Their smiles would only grow wider after the young Bromfield girls cross country team finished second at the Division 2 Central Massachusetts Sectional Championship. From left: Alexia Lipman, Sophia Collins, Harriet Hill, Katie Keefe, Mimi Narbonne, Rachel Leicher, and Emma Borton. (Courtesy photo)
Eighth-grader Alexia Lipman and senior Max Flaton both finished fifth as they powered Bromfield’s cross country teams to outstanding finishes at the Division 2 Central Massachusetts Sectional Championship at Gardner Municipal Golf Course, in Gardner, on Nov. 16.
The inexperienced Trojan girls were second out of 20 teams as Lipman finished 31 seconds behind champion and rival Kate McGahie of Tahanto in 17:48.2. Both were well astern of the course record, 15:50.0, set in 1977 by Bromfield’s Lynn Jennings, and the meet record, 16:00.0, set by Ari Lambie, another Trojan, in 2002.
Bromfield seventh-grader Sophia Collins (10th), junior Mimi Narbonne (20th) and junior Katie Keefe (23rd) all cracked the top 25. The Trojans’s 91 points fell short of Sutton’s 62.
“We have a very young team with two seventh-graders and an eighth-grader runner in our top five,” said Coach Ray Dunn. “They have no experience running at this level, and yet they have become very competitive, winning the Mid Wach League meet and now placing second at the districts.”
The team’s finish qualifies it to run in the Massachusetts State Championship Meet on Nov. 21 at Northfield Mountain Recreation Center.
Flaton’s 15:31.4 time for the 2.9-mile course led the Trojan boys to seventh place in their 24-team field. Titleist Arleigh McRae of Whitinsville Christian finished in 14:56.5.
Bromfield sophomore Ellis Toll was 28th and senior Tyler Papazian took 48th.
