NORTHFIELD — Chris Vayda knew all he had to do was start strong and stay consistent through the second half of the 3.1-mile course on Saturday, and that’s exactly what he did.
The Hampshire Regional senior placed first overall in 16 minutes, 43.15 seconds to win his second straight Western Massachusetts Division 2 Boys Cross Country Championship, at Northfield Mountain.
Lenox Memorial took the team championship with a score of 52. Monson (95) and Monument Mountain (103) rounded out the top three to qualify for the state meet at Gardner Municipal Golf Course on Nov. 16.
The Raiders finished fifth (130). Nitesh Roncone (26th, 8:45.38) and Max MacFadzen (33rd, 18:53.67) filled out Hampshire’s top three.
Vayda became the second Hampshire boy to win back-to-back Western Mass. titles. Jim Hallet (1978-79) also accomplished the feat.
“I was at a pretty consistent pace from the start,” Vayda said. “I kinda knew I was going to win just from going up the hill really fast. I knew I just had to keep it going after that. … (Lenox’s Ted Yee) really pushed me at the end there. I just had to push and keep my distance on him.”
Yee finished second in 16:54.11.
This year’s trip to the state championship meet will be Vayda’s fourth. He hopes to improve on his 26th place finish at last year’s championship.
“I want to try and get top-five this year,” Vayda said.
Hopkins Academy sophomore Johnathon Hanscom missed qualifying for the state meet as a freshman by one second.
It didn’t come down to a second this time.
Hanscom played 13th and qualified for the state meet in 18:03.64.
“It feels good,” Hanscom said. “The cold got to me today. I cramped up really bad in the second or third mile, but it feels really good after last year to be honest.”
Most runners see the hill at Northfield Mountain as the course’s biggest obstacle. Hanscom saw it as an opportunity.
“I think the hills are my strength,” Hanscom said. “I’ve been working on hills the last few months. I think I was around 30th going up the hill and then at the top of the hill I was around 15th. I passed a lot of people on the hills. Once you get to the top it’s just a bunch of rolling downhills. Once you get up there that is when you start letting go and kicking a little bit.”
The state championship meet is uncharted territory for Hanscom. He isn’t going into the race with any expectations.
“It’ll be my first time. Obviously everyone who is there is a qualified runner,” Hanscom said. “I’m just looking to run my race.”
Frontier Regional placed eighth. Granby (12th), Hopkins Academy (14th), Gateway Regional (15th) and Easthampton (19th) were among the 23 teams competing.