THE WARRIORS are the 2022 Div. 2 boys’ cross country All-State champions for the second consecutive season. Wakefield beat Danvers by one point and division rival Burlington who finished 3rd. (Courtesy Photo)
Warriors take Div. 2 title by one point over Danvers
DEVENS — They did it again!
A year after winning the Division 2 All State Championship for the first time since 1972, the Wakefield boys’ cross country team won it all on Saturday at Fort Devens. The win made it back-to-back titles for the first time in school history. The meet is the highest level of competition in Massachusetts.
The structure for the MIAA playoff picture starts with nine divisional championships across the entire state based on school population. From there, the best teams compete in three divisions also by size. The Warriors placed 2nd in Div. 2A on Nov. 13 to advance to All States.
On Saturday, they defeated 22 other teams by scoring 119 points, just one point ahead of runner up Danvers. Burlington, who defeated the Warriors in four other meetings this season, placed 3rd. Norwell was 4th.
Seven runners for each team as well as 10 individuals not on a qualifying team toed the line for a total of 185 runners.
The 2022 Warriors returned just three of the seven from last year’s winning team and just two of the five scorers.
Senior captain Leith Jones led the way for the Warriors once again and was incredible, placing 4th overall, improving on his 7th place finish from 2021. Jones ran with confidence from the start and was with the leaders for the first half of the race.
The top three finishers pulled away but Jones held on to beat two of the runners who finished ahead of him last week. His time for the longer than 5K course was 16:02.
Junior Mike Arria finished 11th overall, improving on his 78th place finish a year ago in a time of 16:32 – making the podium.
Senior captain Ben Stratton got out strong and fought to the end, placing 24th in a time of 16:54.
Newcomer, sophomore George Palmer, had an outstanding race as the Warriors’ 4th runner placing 57th in 17:30. Sophomore Brandon Nett also had an excellent run placing 65th at his first state meet in a time of 17:35.
Junior Ollie Polster and sophomore Andrew Nett showed how strong the team depth was by finishing in 74th in 17:43 and 89th in 17:55. It was the first state meet for both of them as well. No other 6th and 7th person from any team finished as high as Polster and Nett. In fact, they beat almost every 5th scoring runner from the other teams in the race, which drives those team scores up. Since the low score wins, those places make a difference.
“I am thrilled for these guys,” said head coach Perry Pappas. “Their constant commitment to the team is second to none. I am proud of them for going out there and just giving their best effort. That’s all I could ask for in a team.
“The boys know how hard it is to win this meet and I couldn’t be happier for them.”
Up next, a few Warriors will head to the Bronx in New York to race in the Northeast Regional Championship sponsored by Champs Sports on Saturday.
