The girls varsity team won the 2023 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association cross-country Division 3 state championships on Saturday, Nov. 18, at Willard Park in Devens. The tension was palpable at the finish line as the team and coaches awaited the final results. Preliminary scores for Bromfield’s biggest competitor were slow to populate the leader board, making the triumph that much sweeter when the tabulation was complete. The Trojans beat Lenox Memorial by just 13 points, finishing with 125 points.
Junior Evelyn Wool led the team to victory, coming in fifth place overall with a finishing time of 19 minutes and 16.4 seconds. The Harvard Fire Department escorted the cross-country bus back to Bromfield with lights and smiles flashing, marking the end to a phenomenal season.
Runners are off to a fast start in the girls Division 3 state championship race held at Devens, Saturday, Nov. 18. (Photos by Kate Wool)
Girls Coach Matt Lynde was thrilled with his team’s achievement. “If all anyone saw was just the final race, you wouldn’t have any understanding of what these athletes had to do to prepare themselves to be champions,” said Lynde. “There is just so much quiet preparation in this sport. It takes an incredible amount of discipline and patience to have the success that this team had on Saturday. Summer training, six-day-a-week practices, running in all sorts of conditions this season—this group was willing to put in the work, and they were greatly rewarded for it.”
From left: The Bromfield Division 3 state champion girls cross-country team, from left, Helen Holzmann (10th grade), Abby Wool (8th grade), Rosie Bradley (10th grade), Ruby Farough (12th grade), Emma Squire (11th grade), Evelyn Wool (11th grade), Isabel Jackson (11th grade), and Coach Matt Lynde pose for a photo after winning the MIAA Division 3 Championship. The team won with 125 points.
The boys team put forth tremendous effort and finished fifth in the Division 3 state meet. Led by freshman Ben McWaters, who placed 17th overall, Bromfield scored 190 points to Parker Charter’s 63 first-place points. “I am really proud of my boys team. They have been the best team I’ve coached both on and off the cross-country course,” said Coach Marisa Steele. “From our senior captains, Jack Stahl and Diesel Whitten, down to our new freshman and middle school runners, they have worked hard and should be proud of their accomplishments.”
Led by freshman Ben McWaters’ (#112) 17th-place finish, the Bromfield boys cross-country team placed fifth out of 23 teams at the MIAA Division 3 State Championships. From left, Harrison Binnick (10th grade), Jack Stahl (12th grade), Charlie Gowel (9th grade), Liam Kemeza (10th grade), McWaters, Christian Johannesen (10th grade), and Diesel Whitten (12th grade).
It is remarkable to note the change in depth of the boys cross-country sport over the past few years. Steele explained that the team this year ran, on average, 20 to 30 seconds faster than the 2021 team that also placed fifth in the division. It used to be that 20 or so runners would finish within two minutes of the winner, according to Steele, while this year, 48 boys accomplished the feat. “It’s not so much that the winning times have changed over the years, rather it’s that the number of kids who are running fast times has increased,” said Steele.
Evelyn Wool finishes strong to take fifth-place in the cross-country Division 3 State Championship.
Both teams had a stellar season despite the unpredictable New England weather conditions. Dramatic shifts in temperature, above-average rainfall resulting in muddy and sometimes precarious courses, as well as multiple injuries couldn’t stop the teams from outstanding performances. Reflecting upon the girls’ success, Lynde said: “Witnessing the joy on all their faces as they came together to celebrate was truly amazing. This was a big deal for this program, and what I hope is a source of pride for the school and for the community.”
Julie Gowel is a cross-country team parent.
Results, 2023 MIAA Division 3 State Championships
Bromfield girls (top 5 finishers)
- Evelyn Wool (19 minutes, 16.04 seconds), 5th place
- Rosie Bradley (20:13.9), 16th
- Isabel Jackson (20:52:48), 29th
- Emma Squire (21:34.63), 48th
- Abby Wool (22:00.84), 68th
Bromfield boys (top 5 finishers)
- Ben McWaters (16:51.27), 17th
- Jack Stahl (17:17.63), 28th
- Harrison Binnick (17:43.83), 48th
- Christian Johannesen (18:07.27), 74th
- Liam Kemeza (18:07.99), 76th
