Undefeated AC Girls XC Team Wins League Meet

Cougars Wrap Up Perfect Season with League Victory

– Allison Goldsberry

The Arlington Catholic girls cross country team has been unbeatable this season. The Cougars repeated as Catholic Central League champions with a perfect 7-0 league record and are 9-0 overall, and also successfully defended their league title on Thursday by capturing first place in their league meet at Franklin Park.

The Cougars were once again lead by the outstanding duo of freshman Kaitlin McCauley (Watertown) and sophomore Janelle Solviletti (Woburn), who finished 5th and 6th respectively. Junior captain Brigid Kirkpatrick (Medford) and senior captain Lauren Reis (Arlington) placed 10th and 11th. Finishing 15th was freshman Jessica Higgins (Peabody), followed by junior Mary Stanton (Waltham) in 24th, and freshman Olivia Liberti (Medford) in 27th.

The Cougars won with a score of 40 points, decisively beating arch rival Bishop Fenwick, who finished with 58 points. Archbishop Williams finished 3rd (90 points), Cardinal Spellman was 4th with 94 points, Lowell Catholic was 5th (132 points), Marion was 6th (133 points), and Matignon finished 7th.

The Arlington Catholic boys also finished strong by placing second behind rival Bishop Fenwick. The Cougars were once again led by the captain Joe Donlon (Stoneham), who placed second in the race. Two other Cougars cracked the top ten, with sophomore Kevin Connors (Belmont) in 7th and junior Kyle Liberti (Medford) in 10th place. Chris Laffey (Billerica) was 16th, Nolan Hart (Medford) 27th, and senior Andrew Cohen (Waltham) finished in 28th place.

Both teams will be participating in post season competitions, according to Head Coach Jack Dempsey. There are four big races left in the season, including the State Coaches Championships, the State Divisional Championships, the All State Championships, and the Eastern National Championships in Long Island, New York.