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MIKE BRADLEY

Sam Shanky of Northampton finishes just ahead of teammate Alex Sullivan at Whiting Reservoir Tuesday.

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MIKE BRADLEY

Sam Powell of Holyoke Catholic finishes third overall in a meet between Northampton, Holyoke Catholic and Mohawk at Whiting Reservoir on October 4th.

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MIKE BRADLEY

The start of the girls race between Northampton, Holyoke Catholic and Mohawk at Whiting Reservoir on October 4th.

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MIKE BRADLEY

Staci Rezendes of Holyoke Catholic placed first overall at Whiting Reservoir Tuesday.

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MIKE BRADLEY

Sam Powell, front left, leads the start of the boys cross country race between Northampton, Holyoke Catholic and Mohawk at Whiting Reservoir Tuesday.

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MIKE BRADLEY

Northampton's Eliana Zimmerman finishes second overall in a meet between Northampton, Holyoke Catholic and Mohawk at Whiting Reservoir on October 4th.

Staci Rezendes has picked up right where the regular season ended last year. Hopefully, that means a better postseason.

The Holyoke Catholic senior, who went undefeated during the 2010 season, won her sixth straight race Tuesday at Whiting Reservoir in Holyoke.

The Gaels though lost a close meet with Northampton, 26-30. The Blue Devils also beat Mohawk Trail 19-42.

Rezendes finished the 2.72-mile course in 17 minutes, 14 seconds. Eliana Zimmerman of Northampton was second in 18:15.

Rezendes went 7-0 during dual meets last year but did not run well at the championship meets. Her only loss this season came to Frontier Regional's Amy Graham in the 2011 opener. Holyoke Catholic coach John Goda hopes this regular season leads to a better postseason for Rezendes.

"She's not running quite as fast as last year at this time but that's OK," Goda said. "She's being smarter with workouts. She's in a good spot."

Goda said Rezendes wasn't pleased with her results last year. Rezendes was 15th overall at the Western Massachusetts Division 2 championship meet.

"She had high goals for last year and she was minutes behind," he said. "That was really frustrating."

The Blue Devils pulled out the close meet in the rain to move to 5-2.

Mariel Lutz was third in 18:07 and Mia Toffoli fourth in 18:08 for Northampton.

Holyoke Catholic's Sarah Jones (sixth, 18:15), Natalie Davies (seventh, 18:21) and Audrey Boraski (ninth, 18:52) followed but Northampton's fourth and fifth runners finished ahead of Catholic's fifth to earn the win.

Mary McQuillan was 10th in 18:55 and Rebecca Coates-Finke 11th in 19:08 for the Blue Devils.

Brie Cote was 13th in 19:17 for the Gaels (6-1).

Girls cross country

Northampton 26, Holyoke Catholic 30

Northampton 19, Mohawk 42

At Whiting Reservoir, 2.72 miles

Winner: 1. Staci Rezendes (HC), 17:14

Holyoke Catholic: 6. Sarah Jones, 18:15; 7. Natalie Davies, 18:21; 9. Audrey Boraski, 18:52; 13. Brie Cote, 19:17

Northampton: 2. Eliana Zimmerman, 17:55; 3. Mariel Lutz, 18:07; 4. Mia Toffoli, 18:08; 10. Mary McQuillan, 18:55; 11. Rebecca Coates-Finke, 19:08

Records: Northampton (5-2); Holyoke Catholic (6-1) Mohawk (3-2)

Ludlow 27, Frontier Regional 28

At Ludlow, 3.1 miles

Winner: 1. Natalie Mako (F), 21:45

Frontier: 2. Amy Graham, 21:59; 6. Mairead Ferry, 22:55; 9. Hannah Bernotas, 23:43; 10. Destiny McDonough, 24:28

Records: Frontier (3-4); Ludlow (6-1)

Hampshire Regional 15, Renaissance 50

Hampshire Regional 15, Chicopee 50

At Chicopee State Park, 3.1 miles

Winner: 1. Brittany Dalton (H), 21:01

Hampshire: 2. Julie Roberts, 21:23; 3. Lyndsey O'Connor, 23:51; 4. Elizabeth Woods, 24:09; 5. Madi Eline, 24:20

Records: Hampshire (7-0) Chicopee (5-2, 4-0 Valley Central) Renaissance (0-5, 0-2)

Belchertown 19, Palmer 42

Belchertown 15, Turners 50

At Turners Falls, 2.6 miles

Winner: 1. Madison Granger (B), 17:50

Belchertown: 3. Stefanie Dufresne, 18:46; 5. Devyn Hebert, 19:10; 6. Fiona Bernerdin, 20:15; 8. Catherine Anziano, 20:31;

Records: Belchertown (5-1), Palmer (2-3)

Monson 25, South Hadley 31

Southwick 22, South Hadley 39

At South Hadley, 3.1 miles

Winner: 1. Serena Sarage (SH), 21:53

South Hadley: 7. Olivia Slysz, 23:45; 14. Deanna Conti, 26:32; 17. Erin Provost, 26:50; 21. Sam English, 28:03

Records: Monson (3-2), Southwick (2-5), South Hadley (0-8)

Boys cross country

Ludlow 15, Frontier Regional 50

At Ludlow, 3.1 miles

Winner: 1. Brian Crowley (L), 16:54

Frontier: 10. Jack Rybczyk, 20:05; 12. Colin Lacey, 20:28; 15. Jeff Dewey, 20:50; 18. Tre Roy, 21:19; 19. Gabe Chapley, 21:30

Records: Frontier (2-5); Ludlow (7-0)

Northampton 18, Holyoke Catholic 44

Northampton 15, Mohawk 50

At Whiting Reservoir, 2.72 miles

Winner: 1. Sam Shanky (N), 14:57

Holyoke Catholic: 3. Sam Powell, 15:07; 9. Adam Sutton, 15:47; 11. Tyler Cox, 15:56; 15. Ian Davies, 16:49; 20. Jeff Laprade, 17:08

Northampton: 2. Alex Sullivan, 14:58; 4. Sequoia Grettenberg, 15:36; 5. Neal Axelrod-Adams, 15:40; 6. Sam Coates-Finke, 15:41

Records: Holyoke Catholic (5-2); Northampton (6-1); Mohawk (1-5)

Hampshire Regional 24, Renaissance 31

Hampshire Regional 25, Chicopee 30

At Chicopee State Park, 3.1 miles

Winner: 1. Cameron Cook (R), 18:03

Hampshire: 2. Ian Barber, 19:16; 3. Brandon Cross, 19:26; 6. Tommie Sears, 20:02; 11. Cam Cote, 22:15; 12. Colton Delisle, 22:38

Records: Hampshire (3-4), Chicopee (3-4, 2-2 Valley Central), Renaissance (0-5, 0-2)

Belchertown 21, Turners 46

Palmer 26, Belchertown 31

At Turners, 2.6 miles

Winner: 1. John Burton (B), 15:29

Belchertown: 4. Drew Lindholm, 15:59; 6. Troy Doming 16:07; 11. Jonathon Cody, 16:39; 12. Jake Cote, 17:08.

Records: Belchertown (2-5); Palmer (5-0); Turners (0-7)

Monson 15, South Hadley 50

Southwick 25, South Hadley 30

At South Hadley, 3.1 miles

Winner: 1. Steve O'Neal (M), 19:07

South Hadley: 5. Travis Warren, 20:05; 9. Nick Rosario, 20:40; 11. Jeff Rainaud, 21:01; 12. Tim Laroche, 21:02; 13. Matt Thibault, 21:04

Records: Monson (5-1), Southwick (1-6), South Hadley (0-8)