XC Teams Win Season Openers against Braintree, Dedham

Wednesday September 12th, the boys and girls cross country teams cruised to victory against Braintree and Dedham exhibiting a controlled and calculated effort.

The first race of the afternoon was a junior varsity 2.5 kilometer course where the boys team displayed both strength and depth with 19 of the top 20 finishers.  Sophomore Derek Howes and freshman Alex Cohen took the pace out hard from the gun and separated themselves from the field early on.  The duo worked together through out the race to pull away from their competition before Howes ultimately kicked past his teammate for the win in a time of 9:08.  Cohen finished a close second in 9:10.  

Derek Howes and Alex Cohen leading the way.

The girls' race featured a quartet of Needham athletes running together with junior Alex Clifford edging out her teammate Emily Wills 12:59 to 13:02 for the win.  Finishing 5th and 14th for the Lady Rockets in the JV race was Camille Manoukian and Allie Stern.

Alex Clifford on her way to victory.

Next up for the Rockets was the varsity boys race which saw team tactics in effect as a group of twelve athletes ran together in a pack.  Just past halfway, there was a lead change as the group of Needham runners swallowed up two of Braintree's who were beginning to tire from their early pace setting.  The blue and gold train continued to maintain speed and finished with nine runners in ahead of Braintree or Dedham's number one.  Adrian Amaya, Tommy Kelley, Alex Elman, John Benner, Liam Walsh and Ben Baron all finished with the identical time of 18:33 for the 5 kilometer course.  The boys' team swept both Braintree and Dedham 15-50.

The Pack

In the varsity girls' race, a different team tactic was employed with equal success.  With several members of the varsity squad sitting out due to injury or illness, the Lady Rockets chose to put their opposition away early.  Sophomore Katie Horton and freshman Margie Cullen pulled away from their teammates and competition in the first several hundred meters of the race.  The two worked well together maintaining a comfortable lead throughout.  As they neared the finish line, both athletes sprinted for victory with Horton getting the better of her teammate 20:45 to 20:46.  Meanwhile, Sarah Armstrong, Rachel Blaustein and Claire Connors were getting the job done in the third, fourth and fifth positions and helping the team to a 16-47 victory over Braintree and a 16-45 victory over Dedham.

Katie Horton (r) and Margie Cullen running to a 1, 2 finish.

Sarah Armstrong, Rachel Blaustein and Claire Connors nearing the one mile mark.

Next up for the Rockets is another double-dual against Milton and perennial powerhouse Weymouth.  The meet will be held Wednesday September 19th at Houghton's Pond in Milton and is scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m.

Full results are posted at http://www.athletic.net/CrossCountry/School.aspx?SchoolID=19349.

Photos courtesy of Kim Benner