Price Day (#522) competes in the state cross-country finals. He finished in 20th place. (Courtesy photo)
Junior Price Day and sophomore Nick Steele competed on Saturday in the MIAA All State Division II Cross-Country Championship held at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course, and both turned in strong performances
Having qualified for the meet the week before at the District Championship with their third- and fifth- place finishes, the two runners lined up at the start with 180 top athletes from across the state.
Over a hilly 2.9-mile course, both runners did well in what proved to be a very competitive race. Newburyport junior Nick Carleo was first with a time of 14:05 minutes, and Burlington’s Paul Hogan finished second in 14:21 minutes, their times demonstrating the incredible depth of running talent in MIAA cross-country.
Day crossed the finish line in a very strong 20th place with a time of 15:25 minutes, bettering his time at the District Meet (also held at Gardner) by 11 seconds. Steele out-kicked Pembrook senior Billy Stafford for 47th place to finish in a time of 15:52 minutes.
Both athletes finished ahead of many runners who had beaten them in previous races, a fitting end to what was an excellent season for the two Bromfield harriers. Missing the first month of the season with a foot injury, Steele seemed to hardly miss a beat, demonstrating marked improvement from last year and establishing himself as one of the best runners in central Massachusetts. Day was the mark of consistency this season as Bromfield’s lead runner in each meet. Winning each of the six regular season meets and repeating as league champion, his times also indicated an improvement in strength and speed from last year. His three top-ten finishes at the premier invitational meets held this season further demonstrate that he is one of the best cross-country runners in the state.
For both athletes it was a season to be proud of, and next fall both will return along with the rest of the Bromfield squad to be even stronger and faster.
For the Parker Charter School in Devens, Harvard residents Nico Agosta finished in 71st place (16:08) and Phoebe von Conta finished in 23rd place (18:08).
Isabel Alexander is a graduate of the Bromfield School and
coach of the Bromfield boys and girls cross-country teams.
