For all but 300 meters of Saturday’s Western Massachusetts Division 2 Cross Country Championship, Mohawk Trail Regional High School’s Meghan Davis only had runners behind her.
But with the finish line approaching, Emily Boutin made her move. The Pope Francis junior overtook Davis and captured the individual title, forcing the Mohawk senior to settle for a runner-up showing in the 5-kilometer course at Stanley Park in Westfield.
Boutin crossed with a time of 18 minutes, 19 seconds. Davis was second in 18:29, her second consecutive runner-up finish at WMass after she was third in 2016.
“Obviously I was disappointed,” admitted Davis on Sunday, reflecting of the results. “I kind of took some time (Saturday night) to go over the race and really pinpoint where I might have let off. I don’t like to sit and dwell on it by any means because you can fall into a slump. So I just want to look forward, learn what I can and then move on.”
Mohawk coach Joe Chadwick was hopeful his top runner was going to break through and win that elusive WMass crown.
“She sets really, really high goals. When you do that, you’re going to get knocked down a couple of times,” Chadwick said. “I know she’s taking it pretty hard but she’ll bounce back. She got beat. It’s that simple. She’ll be back at practice tomorrow and ready to go for (the state meet). That’s what makes her so special to work with.”
There was still plenty to be happy about for Davis and the Warriors. The team qualified for the MIAA State Meet with a third-place performance on Saturday. Mohawk amassed 115 points, putting it third behind Mount Greylock (41) and Lenox (43). The top three schools advanced to this Sunday’s state meet, which will be right back at Stanley Park.
“There were definitely some tears after the race. It was a mix of sadness but also absolute joy for the team,” Davis offered. “I think if you told us at the beginning of the season that we were going to qualify for states, absolutely no one would’ve believed you. We’ve all grown so much, individually and as a team. I don’t know if the younger girls know exactly how exciting it is to qualify for something like this but they’ll get to see it first-hand now.”
Freshman Erica Szewczyk was the second Mohawk runner across the line in 16th position (21:02). Erika Looman was 24th overall in 21:39, with teammates Caitlin Upton (36th, 22:15) and Savannah Simmons (37th, 22:21) rounding out the scorers.
“I don’t think a month ago the girls would’ve been ready for this,” said Chadwick. “It was a great race for them. It’s such an accomplishment. They ran really well together, did their job.”
Davis began her race in solid form, moving to the lead immediately while taking the opening-mile pace fast. The second mile, in the muddy woods at Stanley Park, proved to be a bit of a challenge. Davis said she went around some puddles and dodged some slippery spots on the course.
“I guess I played it on the safe side a bit,” she explained of Mile 2. “I think it’s hard when you try and dodge things like that. You can throw yourself off your pace and not even realize. That gives the people behind you a chance to catch up and you don’t even know it.”
Boutin, who didn’t race much this season as she’s dealt with injuries over the last year or two, stayed within striking distance until making the late move.
“I heard her pretty much the whole race behind me,” Davis said of Boutin. “There were some times I felt like I was pulling away, but then I heard her surge and come back. I need to work on gaining more ground in the middle of the race. My finishing kick isn’t as strong as where I want it to be and that’s something I’m constantly working to improve.”
Davis and the Mohawk team will be there Sunday for the state meet. So, too, will Greenfield eighth-grader Lulu Calame. She impressed in Saturday’s WMass meet, finishing 23rd overall with a time of 21:25. After runners from the three teams — Greylock, Lenox and Mohawk — are taken out of the equation, the top 10 earned spots in the state meet.
Frontier eighth-grader Angelina Egland just missed out on a state invitation. After a breakout season where she sprung to the front of the pack as the Red Hawks’ No. 1 runner, Egland capped it with a 31st place showing on Saturday. Her time of 22:08 had her just four spots away from a state invite.
Frontier teammate Marisela Ackerman was the other local to crack the top 50 on the girls side, where she was 46th with a time of 22:37.
With aspirations of winning the WMass Div. 2 title Saturday, the Frontier boys team settled for third place with 127 points. Mount Greylock put four runners inside the top 10 and cruised to the championship with 47 points, followed by runners-up Hampshire with 100 points. The Red Hawks still punched a ticket to the state championship with a top three team finish.
“The team’s expectations certainly were to win this race, and I was confident we were, right up until the finish,” said senior Carsten Carey. “Our group of guys might have been the best group of guys out there, but a few things didn’t go the way we thought and that’s just how it is sometimes.”
Carey was third overall in his final WMass championship meet, crossing the line with a time of 16:54. Hampshire’s Chris Vayda was the individual winner in 16:29, while Greylock’s Jesse Seid was second in 16:50.
In addition to Carsten Carey, Frontier, which won the Pioneer North title during the regular season, received scoring performances from Alex Sharp (15th, 17:38), Peter Carey (21st, 17:46), George Balis (39th, 18:32) and Patrick Boyden (49th, 18:50).
Mohawk freshman Dennis Simmons put together an outstanding race, finishing fifth overall with a time of 17:10. His performance was more than good enough for a berth in next weekend’s state meet.
“He had a couple of kids come up on him late but he fought them off,” said Chadwick of Simmons.
After finishing 11th overall as an eighth-grader last year, Simmons was the top freshman in the meet with three seniors and a junior ahead of him.
“He’s got the makings of a real good one,” Chadwick said. “He’s got the right tools. If he continues to have the work ethic that he does now, the sky is the limit for this kid.”
Mahar junior Thor Mead put together a strong day representing his team. Mead nearly cracked the top 25, winding up 26th in the Div. 2 field with a time of 17:52.
Greenfield senior Tyssen LaBombard was the top harrier from his squad, placing 33rd overall in 18:13 in his final WMass meet. Teammates Andy Bostrom (54th, 19:01) and Alex Tirrell (55th, 19:05) also ran well, as the Green Wave were ninth in the team standings with 287 points.
Mohawk’s Guy Rice-Lesure nabbed 52nd position as the No. 2 scorer behind Simmons with a time of 18:53. Teammate Sean O’Dean wound up 70th in 19:48. The Warriors were 13th (334 points) in the team competition.