2009 Mass. All-States

After last week's rain and mud for the EMass meet, the weather could hardly have been nicer for the All-State meet at Northfield.

Bay State teams and runners acquitted themselves well on the mountain. In the D1 Girls race, Newton North's Margo Gillis was the top finisher from the BSL, placing 8th in 19:42 (41 seconds behind Lincoln'Sudbury's Andrea Keklak who won her first individual state title). Other BSL runners competing as individuals included:

29. Katina Russell, Needham 20:21
38. Courtney Shea, Walpole 20:32
52. Molly Barker, Weymouth 21:04
73. Sarah Bowhill, Framingham 21:33

Meanwhile, Wellesley, in their first run at D1 and led by Priyanka Fouda (27th) and Jessie Kaliski (28th), placed 10th as team.

In D2, Milton placed three runners in the top 30, led by Mairead Kiernan (12th, 20:07) to earn 3rd place.

The last time the state meet was held at Northfield, a runner from Mansfield won the state title in what was considered a bit of an upset. Yesterday Mansfield's Patrick McGowan did what Ryan Collins did in 2006, winning the individual title in 16:06, leading the Hornets (133 points) to the team title.

Brookline finished third in the team standings with 153 points. I think it's interesting to note that Brookline's top six (or top 7) scored fewer points than any other team, attesting to the Warriors' depth. Other BSL runners in the race included Weymouth's Steve Solowin (15th, 16:53) and Wellesley's John Williamson (49th, 17:30).

In Boys D2, Arleigh McRae won the individual title, and favorite Pembroke put five runners in the top 25 (four of them underclassmen) to easily win the team title.