Tigers roared: Oliver Ames boys, girls starred at MIAA cross country state championships

Cross country is an inherently individual sport, but Ryan Sarney, Brendan Thomas and Aidan Dupill nevertheless managed to stick together.

The Oliver Ames trio was bunched up inside the top seven at the MIAA Division 1 boys cross country championships last Saturday at Fort Devens. Their ability to stay within sight of each other helped the Tigers place sixth in team scoring with 218 points.

Sarney, a senior, was fourth over the 5K course in 15:25. Thomas, a junior, was fifth in 15:33. And Dupill, a senior, was seventh in 15:39. Only Concord-Carlisle's Harrison Dow broke them up, sneaking into sixth place with a time of 15:35.

More:MIAA high school football Super Bowl schedule announced

The OA trio had swept the top three spots at the previous weekend's Division 1C qualifying race.

“We worked so hard for this for so long that I just knew I had to leave everything out there on the course," Sarney said. "No matter what happened out there, I was going to give it all for my teammates.”

“All-States was what all three of us had been waiting for,” Thomas said. “None of this would have been possible without the endless help and support from our coaches, family and teammates."

Dupill, a senior who didn’t join the team until his junior year, said training every day with Sarney and Thomas “helped me enjoy and love the sport, and we created a very strong bond. Without those boys pushing me in every run and workout, I would not be anywhere near the runner I am today.”

More:Find all MIAA high school state championship scores here

OA’s Alex Callanan finished fourth for OA, running a personal-best 17:16, good for 107th place. He was followed by freshman Landon Sarney. Brody Lake and Oscar Feodoroff ran in the 6-7 spots for OA, respectively.

“We knew coming into the season that 1-2-3 was dynamite, but part of the storyline for us this season was finding that 4-7 pack," OA coach Kyle Sousa said. "Those guys worked hard all summer to help us round out this year’s team and we couldn’t have had such a high team finish without them.”

The OA girls team placed fourth overall with 180 points, led by junior Katie Sobieraj, who was 10th in 18:49. The girls also had a strong grouping as Hannah Dupill (19:47), Taegan Hodges (19:48) and Braelyn Graham (19:49) finished 45-46-47. They were joined by freshman Ashley Powers, who was 68th in 20:09.

"I did everything I could to try to help the team do well,” Sobieraj said. “The team is so close this year and I think we wanted to end on a high note for our team.”

More:Find all MIAA high school football state semifinal scores here

Dupill, Hodges and Graham made a big push in the final mile to move up in the standings.

“The field is so deep, so competitive,” said Hodges. “You can’t ever give up on catching the next shirt. Never giving up – so much of cross country comes down to that."

“The girls team is wrapping up a historic season” Sousa said. “They would do anything for each other, and that’s why they’ve been able to reach the heights of performance they have achieved this year.”

Some other highlights from South Shore runners:

DIVISION 1 BOYS

BC High was fourth in team scoring with 165 points. The Eagles were led by John Wilson, who was 21st overall in 16:11, Will Locke (32nd, 16:22) and Chris Larnard (37th, 16:27). Hugh Licklider was 42nd in 16:33, and Shamus Larnard was 91st in 17:08.

Wilson had been BC High's usual fourth finisher throughout the dual-meet season, but he "had a breakout race at the right time," coach Seth Kirby said, and ended up as the second-fastest sophomore across all divisions at the state championships. "The word he has used to describe how his mindset has changed this year is learning to be 'tenacious' and taking risks within a race and to not settle," Kirby said.

At the divisional qualifying meet the previous weekend, Chris Larnard ran the program's second-fastest 5K time ever. He was battling an illness at states.

Running individually, Weymouth's David Manfredi was 11th in 15:51, and Plymouth South's Dylan Brilliant was 22nd in 16:13.

