The Bromfield girls cross-country team took first place in the Mid-Wach D League championships this past Saturday, Oct. 26, at Hollis Hills Farm in Fitchburg.
Running on a hilly course against the four other teams in their league, the Trojan girls expected a tough race. They were undefeated for the season, with a 5-0 record, but the league win was not a guarantee. Last year, the team placed third; this year, the runners had a bigger goal: to win it all.
Knowing her team was counting on her, senior Tessa McClain jumped out front and led the field of 50 girls for the entire race. The next five Bromfield girls ran as a pack, with junior Helena Justicz leading the way. Behind her, the remaining four battled with Lunenburg and Murdock runners, Lunenburg being the biggest threat to a league title. Junior Hannah Beckman, freshman Molly Squire, seventh-grader Emma Squire, and eighth-grader Marissa Flynn worked together, going after Lunenburg, spreading out as the race progressed.
As the runners came through their last mile, with middle school Coach Ellis Toll keeping score, their chances looked good. One by one, the girls crossed the finish line, with McClain in first place, winning the race with a time of 19:14. She was followed by two Lunenburg and two Littleton runners to fill the top five places in the race. Bromfield runners needed to capture several more of the top spots for the team to win. Next came Justicz, placing sixth with a time of 21:16. Then Beckman finishing eighth with a time of 21:43 and Molly Squire finishing ninth, with a time of 22:05, getting Bromfield’s top four in the top 10.
Next came Emma Squire, finishing 13th with a time of 22:36 and then Marissa Flynn with 22:40, finishing 14th. Finally, rounding out the Bromfield finishers, Kaitlyn Ostrowski, Marley Ferguson, and Camille Bradley all crossed the line, 20th, 21st, and 22nd.
The girls are next headed to the MIAA Central Division 2 district championships, scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9, at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course.
Molly Squire is a Bromfield freshman and a member of the girls cross-country team.
