Newburyport boys, Pentucket girls use depth to win CAL Open
Oct. 31—This is already going to go down as one of the better Pentucket girls cross country teams ever, and on a rainy Saturday afternoon the talented squad capped their second straight undefeated season with a victory at the CAL Open.
Both the Pentucket girls and Newburyport boys flashed their impressive depth to win in dominating fashion.
On the girls side, Pentucket took first, fifth, sixth, 10th and 15th to win with 37 points, besting second-place Newburyport (66) and third-place Triton (101).
"They ran amazingly well," said Pentucket coach Todd Ruland. "This is definitely the deepest team that we've had. If someone has a bad day, someone else will step up.
"So far up to this point, as a team, everything we set out to accomplish we've done. They've just done an amazing job all year."
It was another epic race and photo finish between Phoebe Rubio and Hailey LaRosa, but, like in their head-to-head meet earlier in the season, it was the Pentucket senior who crossed the 3.1-mile Wrentham Development Center course first in 19:19.2
LaRosa was right behind in second at 19:21.3.
"There's no shame in losing to that Pentucket team," said Newburyport coach Don Hennigar. "Once again Hailey and Phoebe took it right down to the line. That's what they always do. They're two evenly-matched girls, and it was a dead sprint to the finish line.
"Both of them ran super races once again."
But where Pentucket shined — and what'll help them in their quest for a Sectional title in two weeks and a state championship in three — is with their depth.
Sophomore Kaylie Dalgar finished fifth overall in 19:53.6, and Libby Murphy was right behind in sixth in 20:09.7. Audrey Conover is usually the third to cross to complete Pentucket's superstar trio, but the junior was battling an illness and still ran hard to finish in 22nd.
But even with a star performer not feeling her best, Murphy stepped right up into that spot and delivered. Senior Ella Edic (10th, 20:31.2) and senior Emily Rubio (15th, 21:07.5) rounded out Pentucket's top five on the day.
"Libby stepped up and ran phenomenal today," said Ruland. "We've got some really strong competition in our division, so we're going to have to find a way to beat some strong teams at Sectionals.
"But everyone is really excited. With COVID last year, the girls were disappointed with sort of the lost season because they knew how good they could of been. So now this year they're really making up for it and are super focused."
Clipper boys dominate
And on the boys side, the powerhouse Newburyport program added another title to its collection.
The Clippers used overall placers of 2-3-6-7-9 to finish with 27 points, well ahead of Triton (80) in second and Hamilton-Wenham (91) in third. Incredibly, in a great display of how deep and talented the Clippers are this year, their top five runners all finished within 32 seconds of each other.
"We had a really good day for sure," said Hennigar. "We're going to be in the mix at Sectionals. I think we're definitely a team that's going to make some noise."
Junior Bradford Duchesne was the leader for the Clippers in second overall in 16:42.4. Teammate Samuel Walker was right behind him in third (16:46.9), and junior Matthew Murray (6th, 17:02.0), senior TJ Carleo (7th, 17:08.5) and senior Andrew Lasson (9th, 17:13.3) rounded out the team's scoring.
But the Clippers also had Nathan Barry in 10th (17:13.5) and Aimon Fadil in 14th (17:36.9).
Solid day for Triton, other locals
Both Triton teams also had good days, with the boys coming in second and the girls in third.
Robin Sanger (7th), Alexa Bonasera (11th) and Ava Burl (12th) led the Viking girls, while on the boys side it was Griffin White (5th), Cole Jacobsen (11th) and John Sayles (17th) leading the way.
Elsewhere on the local scene, Georgetown's Mason Behl came in eighth on the boys side and Seamus Burke was the first Pentucket boy across in 15th. While on the girls side, Amesbury's Julia Parsons (17th) and Piper Hogg (19th) each ran solid races.
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CAL League Meet (Boys)
at Wrentham Development Center (3.1 miles)
Team Scores (10 teams): 1. Newburyport 27; 2. Triton 80; 3. Hamilton-Wenham 91; 4. Ipswich 137; 5. Manchester Essex 152; 6. Pentucket 179; 7. Amesbury 183; 8. Lynnfield 189; 9. North Reading 190; 10. Georgetown 263
Top 20 area finishers: 2. Bradford Duchesne (N) 16:42.4; 3. Samuel Walker (N) 16:46.9; 5. Griffin White (T) 17:01.6; 6. Matthew Murray (N) 17:02.0; 7. TJ Carleo (N) 17:08.5; 8. Mason Behl (G) 17:12.4; 9. Andrew Lasson (N) 17:13.3; 10. Nathan Barry (N) 17:13.5; 11. Cole Jacobsen (T) 17:25.6; 14. Aimon Fadil (N) 17:36.9; 15. Seamus Burke (P) 17:38.2; 17. John Sayles (T) 17:49.6; ... ALSO: 23. Drew Sanford (A) 18:10.2
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CAL League Meet (Girls)
at Wrentham Development Center (3.1 miles)
Team Scores (9 teams): 1. Pentucket 36; 2. Newburyport 66; 3. Triton 101; 4. Lynnfield 110: 5. Amebsury 153; 6. Hamilton-Wenham 155; 7. Manchester Essex 167; 8. North Reading 188; 9. Ipswich 205
Top 20 area finishers: 1. Phoebe Rubio (P) 19:19.2; 2. Hailey LaRosa (N) 19:21.3; 5. Kaylie Dalgar (P) 19:53.6; 6. Libby Murphy (P) 20:09.7; 7. Robin Sanger (T) 20:16.2; 10. Ella Edic (P) 20:31.2; 11. Alexa Bonasera (T) 20:32.8; 12. Ava Burl (T) 20:42.9; 13. Annabel Murray (N) 20:48.0; 14. Olivia D'Ambrosio (N) 21:03.7; 15. Emily Rubio (P) 21:07.5; 16. Elizabeth Boelke (N) 21:08.1; 17. Julia Parsons (A) 21:10.1; 19. Piper Hogg (A) 21:44.0
