WILMINGTON—The Melrose High boys cross-country team improved its record to 4-1 with their third straight win by beating Wilmington in a hard-fought close meet. Melrose took the day with a 24-31 score.
Sophomore Caleb Barnes cruised to first place with a time over 16:33 over the flat 5k course. Close behind in 2nd was Melrose’s senior co-captain Ellis Iurilli Hough who finished in a speedy time of 16:39. There were no other runners under 17 minutes in this field of 29, but Melrose’s freshman Adam Caldwell came closest with his 3rd place finish in 17:33. It was a pivotal finish for Melrose as Wilmington got the next 4 places before Jonah Tulley came across the line in 18:32 for 8th place. Co-captain Peter Story continued his notable senior season as he closed out the victory for Melrose with his 10th place finish in 18:42. Closing out the varsity 7 were sophomores Jad Jamaleddine 18:46, and Emerson Blanchard, 18:53. Just missing a sub- 19 time was freshman Ben Dugan who ran a 19:01.
“This was a very challenging meet for us” noted coach Kevin Allison. “Wilmington gave everything they had and really pushed us. However it was a big meet for us because it ensured a winning season for our very young team and kept us alive in the race for the division lead. Fortunately we were ready to compete.”
The team will face 5-0 Burlington next week in their last league meet. “Burlington is a great team,” stated coach Allison. “They were division 2A champions last year and they seem at least as good as last year. It will be an immense challenge, but we will give them our best effort and see what happens.”