League title will be on the line vs. Wakefield Oct. 22
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High boy’s cross country team are a perfect 5-0 following a big win over Burlington this week and two wins over Stoneham 15-50, and Wilmington 15-46 prior to that.
On Tuesday on the road, Melrose beat the Red Devils by a score of 26-30. Melrose senior captain Caleb Barnes remains unbeaten, topping the entire pack with a time of 15:29. Melrose made the most with the top 10 spots as Adam Caldwell came in 4th at 16:46, Henry McCormack was 5th at 16:55, Ben Dugan was 6th at 17:00, and Jonah Tully was 8th at 17:18.
With a flawless record, there is a strong chance that Melrose will earn the ML Freedom title should they beat archrival Wakefield (4-0) whom they face on Oct. 22 at home at Pine Banks during Senior Night.
Helping to keep Melrose undefeated has been standout senior captain Caleb Barnes who has been consistently dominant, posting a 15:43 last week against Wilmington. He has not lost a dual meet yet this season. But he’s also in good company. According to their coach, Alex DeRosa, Ben Dugan had a breakout race against Wilmington at 16:45, and Adam Caldwell and John Strong also broke 17 minutes, while Henry McCormack ran 17-flat and Jonah Tully rounded out our top 6 with a 17:06.
“We had other notable performances from freshman Eliot Barber who improved his personal best to 19:21, and fellow freshmen Luke McAndrew and Caleb Sanna also broke 20 minutes,” reports the coach. “Sophomore Bennet McGravey-VanLauwe also had a breakthrough with a 23:07, a 3-minute improvement over his previous best time.”
Recently Melrose competed at the Ocean State Meet on Saturday, Sept. 28. There, Caleb Barnes ran in the Championship race and finished 10th place in a field of 121 of the most competitive runners at the meet. Freshman Eliot Barber also medaled in the freshman race by finishing in the top 30 in a deep field of talented freshmen.
With Burlington behind them, it’s time for Melrose to focus on their final dual meet against Wakefield. “Wakefield is a formidable opponent, but we think we have a good chance against them,” says DeRosa.
But the team is also setting their sights on statewide accomplishments.
This weekend Melrose will compete at the Twilight Invitational in Cape Cod. Says coach DeRosa, “We will have fun and hopefully post some strong times, but our real focus is on the Freedom League Title and the Divisional and State Championships. We’re currently ranked 1st in division 2A, and we think we can deliver on expectations as long as we stay healthy and bring our best to that meet on November 9.”