CMass Profile: Shrewsbury

There are lots of reasons not to take the MSTCA XC polls too seriously, but they're harmless and fun so why not take a look every now and then?

As of 10/26/08, the Boys D1 Poll looks like this:

1. Mansfield
2. Newton South
3. Amherst-Pelham
4. Methuen
5. Nashoba
6. Shrewsbury
7. St. John's (Shrewsbury)
8. St. John's Prep. (Danvers)
9. Whitman-Hanson Reg
10. Brookline
11. Lexington
12. Reading
14. Xaverian
14. Lowell
15. North Andover
16. Newton North
17. Dennis-Yarmouth
18. Hudson
19. Cathedral (Springfield)
20. Northampton

A couple of comments here: I think Brookline and Newton North are ranked a little too low. But then, there are always lots of ways to look at the lower half of a list like this and make the case for any given team.

Secondly, I think Methuen is the not-so-dark horse here. after dominating the MVC conference meet, I think they have a real shot at the State title and no one should be surprised by them any more.

But the thing that really strikes me about the list above is the presence of two teams from Shrewsbury in the top six. It's not surprising to see perpetual power St. John's there, but where did Shrewsbury H.S. come from, and why are they ranked so high?

Shrewsbury competes in the Midland Wachusett "A" Division in CMass, which includes Algonquin, Fitchburg, Leominster, Milford, North Middlesex, and Wachusett Regional. This year the Colonials won their division with a 6-0 league record, and went 8-1 on the season, losing only to Nashoba. On Wednesday, Shrewsbury won their league meet, going 1-2-3 (WITHOUT running their John Murray, their top guy).

At the Bay State Invitational Shrewsbury finished 7th behind Whitman-Hanson, Xaverian, and Newton North. Their top five were:

 11 #4114 murray, john        10 Shrewsbury               16:33   10             
 26 #4103 frissora, anthony   12 Shrewsbury               16:51   24             
 43 #4102 Favulli, chris      11 Shrewsbury               17:17   39             
 53 #4111 mcAllister, liam    12 Shrewsbury               17:25   49 
136 #4113 morrissey, max      11 Shrewsbury               18:27  130 

Obviously, that gap to their fifth man cost them dearly. On that day, they were missing their usual fith man, Matt D'Urzo, who would certainly have finished well under 18:00.

They did not race their varsity at the Wachusett Invitational (10/18), so it's a little hard to know where they stand right now.

Sophomore John Murray is a real talent, but has had a hip injury that has curtailed his racing this fall. if he's healthy when he races, he can go a lot faster. Anthony Frissora has done very well in the 800/1000 in track (1:59 800) and is having a fine season in XC. Liam McAllister also made big improvements last spring in track as an 800/1M guy and is having his best ever XC season.

To advance to the state meet from Central Mass, Shrewsbury has to finish in the top three in CMass Div I, where they will face Nashoba and SJS. If they make it, and if they find a reliable fifth man, they might just deserve that ranking.