Both girls’ and boys’ teams finish unbeaten for league titles
Boys’ teams gets the job done against rival Warriors
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—It is often the case that all roads go through Wakefield when it comes to Middlesex League cross country, and sure enough they were the team that the Melrose High boy’s cross-country team had to defeat to complete a rare sweep of the Middlesex Freedom League, last done by Melrose in 2018. On Oct. 21 Melrose topped archrival Wakefield, 22-34 to sweep the league and take the ML Freedom title, as they now eye a long postseason.
“Our athletes ran with courage and grit, many posting season bests on our course,” says a proud Melrose coach Alex DeRosa. “That includes senior captain John Strong, who finished 2nd in 17:02, and John Myers, who finished 10th in his varsity debut with a 90-second personal best of 18:26 to finish ahead of Wakefield’s 5th runner.”
Other notable performances came from captain Henry McCormack (3rd 17:18), Daniel Teittinen (4th 17:36), Ben Dugan (5th 18:03), and big PRs from sophomore Elliot Barber (8th 18:14) and freshman Lincoln Schuyler (12th 18:34). Levi Barnes also had a breakthrough race in his varsity debut with a time of 19:04.
It was a total group effort against the Warriors, and over the season, much of this team’s success has been characterized by the work of their current four-year seniors, who have helped Melrose compile a staggering 17-3 record in the Freedom League. “Our top runner has alternated between Henry McCormack and John Strong, but it’s our top 4 made us a reliably competitive force in this league,” notes coach DeRosa. “Daniel Teittinen and captain Ben Dugan have been our 3rd and 4th runners, steadily improving each week and routinely outperforming their competition in dual meets.”
It took a village to finish flawless over the long fall season. Melrose’s recent meet against Burlington was also a win and included top times from runners Henry McCormack (winner) along with good finishes from John Strong, Dan Teittinen, Ben Dugan, Elliot Barber, Lincoln Schuyler, Anderson Ji, and Luke McAndrew.
Now that they have earned the Freedom League trophy, there is much more work to be done. Melrose will compete in the ML Finals next week before embarking on what they hope will be a long Div. 2 State postseason. Like almost every year, November is their target month.
Says coach DeRosa, “The season has been characterized by consistent hard work and selfless devotion to the team cause on the part of all our athletes, both JV and varsity. With the League title under our belts, we now look forward to qualifying for the Division 2 State Finals, which we are confident we can achieve as long as everyone remains healthy.”
Cross country girls are repeat league champs
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—It’s been another winning season for the MHS girls cross country team who took the Middlesex Freedom League on Tuesday with a 24-35 win over arch rival Wakefield to complete a flawless 5-0 sweep of the league to repeat their Middlesex Freedom title.
Coming into the last stretch of season, Wakefield was one of the final challenges on Melrose’s radar. Results of the race were not available at press time, but it represents the culmination of a flawless dual meet season in the ML Freedom.
Melrose head coach Nick Tuccinardi saluted his team for pulling off another championship, the first flawless Freedom league season in several years. “This was the ultimate team win and no one is more deserving than this team,” he said. “These girls are hard workers, mentally tough, and really care about each other. It’s been an absolute privilege for coach Loewald and I to be part of this team.”
Tuccinardi commented on the mindset going into the race against the Warriors. “We practiced at our course last Thursday with a focus on finishing the race strong. While we were aware of what was at stake, in most ways we treated it as business as usual.”
Prior to their victory, Melrose positioned themselves into this edge with a 19-36 win on Oct. 14 over rival Burlington, another opponent who was considered must-win. Leading the pack for Melrose was Reilly Powell, who topped all competition. Taking the 3rd-6th spots were Melrose’s Naomi Breay, Violeta Rechea, Adelina Barnes and Teagan Altman.
But wins aside, one of the best indicators of the teams success, and a point of pride for coach Nick Tuccinardi, is that much of the team is experiencing a bevy of reduced times and personal records. “This has been quite an exciting season for us as we have a mix of hard working veterans who’s years of training are paying off with some big PR’s,” says coach Tuccinardi. “At the same time we have a lot of runners who are new to cross country and they are developing quickly and each week seems better than the last. In the past 10 days (3 meets) over half of the team has set a new PR.”
Leading in the pack all season has been their number one runner, junior Reilly Powell, who finishes most races at the top of the pack, just like her previous seasons. “Reilly is a fantastically talented athlete. Up until the Wakefield meet, she has not faced much competition within the league,” notes Tuccinardi. “It is awfully hard to run the fastest without another runner to race. Despite this, Reilly is developing some strong mental toughness and still turning in great times.”
She had an incredibly strong Twilight Meet earlier this season, which featured a highly competitive field. Powell took 5th overall and set a lifetime personal record of 18:23. She also recently set a course record at Pine Banks with a time of 19:58.
Though the dual meet season is completed, there is a lot of running left to do, including the annual Middlesex League Meet on Monday at Woburn Country Club, and post season races. Melrose is looking to return to Div. 2 finals and even take the top spot.
Says the coach, “We loved beating Wakefield to win the league and repeat as champs. Beyond that, we look to be highly competitive in the divisional round. We feel confident that we are doing the right things as a team to achieve that goal.”