WESTFIELD — Evan Hedlund of Frontier Regional placed second overall at the Western Mass. Class B cross country championships on Saturday at Stanley Park on the campus of Westfield State University.
Hedlund finished in 15 minutes, 39 seconds on the 5K course. Trevor Sullivan of Granby placed first (15:16.8) with a blazing time and a personal best for the Rams. A rigorous weekday workout might have slowed Hedlund’s pace in a race he dominated last season.
“I wasn’t too mad at it, but definitely wasn’t happy with the race,” Hedlund said. “Because I won last year, pretty convincingly too. My legs felt a bit heavy. I think I overdid it during a workout on Tuesday. It was a great workout, but a bit too much.”
Next up for Hedlund is the MIAA Divisional championships at Northfield Mountain.
“Just have to keep it consistent with the training,” Hedlund said. “Do enough to feel good. I know I am in great shape. There’s nothing I can do to get in better shape…I always show up when it matters. I am not worried about that.”
The Redhawks placed sixth as a team with a score of 205. Mount Greylock won the team championship with 46 points and an average time of 16:37. Mahar Regional’s Isiah Whitmore grabbed a personal record (17:11.9) on his way to a 17th place finish for the Senators. Greenfield’s Ryan Spofford placed 23rd, also capturing a personal record (17:26).
On the girls side, Mohawk Trail Regional’s Virginia Krezmien finished eighth overall for the Warriors. Krezmien went through her regular season schedule without a loss. The senior started fast out of instinctual racing habits at the outset with the increased field and competition level at the race.
“The adrenaline of races always gets to me,” Krezmien said. “I just feel this drive to go out into the front. I wanted to try it. I had the mindset that I was ready to go and try something new. I wanted to push myself and I did that.”
Krezmien’s time (19:46.3) was a personal record.
“I definitely went out a lot faster than I was expecting,” Krezmien said. “I was able to hold on and push through…that’s growth for me. I am happy with that.”
With the small races that she runs during the regular season, finding herself in a pack was a challenge that Krezmien welcomed during the race. Krezmien won most of her local races by a large margin. The adversity should help when she races at Northfield Mountain next weekend.
“I didn’t get experience racing in a pack this size,” Krezmien said. “I am used to going out and being in front of everyone. Racing against the top runners in Western Mass. is always a different situation.”
The speedy Kathleen Barry took first (18:51.1) by a wide margin for Hampshire Regional. Pioneer Valley Regional’s Harper Hake overcame a recent bout with mononucleosis to achieve a personal best and a 13th place finish (20:11.6). Eighth grader Farrah Lemay placed 27th (21:43.7) for Frontier, also achieving a personal best.
Frontier was the top local squad in the team standings, placing sixth with 184 points and a 22:11.4 average time. Mohawk ended up in 10th with 271 points. Hampshire Regional won the team crown with 32 points and an average time of 19:37.
