A sweep of the top four spots enabled the Frontier Regional School boys’ cross country team to pick up a pair of huge victories Wednesday afternoon.
The Red Hawks locked up sole possession of the Pioneer North, sweeping a tri-meet with Hopkins Academy (18-41) and Mohawk Trail Regional High School (16-45) run at the 2.3-mile course at the Hadley Town Green.
Carsten Carey led the Red Hawks (14-0, 8-0), topping the four runners that all finished within two seconds of each other. Carey’s time of 13 minutes, 2 seconds, had him just ahead of runner-up Ben Litskoski, who took second with the same time. Alex Sharp was third, also in 13:02, while Peter Carey nabbed fourth place overall in 13:04.
Dennis Simmons was the first runner across for Mohawk (6-8, 4-4), posting a fifth-place finish in 13:05. Teammate Guy Rice-Lesure also placed in the top 10 with a 10th place performance (13:46).
Dan Dejnak helped pace the Red Hawks with a ninth-place finish in the No. 5 scoring position (13:34).
The teams next set their sights on the PVIAC Cross Country Championships, set for Sunday at Stanley Park in Westfield.
Greenfield 17, Westfield Tech 46
Greenfield 27, Gateway 32 — Tyssen LaBombard’s runner-up finish propelled Greenfield High School to a sweep of a tri-meet Wednesday against Westfield Technical School and Gateway Regional High School at Stanley Park in Westfield.
LaBombard traversed the 3.1-mile course in 19:26, leading a pack of six Green Wave runners in the top 10. Dylan Roy was fourth overall in 19:42, followed by Alex Tirrell (sixth, 19:51), Dylan Badillo (eighth, 20:17), Andy Bostrom (ninth, 20:25) and Matt Conway (10th, 20:31).
Greenfield improved to 10-4 overall with the victory.
Mohawk 18, Frontier 40
Frontier 15, Hopkins 50
Mohawk 15, Hopkins 50 — Another dominant Meghan Davis performance saw the Mohawk Trail Regional High School standout finish first overall by nearly two minutes on Wednesday. Davis captured the victory, crossing first in 14:01 to lead the Warriors to a sweep of Frontier Regional School (18-40) and Hopkins Academy (15-50) in Pioneer North girls’ cross country action in Hadley.
Mohawk teammate Hollin Keyser-Parker was the runner-up in 15:45 in the 2-3-mile course, followed by teammate Erica Szewczyk in third place overall (16:01). Carli Cusimano was fifth overall in 16:28, while Riley Hayward (seventh, 16:44) and Caitlin Upton (16:45) were also top 10 performers for the Warriors (9-2).
Frontier (9-3, 5-2) was led by Angelina Egland’s fourth-place showing (16:14). Greyson Young was close behind in sixth position (16:39), while Emily Laus (ninth, 16:50) and Fiona Ferry (10th, 16:59) were other scorers inside the top 10.
Greenfield 15, Gateway 40
Greenfield 15, Westfield Tech 50 — It was another dominant outing for the Greenfield High School girls’ cross country team Wednesday afternoon.
The visiting Green Wave breezed to a sweep of a tri-meet at Stanley Park in Westfield, taking care of business in convincing fashion against foes Gateway Regional High School (15-40) and Westfield Technical Academy (15-50).
Amy O’Sullivan led a wave of runners, crossing the line first overall in 20:01. Courtney Danielsen was next in second place overall (21:56), followed by Jenna Silk (third, 22:58), Eva Heath (fourth, 24:21) and Johanna Guiod (fifth, 25:15).
Greenfield’s undefeated season continued, as the Wave improved to 13-0 on the year.
Mahar 4, FC Tech 0 — Michelle Moulton scored a pair of second-half goals, and visiting Mahar Regional School punched its ticket to the Western Mass. Division II Tournament thanks to a 4-0 victory over Franklin County Technical School in an independent field hockey game Wednesday in Turners Falls.
Anna Wetherbee made it 1-0 at halftime with a goal in the opening half for Mahar (8-7-1), which secured at least a .500 record with one game remaining today against Mohawk Trail Regional High School.
Moulton notched a pair of second-half goals, while Lilly Fellows also scored. Hannah Berquist recorded assists on both of Moulton’s goals, while Wetherbee also added a helper in the 4-0 win.
Kailynn Mason-Emond made 17 saves in net for FC Tech (1-10-3), which held an 8-7 edge in penalty corners but couldn’t sneak a goal past Mahar keeper Hannah Birch (5 saves). The Senators had a 21-5 advantage in shots on goal.
Smith Academy 4, Turners 4 — Karlie Guimond scored a back-breaking, game-tying goal with just 3:33 remaining in regulation, and visiting Smith Academy dashed Turners Falls High School’s postseason aspirations by eeking out a 4-4 draw in an independent field hockey game Wednesday night at the Bourdeau Fields Complex.
Needing a win in its final game to qualify for the WMass Division II Tournament, the Powertown (7-8-3) fell one point shy thanks to Wednesday’s draw.
“I thought we played a very good game … better than we have been playing,” said Turners coach Becky Dame. “I’m happy with the way we played to end the season. It’s disappointing but we only graduate two players so that’s promising.”
Trailing 2-1 at halftime, Turners came storming back thanks to the play of all-everything Cassidhe Wozniak. The team’s leading goal-scorer tied the game with 20 minutes remaining in regulation, and put the hosts on top, 3-2, with another tally six minutes later.
Smith Academy (4-12-2) tied the game with 11:38 remaining, but Turners once again took a lead with seven minutes to play as Lexi Lacey buried a goal with an assist from Wozniak to make it a 4-3 game.
Looking to hold on and earn a postseason berth, however, the Powertown allowed a goal by Guimond with 3:33 left, and the teams settled for the 4-4 tie.
Wozniak finished with three goals for Turners, which held off a Smith Academy barrage that featured 16 penalty corners and 21 shots on goal.
Commerce 3, FC Tech 0 — Needing two wins in the final two matches, Franklin County Technical School saw its pursuit of a postseason berth ended Wednesday night. The visiting Eagles were swept on the road at the High School of Commerce, 25-17, 25-22, 25-16, in an independent girls’ volleyball match.
The loss dropped FC Tech to 8-11 overall, and the Eagles have just one match left on Friday against Southwick Regional High School. Wins over Commerce and Southwick would’ve put Tech into the postseason with a 10-10 record.
“We didn’t think we had a chance at the very beginning of the season so to still be fighting in the end, it’s unbelievable,” FC Tech coach Jade Cuevas said of the postseason pursuit. “I’m proud of them all the way until the end. They’ve improved so much from Day 1 and they’ve just kept fighting.”
Jocelyn Holloway posted a team-high six kills to go with nine digs and two aces, while Reagan Fiske added two kills, seven digs, three assists and two aces. Kimmie Petrovich notched four digs, while Summer Gaudreau contributed two kills and seven digs.