Post-publication update: Melrose falls to Winchester 39-22 (Sept. 10)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High girls cross country team returns this week, kicking off their Middlesex League schedule when they travel to Horn Pond to take on Winchester on Wednesday.
Melrose returns after not just winning the Middlesex Freedom League but placing 4th in the Div. 2 Finals in 2024. Expectations are big this year, as they are every year, and this team has the depth and experience to maintain this winning tradition.
As reigning league champs, Melrose will certainly have a target on their back during dual meet season and in invitationals. But that also means they return with confidence. “We love the way our team is coming together in the early part of the season,” says Melrose head coach Nick Tuccinardi. “We have a great mix of veterans and newcomers and the energy is excellent.”
That includes their captains Naomi Breay and Violeta Rechea.
They will lead a squad that includes ten seniors: Teagan Altman, Zoe Audet, Naomi Breay, Dakota DiGiorgio, Mae Donohue, Isla Paulson, Aamal Qureshi, Violeta Rechea, Sophie Strileckis and Laurel Wallace.
“We have 28 runners this season which is on the bigger end for us. We are led by a strong top 3 of Naomi Breay, Violeta Rechea, and Reilly Powell,” reports the coach.
Powell has already had a strong first few seasons with Melrose. The junior was unbeaten in dual meet competition last season and had an impressive first place finish among all sophomores at the Frank Kelley Invitational in 2024. She finished her sophomore season by placing 4th overall at the Div. 2 State Finals last year. The future is bright for this speedy junior.
And she and her teammates got their feet wet last weekend at the MSTCA Relays at Highland Park. “All our runners ran hard and were proud of their finishes. Ellie Weieneth took a medal in the coed race and Naomi Breay, Violeta Rechea, and Reilly Powell took a medal in fourth place for the junior/senior girls relay.”
This week, they are preparing for their season opener against Winchester on Wednesday (post deadline).
“As always we are looking at a difficult road that will likely culminate in our last dual meet versus Wakefield deciding the title,” predicts Tuccinardi. Last year Melrose beat Wakefield convincingly for the league title, but Melrose also knows it’s a long season. Says the coach, “We want to focus on being a healthy team in which all runners compete all season. Of course, injuries are not 100% preventable but we are putting in the work with strength, pre-hab, and stretching to do all we can to be running strong late into November.”