Both Walpole Boys and Girls Cross Country had the same goal on October 7 when Wellesley and Dedham came to Walpole High School to run — to win the Herget Division.
Walpole Boys Cross Country (7-3) pulled off the upset against Wellesley by a narrow score of 23-36 and destroyed a weak Dedham team by a score of 15-50. Despite the lack of a top runner to keep pace with Wellesley’s Thomas D’Anieri, Walpole’s top two runners — seniors Joe Keough and Brendan Wohler — kept pace with Wellesley’s number two and beat him in the end to secure second and third. The key for the boys’ win, however, came in the pack of seniors Mike Orsi, Billy Heiberger, and Nick “Swede” Bjornson.
“This [pack] won us the meet because our top five placed before [Wellesley’s] third runner,” Heiberger said.
The emergence of this pack — which also has featured sophomore Luke Berardinelli and senior Nick Hayden — has helped the Rebels to win a majority of their meets. These five Rebels came in within twenty seconds of each other to finish before all of Wellesley’s top five and Dedham’s top runner.
On the other side, Walpole Girls Cross Country narrowly lost to a very strong Wellesley team of 26-29 but beat Dedham 15-50. Despite senior Captain Allie Morris finishing first and sophomore Stephanie Forester taking second, Wellesley’s took third through sixth with a tight pack. Even though junior Alyssa Murphy and junior Tess Lancaster broke up the end of the pack by taking 7th and 9th, Wellesley secured the win with their fifth runner who came in 8th after a photo-finish with Lancaster.
“Although we lost, there were strong performances from a few individuals, especially Forester,” said Morris.
With a huge personal record, Forester ran a 16:30 while junior Molly Rockwood rounded out the top five for Walpole by the 2.57 mile course in 17:23. Freshman Danielle Borelli and sophomore Mikaela McSharry rounded out the top seven for the girls, running together and packing up for most of the race. These smaller packs have worked well for the Rebels during dual meets; however, to make an impact at the Divisional level, the Rebels need tighter packs with faster times.
Even with the girls loss and the boys victory, the Herget is still up in the air for both teams. In order for the girls to be sole Herget champs, they must beat Framingham on October 15 and Wellesley must lose to Needham. The boys’ title run is slightly less complicated. Because Natick lost to both Brookline and Framingham on October 8, the boys secured at least a share of the title. However, if they lose to Framingham, they may co-Herget with Natick.
UPDATE: Walpole Boys Cross Country (8-3) won the Herget Division Title after they defeated Framingham on October 15. Although Walpole Girls Cross Country (8-3) defeated Framingham, they share the Herget Division Title with Wellesley after their tie against Needham.
