September 20, 2008

Dahlberg Leads Newton South to 18:37 (!!) Average at Amherst

The races might be a bit longer, but she still knows how to win them.

On a cool, clear day that was ideal for fast times, NS senior Bridget Dahlberg (18:13) led Newton South to a 1-2-4-6-11 finish at Saturday's Amherst Invitational, as the Lions confirmed that they are one of the very best teams in the Northeast region. Junior Madeline Reed was right behind Dahlberg in 18:14, and Kelsey Karys and Kathy O'Keefe also ran under 19:00. It's early yet, but this team has the potential to be one of the best teams in the history of Massachusetts XC.

South scored a paltry 24 points, far ahead of host Amherst and Concord-Carlisle, both of whom finished with 116 points.

Amherst Invitational Varsity Girls Results

The Newton South boys had a great race themselves, as they averaged 16:20 for their top five and finished second with 97 points to Danbury (CT), and ahead of host Amherst and defending state champs Brookline, among others, in one of the strongest boys field at this race in years, if not ever.

Brookline's David Wilson won the race in a (course record?) 15:23, 9 seconds ahead of Nashoba junior Brendan Aylaian. Newton South's Andrew Wortham was third in 15:34, as an unprecedented 7 runners went under 16:00. Other than Brookline, the only other Bay State team competing was Needham, who finished 10th. The Rockets were led by Jake Newfield (24th, PR 16:33).

Amherst Invitational Varsity Boys Results

In case anyone missed the point, Newton South showed off its depth in the JV races, winning both the Boys and Girls events. The NS boys averaged 17:45, while the NS girls averaged 21:03. Yikes. A couple of years ago, we thought we would never see a girls team with the depth of Lincoln-Sudbury, but now...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

7th runner 15th place 19:33 wow

seeherman said...

comparing this NSHS team to 1996 NNHS (which scored a scary 49 points to win the state title) . . . wow 18:37is remarkable - significantly outclassing the 96 team. This could be one of the best MA teams ever.