Melrose competed among New England’s best
Published in the December 2, 2016 edition
THE MELROSE High boy’s cross country team wrapped up their historic season with an appearance at the Nike Regional High School Championship in New York. (Donna Larsson photo)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE — What a way to wrap up a tremendous year.
The Melrose High School boys’ cross-country team traveled to Fishkill, N.Y. over the weekend to compete in the 2016 Nike Regional High School Championship. It was no doubt a memorable journey for the runners, who mingled with league rival and state champ Wakefield and other qualified teams from New England states, along with New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Melrose finished 32nd over a muddy and hilly course.
Leading the way for Melrose in his final cross-country race was senior Adam Cook. Fresh off his third place finish in the Massachusetts Division II finals, Adam ran a 17:07 for 78th place among 309 of the best high school runners in the Northeast.
Behind Adam was senior Kevin Wheelock who continued his late season surge with a 17:12 time, good for 88th place. Senior Sean Conlan also broke the 18:00 mark with a 17:51, which was 174th overall. Next were juniors Steve Stromski, 252nd and Will Hanlon, 253rd who both ran strong in 18:39. Senior Griffin Barris was seconds behind in 18:57 and junior Liam Gray came across the line in 19:41.
Participating in the Open Race and running well was Andrew Benaugh. 20:53 and Erik Heislein in 22:09.
Coach Kevin Allison was impressed with the team’s consistent performance. “First, it was a great accomplishment to qualify for the championship race for the entire Northeast. In addition, the team showed tremendous desire and determination.”
“Being in a race this fast, this difficult and running in the middle of the pack instead of the front was a new experience for most. The circumstances did not faze them at all and they ran tremendous races. It was a fitting way for all these accomplished seniors to finish off their high school careers.”
