WOBURN—The Melrose High boys’ cross country team ventured to Woburn Country Club on Monday, Oct. 30 to run in the highly competitive 2023 Middlesex League meet. The teams did quite well in the wet and slick conditions. This, as latest polls rank the team 3rd among the 35 teams in division 2A.
The varsity race consists of the top 84 runners in the league. Melrose’s Caleb Barnes continued his stellar season with a brilliant 3rd place finish over the 3-mile course in just 15:30. Next for Melrose, was John Strong who ran an impressive 16:35, good for 34th.
Also breaking 17 minutes was Jonah Tully, who finished 41st in 16:47. 48th place went to Jad Jamaleddine in 17:26, just ahead of Ben Dugan in 17:27. Henry McCormack was right behind in 17:35, and Billy Oldham crossed the line in 19:00.
Coach Kevin Allison recognized the excellent effort. “The team handled the weather and the slippery conditions very well. We had very solid times and we hope to continue these performances in the upcoming state meets. Caleb Barnes put up a terrific performance today. It was very exciting to see him run with the best of the best.”
The JV team finished 7th at the event. Anderson Ji led the way for Melrose finishing 56 in the field of 155 with a time of 18:50. Andre Bancu was right behind in 18:52. It was a personal best for both runners. Also running well in the race were Matt Sarnowski, 19:23, Emerson Blanchard, 19:37, Harrison Lee, 21:33, Frost Drogan, 21:56, Grady Kamosa, 22:04, and Aidan Mannin, 22:51.
On Oct. 24, Melrose wrapped up their dual meet season when they traveled to Burlington to face a Red Devil team ranked in the top 10 in Division 2. Melrose put in their strongest effort of the year and soundly beat Burlington, 23-35. It was the 4th straight win for the team and finalized their regular division season at 4-1.
Caleb Barnes led the team, blazing through the 3 plus mile course in just 15:48. Burlington got the next 2 spots, but Melrose’s depth proved too much for Burlington as Melrose dominated the rest of the scoring. Adam Caldwell was 4th in a fantastic time of 16:50 followed by fellow sophomores, John Strong, 16:59, and Ben Dugan, 17:13. Jonah Tully sealed the win for Melrose crossing the line in 17:19. Jad Jamaleddine, 17:35, and Billy Oldham, 17:58, added to Burlington’s total. Also running under 19 minutes were Emerson Blanchard, 18:09, Henry McCormack, 18:14, Anderson JI, 18:25, and Matt Samoski, 18:48.
Coach Kevin Allison was thrilled with the results. “Burlington has taken it to us the last few times so it was a satisfying win against a strong program. Our team came with it’s A-game to the meet. We were physically and mentally ready for this contest and the results really reflected that. Congratulations to every team member because all 20 of our athletes gave great efforts.”
The team anxiously awaits their appearance at the Div. 2 State meet on November 11th at the Wrentham Development Center where they hope to medal. Stay tuned!
