AC XC Makes Strong Showing at League Meet
– Allison Goldsberry
The Arlington Catholic boys and girls cross country teams competed in the Catholic Central League Cross Country Championship meet on Saturday, with the girls posting a strong team performance and the boys’ top runner besting the field.
AC senior captain Kevin Connors (Belmont), who was undefeated and set two course records during the regular season, took the lead from the start of the race, said Head Coach Jack Dempsey. He out-distanced the harriers from the other eight schools on his way to a 26-second margin over the second place finisher, Bryan Mendes of Bishop Fenwick.
Connors, voted the league’s “Outstanding Runner,” led his team to a fourth place finish overall. He was followed by junior Sebastien Bissereth (Somerville) in seventeenth place, junior Allen Judd (Burlington) in twenty-third, junior Nick Canniff (Arlington) in twenty-seventh, senior Bryan Daly (Woburn) in thirty-first, junior Mike Kumar (Medford) in forty-first, and senior Corey Egan (Burlington) in forty-ninth place.
The Lady Cougars continued their dominance for the fourth consecutive year by decisively defeating their league counterparts over the hilly terrain of the 5K course in the woods of Lynn, said Coach Dempsey.
The girls were led once again by senior captain Janelle Solviletti (Billerica), who finished in second place with a time of 19 minutes, 10 seconds. Solviletti led the Lady Cougars to a sixteen point win over their closest rival, Cardinal Spellman.
Junior Kaitlin McCauley (Waltham) was the next Cougar to cross the line in seventh place, followed by junior Hannah Kirby (Wilmington) in eleventh, sophomore Kathleen McLaughlin (Waltham) in twelfth, junior Olivia Stewart (Medford) in eighteenth, junior Olivia Liberti (Medford) in twentieth, senior captain Lauren O’Neil (Stoneham) in twenty-sixth, and junior Jessica Higgins (Peabody) in thirty-sixth place. Solviletti, McCauley, Kirby, and McLaughlin were voted league all-stars.
Coach Dempsey released the following team results:
Girls:
1. Arlington Catholic, 50 points
2. Cardinal Spellman, 66
3. Austin Prep, 70
4. Bishop Fenwick, 95
5. Archbishop Williams, 124
6. St. Mary’s, 131
7. Lowell Catholic, 161
8. Matignon, 198
Boys:
1. Cardinal Spellman, 32 points
2. Bishop Fenwick, 59
3. St. Mary’s, 62
4. Arlington Catholic, 82
5. Lowell Catholic, 125
6. Matignon, 133
Coach Dempsey also released video highlights of the league meet.
The next meet for the Cougars will be the State Coaches Invitational at Wrentham on Saturday.