Finish regular season undefeated at 5-0
Published October 25, 2019
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High girl’s cross country team are league champs after finishing their regular season a flawless 5-0 with a victory over Wilmington on Tuesday. This is the first time in 8 years that Melrose has clinched a title, and now they will enter the official league meet on Monday at Woburn with a target on their back.
“I’m so proud of the girls,” said coach Nick Tuccinardi. “This is truly an exciting time for the program. They worked so hard this season and fought against tough teams in the Middlesex League. This was a goal of ours, so there is a sense of completion.”
HUDDLE OF Champions. The Melrose High girl’s cross country team finished their regular season undefeated at 5-0. Next stop, post season. (Colleen Riley photo)
Melrose now wraps up their league meet season undefeated with victories over Wilmington, Burlington, Woburn, Watertown, Stoneham and Woburn.
The girls enjoyed even more success at the MSTCA Bob McIntyre Twilight Invitational, which took place at the Cape Cod Fairgrounds in Barnstable last weekend. Melrose placed a very solid fourth among 26 teams, behind only Nauset, Northampton and Mt. Greylock.
Melrose’s top runner of the day was senior captain Alex Cutogno, who ran at 19:20.06. Charlotte Tysall was next with a time of 20:47.09. Freshman Jillian Bakey ran in the race and finished nicely and Melrose’s Bridget Mcgunigle, Jane Harrington and Leslie Means placed in direct order in spots 64-66, respectively, while Jenna Fracasso and Marissa Zelten stayed ahead of competition placing 75th and 96th, respectively.
Missing from competition was senior standout Katie Duffy who, if she ran, might have aided Melrose in a complete victory.
In the junior varsity race, Nicola Tysall and Michaela Syzmczak finished nicely, coming in 28th and 34th, respectively. Also crossing the finish line were Cecillia Murphy, Sara Mackowski, Sarina Peters Toby Russell, Rachel Brooks, Victoria Ackerman and Becka Hamberg.
And in the freshmen race, Melrose had top finishes. Lily Kavanaugh placed 6th and Juliet Moore 7th. Isobel Vogal also cracked the top twenty. “This group shows a lot of promise,” remarks the coach.
Next up, Melrose will compete in the Middlesex League Meet on Monday at 2:30 at Woburn Country Club, where they hope to take home some hardware. On Sat., Nov. 2, Melrose will compete among more top competition at the MSTCA Coaches Invite at the Wrentham Development Center.
