Cross country: Amherst girls capture Class A title (PHOTOS)

WESTFIELD – Every cross country team needs at least five runners to score, but ideally they should have seven. The sixth and seventh runners are the ‘break in case of emergency’ runners; their places are only counted in scoring if two teams tie.

On an unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon at the PVIAC Championships, Amherst’s extra runners in the girls’ race ended up being incredibly necessary in a duel between Northampton for the crown. Amherst’s sixth and seventh runners, Eliza Zimmermann and Brooke Nedeau, both finished ahead of Northampton’s fifth scoring runner, giving Amherst (56 points) the buffer they needed to eek out a two-point win over Northampton (58 points) for its second consecutive Class A western Mass. title. 

“I was having a really hard race, I did not feel good… at the very last minute, (Amherst coach) Elena (Betke-Brunswick) was like ‘Brooke, just start sprinting!’” Nedeau said. “I’m really glad we won, we worked really hard and I think we really deserve it.”

The top local finisher was Northampton’s Maeve O’Neil, who placed fourth overall in 20:07. Amherst’s Elizabeth Sawicki had an impressive last mile to take fifth in 20:42.

Northampton’s Mairead O’Neil finished seventh (20:45), Amherst’s Isla Cusick took eighth (21:05) and Northampton’s Tess Geis-Benton rounded out the top 10 in 10th place (21:13), just ahead of teammate Charlotte Shimpach (21:15) in 11th. Amherst’s third runner,  Maya Tkachenko Coggeshall-Burr, also had a breakout performance to medal in 14th place (22:08). 

“With our last race with Northampton we talked a lot about the scoring worked and what that would look like in a race like this, and that really each of them mattered and every person that they passed mattered, and I think they really took that to heart,” Betke-Brunswick said. 

Other notable finishers in the girls race included Amherst’s Lilly Pope (16th, 22:08) and Felix Goeckel (17th, 22:12), who were the ‘Canes fourth and fifth runners, respectively. 

On the boys’ side, Teddy King-Pollet took second in 15:55, battling with eventual winner Joseph Keroack from Ludlow and East Longmeadow’s Charlie Klatka (third) all race long. Amherst’s Will Larson had an impressive race for the ‘Canes, taking eighth overall in 16:46, and Holyoke’s Elijah Quinn medaled with a 10th place performance, crossing the line in 16:54. 

“I was happy with (my race),” King-Pollet said. “It was a big PR, I think 13 seconds. It was a hot day on a slightly tricky course. But I completed my goal, which was to run as hard as I can and not give up until I have to. And I didn’t give up and I ran my hardest, so I was happy.”

The ‘Canes placed third as a team, finishing with 90 points while Northampton took fifth overall with 108 points. Amherst’s second, third and fourth place runners all finished close, with Calvin Miller taking 19th (17:40), Nico Lisle finishing 20th (17:42) and Samuel Woodruff placing 21st (17:48). The ‘Canes were missing top runner David Pinero-Jacome, who will be out for the remainder of the cross-country season with a stress reaction in his hip. 

“That’s about what I was expecting,” Amherst boys head coach Chris Gould said on his team’s overall finish. “I think we had a few really good performances and a few fair ones…I’m moderately satisfied.” 

Other top performers included Northampton’s Davis Wheat (24th, 18:03), Owen Daggett (27th, 18:19.79) and Xander Lane (18:19.88) and Amherst’s Kyle Yanko in 30th (18:27). 

Wlodyka, Hedlund earn runner-up honors

Belchertown’s Kami Wlodyka wasn’t sure what to expect going into Saturday’s race. The senior was dealing with a shin injury, and had barely run over the last three weeks. 

That rest might have been just what she needed – Wlodyka cruised to a second place finish in the Class B race, crossing the line in 20:14. 

“My plan was to just give it all I got. I knew the conditions weren’t really ideal. It was pretty warm. But I was also coming off an injury and I haven’t been running for three weeks… so I didn’t know how it was going to go. I wanted to go in with an open mind and just try my best,” Wlodyka said. “I feel great. My confidence is back up to where it needs to be for divisionals and I’m feeling good.”

Wlodyka was the top local finisher in the Class B girls race, finishing just ahead of Hampshire’s Kathleen Barry in third (20:22). Frontier’s Leah Gump took sixth (20:43) and teammate Sylvie DiBartolomeo finished eighth (21:14); Gump and DiBartolomeo’s performances helped the Redhawks to a third place finish with 76 points, the best group result the girls’ team has had in decades. 

“I thought they ran spectacular. I think it’s the best a girls team of ours has run at western Mass. probably since 1999, 2000,” Frontier coach Walt Flynn said. “A spectacular day. Everybody had their best race today.”

Hampshire finished right behind the Redhawks in fourth place with 106 points. Besides Barry’s third place performance, Sicily Chase took 16th place in 21:39 for the Raiders and Alexandra Henrichon (22:28) and Amelia Perry (22:35) placed 29th and 31st, respectively. 

“We were definitely hoping for better. The last couple of weeks have been rough with people getting sick,” Barry said on her team’s performance. “It’s something to be proud of, but going into the rest of the season we have more to work on.”

Gateway placed 14th as a team (397 points) and Easthampton took 20th with 490 points.

Other notable finishes in the Class B race included seventh-grader Addison Hill from Granby (11th, 21:27), Caprial DiBartolomeo from Hopkins (14th, 21:37) and Frontier’s Nicole Plasse (17th, 21:53), Liv Christensen (21st, 22:10) and Maia Christensen (30th, 22:34). 

Frontier had more to celebrate in the boys’ race when Evan Hedlund took second place with a time of 16:28. His teammate Luke Howard finished sixth with a time of 16:55, a feat made all the more impressive by the duo’s age – Hedlund is just a freshman while Howard is a sophomore. Like Wlodyka, Howard was also coming off an injury going into the race. 

“Second and sixth is pretty spectacular,” Flynn said on the pair’s performance. “Luke was coming off of an ankle injury where he missed pretty much the last couple of weeks. They both ran great races and made all-western Mass.”

The top finishing team on the boys’ side was Hampshire, which used its impressive depth that led them to an undefeated regular season to secure third place on Saturday with 99 points. The Raiders were led by Nick Brisson (17:31) and Zach Jones (17:32), who both medaled with 14th and 15th place finishes, respectively; Jones especially had an impressive day to propel Hampshire up the rankings. 

Hampshire’s calling card this year has been its depth; their first and fifth runners crossed the finish line 35 seconds apart, and they’ve been using that to their advantage all season long. 

“It’s so nice because in workouts and meets, we pack up so well,” Brisson said. “If one guy has fallen off, we can just encourage him mid-race and keep him going. I think what really separates Hampshire from other schools.” 

Belchertown finished fourth as a team with 148 points ahead of Frontier in fifth with 165 points. PVCICS took eighth with 264 points, Granby placed 13th with 374 points, Easthampton finished 15th (455) and Gateway placed 20th (540 points). 

Other notable finishers included Granby’s Nathan Hutchinson in 12th place (17:29), PVCICS’ Grafton Tolopko (17:36) in 17th, Hampshire’s Oscar Schiff in 19th (17:42), Benjamin Les for Belchertown in 22nd (17:51) and Hampshire’s trio of finishers, Nicholas Elias-Gillette (25th, 18:04), Jack Laliberte (26th, 18:06) and Tim Cahill (27th, 18:07). Belchertown’s Nathan Fernandes (29th, 18:08) and Miles McNamara (30th, 18:12) also cracked the top 30. 

Hannah Bevis can be reached at hbevis@gazettenet.com. Follow her on Twitter @Hannah_Bevis1.