Published in the October 17, 2018 edition
NORTHFIELD — The Warrior boys’ cross country team took on Northfield Mountain on Saturday in a preview of the 2018 All State course in November.
The meet was made of three races that included the top teams in Massachusetts, including the top five ranked teams. The Warriors came away with a third place finish in the “Scott Burdick” race behind Wellesley, the likely favorite for the All State title, and Franklin, another very strong group. Placing behind the Warriors were the defending All State Champions, St. John’s of Shrewsbury. There were 21 teams in that race, and after compiling results from all three races the Warriors would be 6th out of over 60 teams.
The conditions made for an exciting race. The first 400 meters of the race took the pack through muddied trails following a rain-soaked morning. This led to a black diamond climb all the way to the one mile mark, before following a two mile decent through the winding trails back to the base of the mountain.
THE BAY STATE INVITATIONAL looked more like a Tough Mudder at Northfield Mountain on Saturday. The Warriors, led by captain Rohan Singhvi (right, 11th overall, 17:07) and Matt Roberto (12th, 17:09), learned the ins and outs of a course they will see in November for the All State Meet. (Courtesy Photo)
Time was not important as Northfield Mountain is one of the most challenging cross country courses in the northeast.
Senior captain Rohan Singhvi placed 11th to lead the Warriors after being back in 25th at the first mile marker. Singhvi finished with a time of 17:07.
Junior Matt Roberto moved up from his 15th place finish last year to place 12th behind Singhvi in 17:09 in a much more competitive race than a year ago.
Senior captain Casey Brackett finished as Wakefield’s 3rd man with a time of 17:36, placing 26th and just missing a medal by one place.
Junior Tanner Jellison placed 43rd in a time of 18:05.
Junior Trevor Zupan placed 58th with a time of 18:21 to finish the scoring as the Warriors 4th and 5th man.
Senior captain Billy Stevens placed 62nd in 18:26 just behind Zupan.
Sophomore Jonathan D’Ambrosio was 86th in a time of 18:40.
The rest of the Warriors to compete were sophomore Cory Sample (20:08), sophomore Zack Jellison (20:11), freshman Michael Roberto (20:16), sophomore Andrew Roos (21:17) and sophomore Aaron Canestaro (21:27).
The Warriors beat Watertown in a league meet yesterday. A full story will appear at a later date.
Wakefield will head to the Cape on Saturday for the Twilight Invitational under the lights of the Barnstable Fairgrounds in Falmouth.
