THE WARRIORS were the champions of the Freshman/Sophomore 3K at the Frank Kelley Invitational on Saturday in Wrentham thanks in large part to the pictured sophomores who medaled in the event. From left to right is Andrew Nett, Brandon Nett, George Palmer and Ethan Mezikofsky. (Courtesy Photo)
Wakefield wins Freshman/Sophomore race
WRENTHAM — The Wakefield High boys’ cross country team made the trip to Wrentham on Saturday to compete at the annual Frank Kelley Invitational.
The varsity team entered the Championship Division race, which included 33 teams from all divisions across the state. The race was very competitive as always and the boys came away with a 6th place finish. There were 272 runners competing in the 5K race.
Leith Jones led the way for the Warriors with a fast time of 15:51. Breaking 16 minutes is the benchmark for elite runners and Jones put himself in the company with the best in the state.
Ben Stratton ran a solid early season race placing 29th in 16:43.
Junior Mike Arria had a personal best time of 16:54 to place 37th.
Sam Bangston had another personal best of 17:57 to place 89th.
Junior William Mezikofsky finished off the scoring placing 150th with his time of 18:45.
Also competing in the varsity race were Matt McCoy who finished in 18:52, Robert Brown in 18:59 and Marcus Conte who ran a more than 2 minute personal best with a time of 21:21.
MARCELLO CARUSO medaled in the Freshman/Sophomore race at the Frank Kelley Invitational finishing in 18th place overall. (Courtesy Photo)
The younger Warriors left no question as to who the best underclassmen team was over the 3K course, as they dominated the Freshman/Sophomore race. Of the 316 runners in the race they placed three in the top 7 and all five scored in the top 20. Wakefield finished with 47 points to place first over 30 other teams and 75 points ahead of 2nd place Xaverian Brothers High School.
Sophomore Andrew Nett was the lead Warrior placing 4th in 10:20 and sophomore Brandon Nett was 5th in 10:21. Both improved drastically from their 52nd and 55th place finishes a year ago as freshmen.
Sophomore George Palmer was 7th in 10:24.
Sophomore Ethan Mezikofsky was 14th in 10:36.
Marcello Caruso finished the scoring with his 18th place finish in 10:44. Caruso had an incredible improvement from his 238th place finish as a freshman.
Freshman David Rocca had a great run placing 39th(9th out of freshman) in a time of 11:08. Sophomore Brody Wyatt improved from his 234th place finish last year to place 50th in a best time of 11:18.
LEITH JONES was the top Warrior in the Frank Kelley Invitational championship race, taking 8th overall in a time of 15:51.50. (Courtesy Photo)
Sophomore Ty Gallante placed 63rd in 11:26. Sophomore Aidan Martin had a big pr of 11:29 to place 65th after placing 185th last year. Freshman JP Casey (24th among freshmen) ran a time of 11:39. Sophomore Jacob Ciriello had a big PR of 11:44. Freshman Kenny McShane ran 12:23, sophomore Ben Hickey ran a PR of 12:37, freshman Aidan Burd ran 12:38, freshman Ryan Paige ran 13:57, freshman Nico Livesey ran 13:57, sophomore Tim DeBenedictis ran 14:28 and freshman Cavin Hill ran 16:33.
In the Junior/Senior 3K, junior Joe Patt was the Warriors’ top finisher placing 30th in 10:58. Junior Adam Lambiaso ran a PR of 11:31. Senior David LoCoco ran a time of 11:42. Senior Brian Casey ran a time of 12:37. Junior Cooper Davis ran a time of 13:06.
“It’s good to get our first big race under our belt,” said head coach Perry Pappas. “We had some great performances but definitely have improvements to make. Thankfully we have time.
“It was exciting to see how strong our underclassmen are at this point. We have front runners but also have depth. There is no guarantee for the future but with hard work, the next few years could be a lot of fun.”
On Tuesday, the Warriors defeated Melrose 27-32. A full story will appear at a later date.
