Amherst Regional reclaims Division 1 boys cross country championship
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NORTHFIELD - The five seniors on the Amherst Regional boys cross country team had one goal in mind Saturday and that was to return home with the Western Massachusetts Division 1 Championship.
Mission accomplished. The Hurricanes placed five runners in the top 15 to win with 52 points at Northfield Mountain. It was Amherst's ninth title since 1999 and first since 2008.
"We needed to get it done this year," James Traester said. "We hadn't won it since we were freshmen and we looked up to those guys who won it. We didn't get it done the last two years but finally we did it."
Ludlow was second with 82 points followed by Westfield (90) and defending champion Northampton (109).
"We were really determined," said Jesse Coull, another Hurricane senior. "The last couple of years hasn't been the same as this. At the beginning of the season we realized this could be a really good year and we had a huge amount of motivation."
Dan Crowley of Ludlow cruised to the win in 17 minutes, 1.21 seconds on the 5k course. Coull crossed in fifth in 17:15.30 and his teammates weren't far behind. Dylan Wight was ninth in 17:20.74 and Traester placed 10th in 17:32.35.
"This race was good," Wight said. "Most of the season our top three have all been very close. Today our fourth and fifth moved up on us and that was great. It makes us better as a team."
Ryan Mathers finished 13th in 17:40.64 and Steven Kalt was 15th in 17:45.23.
"We worked hard and as a team they ran well together," Amherst coach Chris Gould said. "I wouldn't say we were as sharp as we've been, but competitively we were on the money from the gun to the finish line."
The defending champion Blue Devils suffered a setback before the start of the race when Sam Shank y dropped out due to a lingering injury.
Northampton senior Sam Coates-Finke finished third in 17:14.43, just behind Blake Croteau of Westfield who placed second in 17:13.61. Coates-Finke also held off Ben Gagne-Maynard of Longmeadow, who was fourth in 17:14.99.
"It was a hard race," said Coates-Finke, who ran at Northfield for the first time. "Starting at the hill, it surprised me how mentally challenging it is. You have to be sharp off the bat and I wasn't so it took me awhile to get over that."
Alexander Sullivan was 17th for the Blue Devils in 17:50.66. Rounding out Northampton's top five were Charles Hale (21st, 18:03.84), Benjamin Hill (33rd, 18:21.56) and Sequoia Grettenberg (35th, 18:23.96).
The top three teams, as well as the additional top 10 individuals, advance to the state meet next Saturday at Franklin Park in Boston.
Coates-Finke, Sullivan and Hale qualified as individuals.
"We wanted top three," Coates-Finke said. "We wanted to go to states but these things happen. We're not pleased, but it is what it is."
Boys Division 2
Mount Greylock edged Cathedral 49 to 55 to win the championship. Lenox was third (118).
Sam Powell of Holyoke Catholic was the top local finisher. The senior from Granby finished 12th in 18:21.81.
Ian Barber of Hampshire Regional was 20th in 18:42.25.
Holyoke Catholic was 10th and was followed by Hampshire Regional, Frontier Regional and Gateway Regional.
Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com.
