by junior Daria Fortin making her return from injury and getting the win in 18:03.  Sophomore Claire Connors crossed the finish line next to make it a Needham one, two.

Varsity girls run tough against Sarah Lagan.

The varsity girls race was expected to be an easy affair with the plan being to group up and run with Natick's top finisher.  As it turned out, no one knew about sophomore transfer Sarah Lagan who ran to the front and stayed there for the entirety of the 2.5 mile race.  Shadowing the Natick stand-out were senior captain Caroline Turner and freshmen Margie Cullen, Sarah Armstrong and Julianna Donovan.  With less than a half mile remaining, the Rockets began to pull away but Lagan hung tough and ended up out kicking the quartet to the finish line winning in 15:36.  Natick's Erin Murphy finished in 6th place and closing out the scoring for the Rockets were senior captain Hallie Armstrong in 7th, sophomore Katie Horton in 8th and junior Rachel Blaustein in 10th.  Needham won the meet beating Natick 21-40 and Norwood 15-49 to extend their conference record to 9-0!

Full results can be found at: http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/School.aspx?SchoolID=19349.

Saturday October 13th, the Rockets travel to Falmouth to compete in the 2nd Annual Bob McIntyre Twilight Invitational at Barnstable Fair Grounds.

Order of Races:

4:30pm            9^th Grade Boys                                    2.1 miles
4:45pm            9^th Grade Girls                                    2.1 miles
5:05pm            10^th Grade Boys                                  3.1 miles
5:25pm            10^th Grade Girls                                  3.1 miles
5:55pm            J.V. Girls                                             3.1 miles
6:25pm            J.V. Boys                                            3.1 miles
6:50pm            Girls Varsity    large schools                3.1 miles
7:20pm            Girls Varsity   small schools                3.1 miles
7:50pm            Boys Varsity  large schools                 3.1 miles
8:25pm            Boys Varsity   small schools               3.1 miles

Rocket Harriers Race North to Thetford Invitational

Saturday October 6th members of the boys and girls cross country teams traveled to Thetford, Vermont to compete in the prestigious 22nd Annual Woods Trail Run.  It was the first trip to Vermont for the Rockets and was planned into the schedule to give the runners an opportunity to compete on one of the most challenging cross country courses in all of New England as well as simulate what the Rockets hope to experience in November at Northfield Mountain for All-States.  As the first races on the day began, the clouds looked heavy and dark in the sky and drops of rain splashed down on the course threatening to turn the 5k circuit into a mud bath.

The first race on the day for the Rockets was the 2nd seed girls race which saw junior Haley Rayment and senior Marie Leirvaag cover the unrelenting course in 26:02 and 26:27 respectively.  When asked by her teammates how the race was, Rayment alluded to the difficulty of the course and of Morty's Monster, a 600 meter long giant of a hill at 3 kilometers in, by saying "don't think about the hill until you get to it... it was fun though".

Next up for the girls was the 1st seed race which saw the Lady Rockets in a position they've become familiar with this season; finishing high up in the team results.  Senior captain Caroline Turner and Freshman Margie Cullen worked well together during the race and moved up through the field.  At the end, Cullen outsprinted her teammate to take 15th place overall in 20:55, while the veteran captain finished one spot and four seconds behind.  Freshmen Julianna Donovan and Sarah Armstrong continue to run well together and finished in the front of the pack placing 24th and 25th respectively with excellent times of 21:18 and 21:19.  And closing out the scoring for the Rockets was senior captain Hallie Armstrong again running a controlled effort to cross the line in 67th place in 22:27.  Behind the top five, came sophomore Katie Horton (22:51), junior Rachel Blaustein (22:53) and sophomore Claire Connors (24:34).  By finishing 4 runners in the top 25, Needham closed the point gap to Amherst Regional (the only team that beat them at the Amherst Invitational two weeks earlier) by scoring 144 to Amherst's 123 and finishing 4th in the team standings out of a total of 41!

As the day wore on, the rain got heavier and the course conditions worsened.  By the time the 1st seed boys race began, patches of the course were mud-slicked and saturated with water.  The Rockets knowing what they were up against, took a conservative approach to the race and started out at a controlled pace.  Junior Adrian Amaya running with the top group, hit the one mile mark at 5:17.  Behind him ran senior Tyler Hagen and junior Tommy Kelley both passing the first split in 5:30.  Amaya kept up the steady pace working hard during the second half to finish 9th overall in a stellar time of 17:28.  Hagen too ran a very gutsy race finishing in 17th just 11 seconds behind Amaya.  Meanwhile, Kelley and freshman John Benner worked through the course taking the uphills in stride and the downhills at ferocious speeds finishing 44th in 18:20 and 51st in 18:28.  Rounding out the Needham squad were junior Alex Elman (18:51), sophomore Liam Walsh (18:52), seniors Brendan Gillis (19:30) and Zak Heier (19:33) and freshman Alex Turner (19:48).  Well after the race was finished and the boys' team had taken their cool down, the race organizers were announcing the top team finishes and somewhat to their surprise, the boys snagged a 5th place out of the 51 teams represented!

For full results go to: www.lancertiming.com

Race video: http://vt.milesplit.com/meets/101573-22nd-annual-woods-trail-run

For race photos go to: http://public.fotki.com/dugaut/woods-trail-run/

Next up for Needham is a double dual meet with Natick and Norwood on Wednesday October 10th.  The meet will be held at Elm Bank in Natick and is scheduled to begin with a co-ed JV race at 4:00.