Finishing kick key as Wachusett's Brenn captures CMADA D1 boys' XC championship
GARDNER — Matching the same-school top performances by the Division 1 girls’ cross country teams, the Algonquin boys captured the D1 team title, and Wachusett junior Dylan Brenn raced to first place in the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association championship Saturday at Gardner Municipal Golf Course.
The Titans finished with 37 points, a comfortable 29-point margin better than runner-up Shrewsbury, which totaled 66. In third came Wachusett with 71.
Brenn, with a classic, hurry-up finish, crossed in 17 minutes and 16 seconds, six seconds ahead of Algonquin’s Joseph Lamburn, who was followed by Westborough senior Michael Lelacheur in third at 17:31.
“I tried to conserve my energy in the first part of the race and in the second part of the race, there was quite a big pack in the lead,” said Brenn, who shifted into an extra gear with about 500 yards left to the finish line and began his winning, closing moves to the tape.
Still behind Lamburn with about 200 yards left, Brenn found more energy within himself.
“I kicked it in late and passed him (Lamburn) and then just sprinted to the finish line,” said Brenn, who went home with a gold medal matching Wachusett’s Ashlynn Witt’s.
“Both Ashlynn and Dylan ran solid races here,” said Wachusett coach Mike O’Malley. “They came in with a race plan and executed it well. Great wins for both of them.”
Lamburn too, had a race plan.
“I came in third last week at the league meet and I was determined to do better this week,” he said. “I’ve been improving every week, and I’m still not in my top shape yet. I’m saving that for states.”
Algonquin coach Nate Uttaro praised the way Lamburn sped along the way over the Gardner, double-lap 3.1 mile route.
“Joe really crushed it out there,” Uttaro said. “He was super patient and knew when the time was right to strike and he did that with a strong finish.”
Besides runner-up Lamburn, the Titans placed three other runners within the top 10: junior Steve White (fourth, 17:39), junior Matthew Zhang (sixth, 17:46) and sophomore Jonah Gould (ninth, 17:54).
Also running well and earning points for the champion Titans were juniors Johnny Meschisen (16th) and Aiden Ruiz (19th).
Uttaro singled out White, who came out for the cross-country team for the first time.
“We had never seen him before, but at the end of the school year last year he took home a summer workout plan, followed it faithfully and his results this fall have been great.”
White explained his whereabouts before joining the team
“I got cut from the volleyball team in the spring, so I ended up joining track, and I found out I really love running," White said. "I had run only a little bit before, just around the neighborhood on jogs with my mother. Now I love being on this team and winning feels good. Coach and the guys have pushed me to become better. I have great teammates.”
Also finishing among the top 15 with superb performances were Shrewsbury senior Declan Daley (fifth), Shrewsbury senior Chase Orciuch (seventh), Shepherd Hill senior Andrew Trudel (eighth), Marlborough senior Joshua Horn (10th), Shrewsbury senior Jonathan Shan (11th), Tantasqua junior Camden Foley (12th) and Shrewsbury senior Niko Manolakos (14th).
Helping Wachusett to a third-place finish were senior Max Tutela in 13th, sophomore Jesse Yahres in 15th and junior Dillon Ryan in 18th.
Contact Jay Gearan at sports@telegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Wachusett's Dylan Brenn takes D1 title, while Algonquin is top team at CMADA XC Championships
