Before the meet – held at Elm Bank Park against the home team of Natick –  and the Bob McIntyre Invitational ran in Falmouth on October 13, the Walpole boys Cross Country team had a losing record of four wins and five losses. They also had only four runners who had broken the sub-18-minute standard time in a 5000 meter race for varsity. Now they’ve broke even and have doubled the number of runners who’ve broken 18 minutes.

At the Twilight Invitational, the boys Cross Country team performed quite well across the board. Sophomore Mike Orsi, junior Jimmy Martin, and senior Will Whearty all brought home medals from this competition by finishing within the top 30 of their respective races. On the whole, only one runner from Walpole failed to break 19 minutes in the 5k. More importantly, the meet served as a precursor to the MIAA Division II meet being held in November and only the top four teams advance. There, the boys will face teams that also ran at the Twilight Invite, like Weymouth and Sharon. Early in the season, Sharon came to run the Walpole Labor Day Road Race and defeated Walpole. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Rebels also faced Weymouth at Braintree’s home course and succumbed to defeat. In a reputable contrast on Walpole’s part, the boys outscored both of these teams.

Another team for concern towards the Division II meet was Natick, who the Rebels raced against at Elm Bank, their 2.5-mile course, on October 16. With the accomplishments achieved on Saturday night fresh in their  minds and legs, Walpole crushed Natick with a score of 15-46, four points shy of a perfect race. The Rebels’ key to success that day was their tight leading pack. From the top runner, senior Sean Herlihy, to the fifth man, sophomore Mike Orsi, there was only a 14 second gap. Filling in this break were senior captain Kevin Delaney, junior Anthony DiVirgillio, and sophomore Brendan Wholer. Orsi, in response to being asked how we performed, said,”We brought our brooms today. Do you know why? Because we swept. And we’re going to bring our brooms all the way to New York.” What Orsi inferred from the last statement was the ability for teams to get to the All-State meet in New York if they finish in the top four of their division. However, the statements validity will have to wait for another time.