Amherst Regional girls cross country team showcases depth in fourth straight WMass Class A title

WESTFIELD — It’s a four-peat for the Amherst Regional girls cross country team.

The Hurricanes scored 32 points as a team to secure their fourth consecutive Western Massachusetts Class A championship at Stanley Park on Sunday.

Genevieve Dole’s third-place finish in 20 minutes, 15 seconds topped Amherst’s impressive pack of scorers as it had five runners place in the top 11, which bested cross-town rival Northampton’s 38-point team score, to retain the Class A crown yet again.

“I think we all worked together really well,” Dole said. “We just trusted that we could all do it together.”

Sunday’s meet offered ideal running conditions as the sun was shining, but the temperature hovered around 50 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the morning and afternoon sessions.

The ‘Canes made the most of the cooperating weather conditions as all seven of its runners broke the 21-minute threshold in the 5K event.

After Dole, Ella Austin (fifth place, 20:20), Lilly Pope (sixth place, 20:22), Nina Holden (seventh place, 20:25) and Ella Jamate (11th, 20:51) came in for Amherst in quick succession.

According to Pope, the Hurricanes executed their objective of sectoring off the 3.1-mile course into three checkpoints as a way to remind themselves where to pick up the pace.

“Our race plan is to build off of the mile [markers], where the [markers] are on the course, and so we know how we’re going to run for each of the field loops,” Pope said. “Then we get into the back it’s a lollipop [style loop], so it definitely helps.”

Austin admitted having teammates within sight the entire race helped motivate the junior as well, who was one of three Amherst girls to achieve a personal-best.

“Genevieve’s really pushing me,” Austin said. “It was nice seeing people in front of me and hearing people behind me, noticing my team around me and being pushed by them.”

Considering all the talent the Hurricanes lost to graduation from last year’s squad — three of their top-five runners in the 2024 Class A meet were seniors — Sunday’s victory showed you should never underestimate the maroon-and-white in a cross-country competition.

“Something about our team culture is that it draws in so many new people every year,” Dole said. “Everyone is really inspired to work hard and get the most out of themselves and that’s happened with, I think about half of our varsity, is fully new.”

While the Blue Devils took the runner-up plaque as a team, junior Mairead O’Neil won the girls race, crossing the finish line in 18:37. Northampton’s fleet-footed racer finished nearly a minute faster than second-place finisher Maggie Joyce of Minnechaug, who came in at 19:35.

“She’s one of our captains and she’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been privileged to coach,” Northampton coach Caroline Clark said. “She really deserved this win today.”

The Blue Devils quartet of Maddalena Figueroa-Starr (fourth place, 20:18), Zea Meerbergen (ninth place, 20:33), Charlotte Shimpach (10th place, 20:36) and Mia Levy (14th place, 20:54) followed in behind O’Neil as their five scorers and each received medals for coming in 15-place or better.

The biggest difference between the two Hampshire County powers came in each team’s spread between its first and fifth runners at Stanley Park.

The finishing times between O’Neil and Levy for Northampton were 2:17 apart, while the split between Dole and Jamate for Amherst was just 35 seconds.

“Compared to last year, I think we came together better than last year,” Clark said. “Coming from a coach’s perspective, that’s all we can really ask for. Amherst is a great team.”

On the boys side, the Hurricanes nearly completed the Class A sweep, but fell short with a second-place team finish with 49 points.

Longmeadow won the boys race with 40 points, mirroring the 2024 result as the Lancers and ‘Canes counted as the two best boys teams in Class A, once again.

Unlike a year ago, Amherst’s Calvin Miller won the boys race this time around, nabbing the winning time in 15:44. Last year, Miller grabbed third place and did not break 16 minutes.

“It was definitely a goal for me to come our here and take first,” Miller said. “I was hoping I could do it this season, just based on all our dual meets. I expected that finish. As a team, we were definitely trying to go for first… but everybody had a great race today.”

The Hurricanes’ top five after Miller included Peter Nedeau (seventh place, 16:07), Nico Lisle (10th place, 16:18), Sam Woodruff (14th place, 16:48) and Calvin Cusick (17th, 16:57).

Northampton took third place, accumulating 98 points in the boys race, with a pair of its runners earning medals as top-15 finishers. Henry Daggett (12th place, 16:41) and Gus Frey (15th place, 16:53) claimed the hardware, while Shea O’Neil (18th place, 17:06), Dashiell Kruckemeyer (23rd place, 17:27) and Pranav Belur (28th place, 17:39) rounded out the Blue Devils scorers.

More than 160 athletes competed in the Class A varsity races on Sunday.