MacLellan wins CAL Open, gets 2nd at Div. 4 States

Published November 15, 2018

WRENTHAM — On a cold and at times windy morning, the Hornet cross country teams finished up their team campaigns as they competed in the EMass Division 4 State Championship at Wrentham Developmental Center on Saturday morning. The girls’ team finished right in the middle of the pack as they took 10th out of 20 teams and the boys’ team fought hard but were 22nd out of 23 teams.

MacLellan and Hadley lead the Hornet Attack

Junior Lindsay MacLellan once again demonstrated her dominance as she finished 2nd overall in the Division IV race with a time of 19:01.86. She bested 3rd overall by 28 seconds.

“Lindsay’s hard work and dedication has obviously paid off tremendously this season,” said Hornet Coach Ryan Spinney. “She truly has become one of the elite in the state and it is pleasure to watch her continue to push herself to new heights each and every week.”

JUNIOR Lindsay MacLellan (left) was the first in school history to finish first in the cross country CAL Open. She did so by defeating Eve Feuerbach of Manchester-Essex who was responsible for MacLellan’s only second-place finish of the year earlier in the season. MacLellan went on to get second at the Div. 4 State Meet and will race at All States on Sunday in Westfield. (John Friberg File Photo)

Senior Grace Hadley who missed every meet except Lynnfield and CAL’s this season due to injury, ran exceptionally well on minimal training as she took 19th overall in a time of 20:28.36.

“Grace is one tough cookie,” said Spinney. “If she was able to compete all season I have no doubt she would have been right in the thick of things in the CAL and at the state level. She truly is an exceptionally driven and talented runner.”

Following MacLellan and Hadley was freshman Abigail McLaughlin as she took 71st overall in a time of 22:22.52.

“Abigail had a tremendous first season competing at the high school level. She got her feet wet and knows what effort it will take to get better next season. She is just scratching the surface of her potential,” stated Spinney.

Junior Ali Grasso took 80th overall in a time of 22:36.68. Senior Charlotte Grant snagged 110th overall in a time of 23:29.25. Senior captain Samantha Martel took 128th overall in a time of 24:39.49 and junior Emily Slavin rounded out the Hornet attack with 134th place in 24:59.89.

“Ali, Charlotte, Samantha and Emily had outstanding seasons all around. They worked extremely hard and should be proud of all their accomplishments. This group was among one of the very best I have ever had the privilege of coaching,” stated Spinney.

Lindsay MacLellan has one last race as she will be competing in the Division 2 All State Championship on Sunday in Westfield at Stanley Park.

Boys team finishes strong despite the team place

Led by Junior Andrew DeBenedetto, the Hornets finished up with a 22nd place overall in the Division IV state championship race. DeBenedetto had one of his best races of the year as he cracked the top 30 with a 29th place finish in a time of 17:48.93.

“Andrew has been our ace all season long,” said Spinney. “He has really worked hard to be the number one runner for us and I am so happy for him to get in the top 30 in the toughest race of the season for our team.”

JUNIOR Andrew DeBenedetto worked hard to be North Reading’s number one runner this year. He finished 22nd overall in the Div. 4 State Meet last weekend. (File Photo)

Following DeBenedetto was sophomore Jack Murphy who took 112th place in a time of 19:27.71.

“Jack really grew as a runner this season. He took it upon himself to really push and understand what commitment it takes to be a state caliber runner. He will be a force next fall,” stated Spinney.

Rounding out the Hornet attack was senior Karlis Plavins (137th, 20:06.20), sophomore Frank Cassarino (143rd, 20:15.86), senior captain Aidan Wyatt (153rd, 20:38.84), junior Chris Nearing (155th, 20:39.96) and senior captain Zach Rinaldi (162nd, 21:00.33).

“Karlis, Frank, Aidan, Chris and Zach had exceptionally strong campaigns for us this fall,” stated Spinney. “Frank and Chris will be back next season but the impact that our seniors had on the work ethic and dedication to getting better will not be forgotten. This team was a great one to coach and work with,” said a proud Coach Spinney.

