With the dual meet portion of the season officially behind us, the high school cross country community now turns its attention to the postseason circuit.
That slate kicks off this afternoon, as the annual PVIAC Cross Country Championship will be held at Stanley Park in Westfield. Two weeks before the WMass divisional races are contested, the PVIAC meet blends the best runners regardless of division, meaning the competition will be tough for local harriers trying to traverse a course that begins in the park and winds through wooded trails in the Whip City.
The girls’ varsity race begins at 2 p.m., followed by the boys’ varsity race at 2:45.
It’s the final race before the WMass Division II championship at Northfield Mountain, set for Nov. 9.
On the girls’ side, Mohawk Trail Regional High School won the Pioneer North title this season despite the graduation of Meghan Davis. In last year’s PVIAC meet, Davis finished as the runner-up behind Amherst’s Sophia Jacobs-Townsley, and the Warriors took a Franklin County-best fifth place as a team.
This year’s team showcased depth throughout the fall, led by the emergence of newcomer Grace Poplawski. There’s plenty of championship meet experience on the squad however, as Erica Szewczyk placed 24th at last year’s PVIAC meet, while Erika Looman finished 32nd and Savannah Simmons took 72nd.
Frontier Regional School is another team to watch in today’s meet. Abigail Howard, who was 58th at last year’s PVIAC Championship, has been a consistent winner during the dual meet portion of the season, while Angelina Egland was the team’s top finisher a year ago at Stanley Park when she crossed in 37th. Leah Gump, Sadie Ross and Sasha Malo all added top five finishes in Frontier’s regular-season finale earlier this week.
Young Greenfield got its feet wet at last year’s PVIAC Championship, where then-freshman Kandice Lu took 82nd overall. Fast forward a year, and Lu is back at Stanley Park, with juniors Johanna Guiod and Eva Heath looking to set the tone for the Green Wave on the big stage.
Frontier was the top boys team in the 2018 meet, with the Red Hawks riding Carsten Carey’s 10th-place showing en route to a sixth-place team finish. While the team lost its top three runners from a year ago, they managed to run the table in the Pioneer North en route to their fifth consecutive league title this fall.
Junior Gehrig Brynda closed the dual meet season with an individual victory earlier this week, and he was 77th at last year’s PVIAC Championship. Patrick Boyden and Brett Robinson also have PVIAC experience from a year ago, while junior Kai Sharp is another runner to watch in this afternoon’s race.
Mohawk Trail sophomore Dennis Simmons has continued to excel this fall, and he’ll be in contention as one of the top Division 2 runners at this afternoon’s meet. Simmons was 19th overall last year, making him the top returning finisher from the area. Teammates Quinton Romer and Sean O’Dea have been in the next wave behind Simmons this season.
Senior Alex Tirrell of Greenfield will look to lead the Green Wave into the PVIAC scene, while Andy Bostrom was the team’s top finisher a year ago. Erick Badillo and Gianni Passiglia are other top Greenfield runners to keep an eye on.
Mahar’s Thor Mead cracked the top 80 at last year’s meet, and the senior, who has been the Senators’ top finisher throughout the fall, is looking to improve upon that finish in today’s crowded field. Freshmen Liam DiDonato and Daniel Kidwell join senior Alexander Plotner as other Mahar runners who have been solid this season.
Pioneer’s Noah DeRuiter, Brian Bodenstein and Jonathan Bodenstein pace a small contingent of Panthers looking to compete, as DeRuiter and Brian Bodenstein both ran at PVIACs a year ago.
The girls record on the course at Stanley Park was actually set by Jacobs-Townsley (17:56), while the boys mark is held by Amherst’s Jack Yanko (15:16).