Cross country teams sweep Foxboro in opener

Both Canton High School teams are excited about their opening wins over Foxboro, especially the girls’ team, which went winless last year.

In an away meet last Tuesday, the Canton girls scored an impressive 15-50 win while the boys came away with a 26-32 victory.

New girls’ head coach Ben Mattson, who also coaches the girls’ indoor and outdoor track programs, said the team boasted the top ten finishers and 14 out of the top 18.

Canton’s Eleni Papadopoulos picked up her first career win with a time of 22:44, followed by junior Kelsey Sayers (23:06), junior Alice Bronsteyn (24:03), sophomore Courtney Loughnane (24:38), senior Isobel Heck (24:53), senior Mairead Bagley (24:54), and senior Lauren Winter (25:08).

Seventy-five runners, including 40 boys and 35 girls, have come out for the cross country team this year, the biggest total in the last 12 years.

“We’re just looking forward to what our goals are and the work we have to put in to accomplish those goals,” said Mattson. “The girls have responded very well so far to the workload.”

The girls endured a rebuilding year last season as several underclassmen were thrust into leadership roles and improved significantly over the year.

This year’s captains are Bagley, Michaela Nannery, and Audrey Cilento. Several runners are expected to compete for the top seven, including Michaela Kelly, Kate McClintock, and Kristina Stoupis.

As for the boys’ team, head coach Chris Elgar said his squad enjoyed a surprisingly comfortable win despite an off-day for a couple of senior runners.

“I trusted the strength of our depth, and we packed in six runners before their fourth runner and that was pleasing,” Elgar said.

Much like last year, the team’s seniors dominated the top positions, led by Kevin O’Donnell, who finished third in 19:08, followed by Dave Rosenberg in fourth (19:33), Jake Fruci in fifth (19:39), and Eric Newton in eighth (19:55).

Junior newcomer Kevin McNeil also had a strong race, finishing seventh overall with a time of 19:44. Other top performers included juniors Dave Moore (19:57) and Joe Sabatino (20:37).

The top sophomores were Joe Clancy and Peter Hartfiel, and the top freshmen were Sean Klimas, Matt Gleason and Sam Nagel.

Elgar said he has been impressed thus far with the leadership of his three captains: Rosenberg, Mark Whittemore and Ethan Eastwood.

“Despite such a hit to the varsity group from our graduating departures, the returning veterans really did their summer work and look to be up to equaling the results of last year’s team,” he said.

Last year, the boys finished 3-1 in the Davenport Division and fifth at the Hockomock Championship meet.

Both Canton teams were scheduled to face Sharon in an away meet this Tuesday, followed by a meet at Oliver Ames on September 27.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Sep 21 2011. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.