MacLellan is first Hornet to win CAL Open

On a very rainy and muddy Thursday afternoon, the Hornet cross country teams embarked on their last league trek of the season as they competed at the Cape Ann League Championship at Woodsom Farm in Amesbury. The meet was supposed to take place the previous Saturday but inclement weather on that day caused the move to Thursday.

Junior Lindsay MacLellan and the rest of her teammates knew that the sloppy conditions of the course would require a strong tactical race from start to finish. The iron of the league, Eve Feuerbach of Manchester-Essex and Ellie Gay-Killeen of Triton looked to take down MacLellan in the varsity championship race. MacLellan had only been defeated once this season and that was to Feuerbach in a close race at Harold Parker State Forest. MacLellan was not going to let it happen again.

“Coming into the race, we all knew it was going to most likely come down to one of those three talented runners,” stated Spinney. “Lindsay was itching for a rematch with Eve and her race with Ellie at Triton a few weeks before gave her the confidence that she could win the league open.”

The race was very strategic and halfway through, as expected, all three ladies were sharing the lead along with Newburyport’s Eleanor Schulson, a talented runner in her own right. Going into the last half mile of the course and with two hills to climb, MacLellan and Feuerbach went toe-to-toe in the Amesbury countryside while the crowd anxiously waited to see who emerged in front. With less than 400 meters to go, MacLellan had put her foot on the gas and pulled away from Feuerbach in a very strong manner. She was able to gab the defending league champion by 17 seconds to win the race and be crowded league champion.

“It was one of the most impressive racing moves I have seen in a long time,” said Spinney. “Lindsay MacLellan showed the crowd the definition of exhibiting heart in a race today. She is the class of the league and it will be one moment I hope she never forgets.”

MacLellan’s teammates followed her lead as they helped the Hornets finish 6th overall out of the 10 teams competing in the event. Senior Grace Hadley finished 22nd in a time of 23:32. Freshman Abigail McLaughlin took 34th in a time of 24:47. Junior Ali Grasso finished in 40th with a time of 25:18. Senior Charlotte Grant placed 49th in a time of 26:19. Senior captain Samantha Martel (62nd, 28:29) and junior Lauren Meaney (65th, 29:07) rounded out the varsity race participants.

In the junior varsity race, junior Emily Slavin had a great race to lead the Hornets with a time of 26:48, good enough for 29th overall. Following Emily was senior Kerry O’Brien (46th, 27:44), junior Lauren Sullivan (77th, 29:16), junior Samantha Galvin (85th, 29:28), senior Nathania Brachanow (140th, 32:40), junior Elena Cogan (142nd, 32:42) and junior Kaitlyn Lehane (143rd, 32:43).

“All of the girls worked very hard today on a tough course. This was an excellent way to finish the season for the majority of the team. I am extremely proud of how they competed,” stated Spinney.

Boys take 10th out of 11, DeBenedetto the top Hornet 

In the boys’ race, the Hornets didn’t fare as well as they hoped as they took 10th overall out of 11. Junior Andrew DeBenedetto paced the Hornet attack as he took 40th overall in a time of 20:30. Following DeBenedetto was sophomore Jack Murphy (47th, 20:55), senior Karlis Plavins (66th, 22:49), sophomore Frank Cassarino (67th, 22:54), senior captain Aidan Wyatt (70th, 23:05), junior Christopher Nearing (71st, 23:43) and senior captain Zach Rinaldi (74th, 24:19) rounded out the Hornet varsity runners.

In the junior varsity race, sophomore Nick Rinaldi led the way as he took 84th overall in a time of 23:55. Others in the race included junior Nick O’Donnell (93rd, 24:27), junior Matt McGotty (102nd, 24:52), freshman Nick Doucette (105th, 25:01), sophomore PJ Menis (120th, 26:26), junior Ben Elis (149th, 29:10), sophomore Erik Wieselquist (150th, 29:22) and junior Kyle Moore (155th, 31:14).