The fourth meet of the season opened up with another rainy, cold start. Like every other meet the boys lined up, started, ran, and finished, but what happened during the race was the most surprising part. As soon as the Walpole Boys Cross Country Team heard Mr. Erker yell, “Ready, set, go!” they were off to a solid lead against the Wellesley Raiders and Dedham Marauders.
The lead continued as the boys bounded up the hill and into the town forest; however, Wellesley’s number one and two runners took the lead away from Walpole’s junior Zach Ganshirt in the first loop of the woods. Junior Justin Connolly was right behind Ganshirt battling Wellesley’s third and fourth runners. Senior captains Dave Wians and Zach Bannon alongside senior Dave Connors and junior Chris Conley showed off their pack running skills. As the boys continued through the woods and up Porker Hill the Walpole boys got closer to a win. After the first two Wellesley runners crossed the finish line Ganshirt (13:50) and Connolly (14:00) took third and fourth. The varsity pack led by Wians (14:45) and followed by Conley (14:48), Connors (14:51), and Bannon (14:52) snagged places six through nine pushing the Rebels into the lead. The boy’s dual win over Dedham and Wellesley improved their record to 5-2 and made their team a top contender for the state competition and the Herget League.
The girls cross country team, just like the boys, lined up, started, ran and finished; however, the outcome of their meet was less favorable than the boys’. The top two Wellesley runners took the lead right away and finished 17 seconds in front of the first Walpole runner, senior Courtney Shea (16:30). Wellesley’s Eve Roth took fourth place with a time of 16:45, while Walpole’s second runner, senior Brigette Lawton (16:48) came in fifth in the race. Senior Brennan Mullin (17:23) from Wellesley outran senior captain Kathryn Russo (17:23) by 0.2 seconds snagging sixth place while Russo came in seventh. Upcoming freshman Rachel Barry snagged fourth for Walpole and ninth overall with a time of 17:42. Wellesley beat Walpole 21-36 which added another loss to the girl’s record; however, the Walpole girls crushed Dedham bringing their total wins this season to five.
Both Walpole teams swept the Dedham Marauders (15-50), and both teams have a record of 5-2. The boys and girls are looking to add to their wins, move onto states, and become dual Herget champions. Their next meet is Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at Houghton’s Pond versus Milton, and at this meet both teams hope to improve their records to 6-2.
