PICS!!!
It’s been an action packed week for us at Mascenic and I want to apologize to those individuals (and
teams) it did a disservice to. I neglected to accurately reflect the makeup of the races by leaving out the surging Newfound girls squad (which awkwardly we have an association through our JO XC program) and Merrimack’s Melanie Bedard who I had highlighted previously for Manchester I believe. Either way, those oversights were not intentional and anyone who knows the history of my writing knows it’s happened before and goes hand in hand with my misnaming people as well (isn’t that right Annie Oakley!).
But neither my lack of competence or the threat of rain could dampen the events of the evening. On a cool, humid but amazingly dry night, perfect for both racing and spectating, the atmosphere was just vibing for the Second annual Moonlight Madness, hosted by Monadnock at the Cheshire fairgrounds. The two loop course that weaves it’s way around the flat and fast fairgrounds allows for lots of fan participation as the racers fly by. And fly by they did.
The girls race went off right at 7pm with Merrimack’s Bedard at the fore, with Keene’s Lily Runez and Abigail Pinegar chasing and the O’Shea twins of Mascenic, Amelia Hill of Conant, and Fall Mountain’s Jenna Fillion tucked in behind. The chase pack consisted off Mascenic’s Emma Schaumloffel and Skye Lambert, Newfound’s Emerald Briggs and Ceili Irving, Bow’s Julia Hou and Hanna Pawlowski, Fall Mountain’s Kelly Ranta and Keene’s Ella Hoy.
By 1000 meters in, Bedard had a small gap on the field, with the O’Sheas and Pinegar and Runez beginning to stretch back. The chase pack was still pretty tight with subtle surges going on as the condensed crew was looking for space to be able to keep the pace quick.
As the athletes came back into the fairgrounds area from up on the parking hill around a mile and a half, Bedard was still out front, with Erin O’Shea and Fillion giving chase, and Runez with a slight gap over Kaitlin O’Shea. This top five had separated from the chase pack which was starting to splinter as well. Briggs was now at the front of the chase pack with Lambert and Schaumloffel rolling hard, with Pinegar and Hou holding on the move. At this point it appeared that Keene was winning a tight team battle with Mascenic as their 4-7 were fronting that secondary pack.
Things would stay pretty much the same until the racers headed out into the parking area where the only hill on the course existed. While it has only a slight grade to it, when the pace is so hot the effect of the hill is amplified. Cresting the top you have a fairly short but steep drop back down to the fairgrounds, reentering the fully lighted area with about 800 meters to go.
And by this point Erin O’Shea had taken over the leading duties with Fillion right on her hip and Bedard gamely looking to hold on. Runez was working hard to close the gap to Bedard with Kaitlin O’Shea falling in between the top pack and the chase pack.
And the top five spots would maintain through the finish with Erin stopping the clock at 19:17, with Fillion four seconds back. The top four would all break the 20 minute mark. Rounding out the top ten would be the Forgotten Briggs in sixth, Pinegar in seventh, Lambert in eighth, Hou in ninth, and Schaumloffel who tripped on the pavement coming off the hill holding on in tenth.
With four in the top ten, Mascenic was able to hold off Keene, 49 to 65. While Keene was successful in putting all seven scoring runners in before Mascenic’s fifth, four in the top ten was too much to overcome. The “forgotten” Newfound Bears would finish in third with 102 points, winning in a tie to Fall Mountain, as Newfound’s Reece Cutting as the sixth runner finished just in front of Fall Mountain’s sixth, seventh and eighth runners, emphasizing how every point counts.
Girls Results – Courtesy of North Star Timing
In the boys race, Keene’s Sully Sturz is the returning champion, and on paper the person to beat. Gilford’s freshman phenom by way of Texas, Bocceli Howland-Vlahakis would be looking to give him a test along with a strong trio from the host team Monadnock, in Carlton Lampinen, Peyton and Jace Joslyn. And at the gun, Sturz and Peyton would go straight to the front, with Howland-Vhalakis (HV) tucked in right behind. Right behind them was the entire field over the first half mile as the pace began somewhat conservatively before really getting going.
By the mile and a half, Sturz would lead Peyton and HV by about 30 meters, with a gap back to a chase pack of Lampinen, Fall Mountain’s Ben Tetu, Newfound’s Evan and Colin Foster, Jace Joslyn and Keene’s Ian Cardinale.
In the end Sturz would simply keep pressing the accelerator, continuing to string out the pack, crossing the line in 15:43. HV had passed and put a slight gap on Peyton, but Joslyn would be able to call on that finishing speed that earned him a trip to Outdoor Nationals in track to finish second, one second up on Howland-Vhalakis. Lampinen would show how he’s the best candidate to replace Carter Sylvester as his similar running style and ability to chew through a field by finishing fourth. Teto would separate from the chase pack to finish fifth. Behind the top five, Evan Foster would lead the pack in, in sixth, with Jace Joslyn in seventh, Cardinale eighth, Colin Foster ninth and David Northcott with a big second half in tenth.
D1 Keene would win this one by placing their top five in the top twenty, 57 -94 over Monadnock. Initially it looked like Fall Mountain had beaten Monadnock, but with no middle school team they have an eighth grader that runs with them but finished as their fifth guy. When a school has seven eligible high schoolers, the score must be composed of the first five high school athletes. Regardless, Fall Mountain was able to finish a close third with 100 points.
(Personal side note: This is probably the most festive meet we have ever attended. The course is solid and fast, without being easy. This being the second year for many of the teams, they really embraced the concept of running in the dark, with many glow bracelets, blinking wrist and headbands, and other celebratory gear. The advent of the Chicken legs brand shorts, worn by Mascenic and Newfound, all contributed to the fun vibe that the teams were presenting, backed by the joyous support of the fans, makes this a destination event in NH high school cross country.)
Boys Results – Courtesy of North Star Timing