DIVISION 1 GIRLS

Weymouth was ninth in team scoring with 288 points. The Wildcats were led by Gracie Richard (24th, 19:21), Meghan Connolly (71st, 20:12), Isabella Galusha (81st, 20:19), Kate Carnes (83rd, 20:21) and Leah Glavin (90th, 20:24).

"Having such a young group, I think the start really intimidated them," Weymouth coach Mike Miller said. "With about a mile to go, we were pretty far back from where we ended up. Gracie Richard hung in really well to finish in the top 25. Meghan Connolly, Izzy Galusha and Kate Carnes fed off of each other the entire race. I give them a lot of credit for making their moves that final mile, especially Meg. Leah Glavin, too, she was buried at the 2-mile, and she just made a huge charge over the last 600 meters or so. They showed tenacity, and they never backed down."

Marshfield was 15th with 375 points. The Rams were led by Ava LoVuolo (30th, 19:33), Eleanor Angeles-Whitfield (31st, 19:33) and Charlotte Perreault (91st, 20:26).

Milton was 18th with 390 points. The Wildcats were led by Mia Jilani (20th, 19:14) and Katie O'Toole (49th, 19:51).

Individually, Plymouth North's Macey Shriner was 13th in 18:55. The Quincy/North Quincy duo of Salma Boukhtam (37th, 19:44) and Aluna Coogan-Coyne (40th, 19:45) also starred.

DIVISION 2 BOYS

Norwell was fourth in team scoring with 229 points, the Clippers' best showing ever at this level. Thomas Corbett, who won the Div. 2C qualifying race the previous weekend, was eighth overall in 16:25. He was joined by teammates Connor Reidy (32nd, 17:03), Sam Foster (53rd, 17:27), Quinn Delcore (98th, 18:02) and Jack Twombly (108th, 18:08).

"Thomas (Corbett) has worked hard all season long, and it was great to see him finish the season with two great races," Clippers coach Chuck Martin said.

As for Reidy, Martin called him "the backbone of our team," noting, "He is such a big, strong runner that he sets the tone for our entire team in both racing and training."

Individually, Duxbury's Jake Boudreau was 14th in 16:32, and Pembroke's Josh Phinney was 43rd in 17:21. Archbishop Williams' Gianvito Montillo was 46th in 17:24.

DIVISION 2 GIRLS

Archbishop Williams was 17th with 388 points. The Bishops were led by Maddie Hussey (45th, 20:41) and Lily Donovan (87th, 21:36).

Individually, Hanover's Cameron Bradford was 50th in 20:44.

DIVISION 3 BOYS

East Bridgewater was 15th with 357 points as Nick Uzzo finished 16th overall in 16:59. He was joined by teammates Colin DeChambeau (57th, 18:04) and Ben Levesque (95th, 18:39).

Individually, Carver's Luke Holden was 37th in 17:42.

DIVISION 3 GIRLS

Ella Dunbury was sixth overall in 19:50, helping West Bridgewater place 22nd in team scoring with 445 points. Teammate Viviana Morales-Wakin was 90th in 22:31.

Dunbury won seven races this season – five dual meets, a 3K at the Frank Kelley Invitational and the MIAA 3B qualifying race the previous weekend. She was 28th in this race a year ago.

"Ella has made huge strides this season," said WB coach Jayson Sylvain. "Her summer training was solid heading into the season.  As the only junior on a team with no seniors, she has been an excellent captain and leader for our young team this fall.  She has progressed in her race strategy throughout the season, learning that oftentimes the race for the individual title doesn't truly begin until some point during the second half of the competition.  In the MIAA 3B race, she mapped out a plan to go at the 1.75-mile mark, did so, and never looked back.

"I was extremely impressed with her performance (at the state championship) because she found herself all alone at the midpoint of the race with about 15 seconds separating her from both the fifth place and seventh place competitors.  She could have easily let up and fallen back, but she pressed ahead and challenged herself the entire race."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Oliver Ames trio starred at MIAA cross country state championships