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KEVIN GUTTING

Holyoke Catholic sophomore Staci Rezendes placed fifth at the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Cross Country Championships at Northfield Mountain Recreation Area on Saturday. The Gaels placed third, qualifying for the state meet next Saturday.

NORTHFIELD - The Western Massachusetts girls Division 2 cross country championship Saturday at Northfield Mountain was a display of stamina, speed, balance and confidence on the part of the runners from Mount Greylock, who recorded the lowest team score in any of the day's four races.

Taking three of the first four places and putting their other two scorers in the top 20, the Mounties had just 33 points and left Monson and Holyoke Catholic to battle for second. The Mustangs won that duel by a scant four points, 95 to 99.

Top finisher in the field of 121 runners was Mount Greylock sophomore Mackenzie Hitchcock in 20 minutes, 46 seconds. Corinne Hillman of Monument Mountain was second in 20:58.

A year ago, the same three teams were up front, but in different order, when Kristen Veit led the Gaels to their first-ever western Massachusetts championship.

With Veit graduated, sophomore Staci Rezendes led Holyoke Catholic this year with a fifth-place finish in 21:18, followed by teammates Christina Powell (10th, 21:37), Erica Fisher (14th, 21:46), Rachael Wolff (32nd, 22:47), Brooke Lapointe (38th, 23:15).

"We were shooting for first # or maybe top three," said Fisher.

The fourth- and fifth-place Division 2 teams were Hampshire Regional (121 points) and Frontier Regional (163), and both are remarkably young.

Natalie Mako, who placed first for the Red Hawks and sixth overall in 21:25, is a freshman.

So are Hampshire Regional's first two finishers - Lyndsey O'Conner (ninth, 21:36) and Brittany Dalton (13th, 21:45) - while the Red Raiders' number three runner was sophomore Julie Roberts (26th, 22:38), and their fourth finisher, Riley Lacaprucia (36th, 23:11), is just a 7th grader.

Frontier's other top four runners are freshman Amy Graham (28th, 22:40), 8th grader Mairead Ferry (34th, 23:05), junior Allison Piela (44th, 23:45) and 7th grader Allyson Hamelin (51st, 24:07).

Sophomore Abigail Imelio of Granby (33rd, 22:53) led her team to 11th in the team standings with 269 points, while freshman Katie Clark (42nd, 23:39) was the top runner for Gateway Regional (359 points) which placed 14th of 18 teams.

Mako, O'Conner and Dalton all qualified to run in the state championship next Saturday on the same course.

Division 2 boys

The boys Division 2 race was won by sophomore Mark Hegarty of Springfield Cathedral. He splashed through the mud and around the puddles in 17:13, the fastest time of any runner on Saturday.

Lenox won the team competition with 84 points, followed by Monson (117) and Mount Greylock (133).

Best among local finishers were Frontier Regional junior Caleb Chapley (7th, 18:19) and Holyoke Catholic sophomore Sam Powell (8th, 18:20). Both qualified to compete in the state championship next Saturday on the same course.

"Caleb in the top 10 # that's great!" said Red Hawks coach Bob Smith, who is in his 32nd year.

Assessing his team's 14th-place finish with 329 points, Smith added, "We had no seniors on our team today, and that's exciting. Now we'll work on one to five" # getting four more runners closer to Chapley in big races next year.

The Gaels were fifth of 19 teams, with 176 points. Gateway Regional was 10th with 227, Hampshire Regional finished 13th (303) and Granby was the final team with 552.