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Girls place second in MIAA Division 3 state cross-country championship; boys place sixth

Led by senior captain Evelyn Wool and junior Rosie Bradley, the Bromfield girls cross-country team won second place in this year’s Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 state championship held Saturday afternoon at Devens.

Wool placed second in her Division 3 race with a time of 18 minutes, 55.57 seconds. Bradley was fifth with a time of 19:39.01. Bromfield’s team score was 133.

Abby Wool (right) photographs Roșie Bradley and Evelyn Wool displaying their medals. (Photos by Kate Wool)

The boys team placed sixth with 221 points. Sophomore Ben McWaters was Bromfield’s first runner, placing 19th with a time of 17:14.86 and followed closely by junior Harrison Binnick in 20th place (17:16.24).

Each year the MIAA cross- country state championship brings together the top 21 teams plus a couple of wild cards in each of the association’s three divisions, as well as the 30 fastest individual runners in each division who are not affiliated with a team. Each school that qualifies for the event is permitted to enter seven athletes. Team scores are calculated by adding the places of a team’s first five runners to cross the finish line.

Evelyn Wool approaches the finish line.

The sky was clear and the temperature an unseasonable 60 degrees at the midafternoon start of both the girls and boys D3 races. The Willard Field complex at Devens resembled an encampment Saturday, a festival-like gathering filled with the colored canopies of schools from across the state, backpacks, water bottles, and clothing piled in a jumble beneath. Fans waited in a long line at the MIAA merchandise tent to buy event-themed clothing, and a nearby hot dog truck provided sustenance to participants and attendees.

“It’s a difficult course,” girls coach Matt Lynde told the Press. “I don’t know why exactly,” he said, but he noted that runners had to circle the Willard complex three times before heading to the finish line, traversing rolling terrain and ascending a steep hill about two miles into the race. The ground was bone dry after weeks without rain, and runners complained of dust on the course.

Lynde said that because of their performance at last week’s sectionals in Wrentham, he thought it likely the Hamilton-Wenham girls would win the division this year, and they did. A second place finish by Bromfield, he said, depended on beating Norwell and possibly Mount Greylock. He said the team could count on Wool and Bradley finishing among the top 10 runners but beating Norwell or Mount Greylock was going to be “done on the margins,” by placing lower than the third, fourth, and fifth place runners of Bromfield’s rivals. He wasn’t sure the team could pull it off, he said, but everyone exceeded expectations: Sophomore Abby Wool, junior Christina Kekis, and junior Helen Holzmann all finished ahead of the corresponding Norwell and Mount Greylock runners.

“I’m so happy,” said senior captain Evelyn Wool. “I’m so proud of everyone. We all pushed as hard as we could, and it came off.”

A season of growth for the boys

The boys team may not have placed as high in the state meet as it had hoped, but Bromfield ended its season with a perfect 5-0 Midland-Wachusett League record and the league’s C Division championship.

“After last week’s outstanding performance at [the Division 3 sectionals], I was hoping that we could snag a third or fourth place finish at the D3 State Meet,” boys coach Marisa Steele wrote in an email. “Although we fell short with our sixth place finish, I am so proud of this team.”

In Saturday’s race, McWaters finished among the top 20 runners while not fully recovered from a bout with flu earlier in the week. Binnick, Steele noted, has been moving up in the rankings since eighth grade: from 74th his first year, 56th as a freshman, 48th as a sophomore, and 20th this year as a junior.

Ben McWaters (#875, second from left) approaches the finish line with Harrison Binnick on his heels. The boys came in first and second for Bromfield.

Steele also had a shoutout for freshman Kai Kemeza. Kemeza has been the team’s sixth runner all season and made huge gains, she said, finishing fourth at Saturday’s event. He crossed the finish line just seconds behind his third place brother Liam, contributing to the team score for the first time this season.

“[The boys] are a great group of kids that work hard every day,” said Steele. “I can’t wait for next fall when we bring back our entire squad.”

The fastest individual runner at Saturday’s event was Cameron Davis of Oxford, this year’s girls Division 3 champion, with a time of 18:20.12. The winning team, Hamilton-Wenham, had a score of 89. Mount Greylock was third with 157 points and Norwell fourth with 162 points.

Everette Pacheco of Monument Mountain Regional (16:09.09) won the boys race. Parker Charter is this year’s MIAA Division 3 champion with a team score of 52.

MIAA District 3 State Championship, Nov. 16

Girls

  • Evelyn Wool, senior, second place, 18:55.57
  • Rosie Bradley, junior, fifth place, 19:31.09
  • Abby Wool, ninth-grader, 31st place, 21:09.23
  • Christina Kekis, junior, 59th place, 22:03.91
  • Helen Holzmann, junior, 91st place, 22:37.65
  • Kylie Nguyen, ninth-grader, 141st place, 23:59.19
  • Gabriella Temps, sophomore, 156th place, 24:50.25
    Team score: 133

Boys

  • Ben McWaters, sophomore, 19th place, 17:14.86
  • Harrison Binnick, junior, 20th place, 17:16.24
  • Liam Kemeza, junior, 64th place, 18:04.24
  • Kai Kemeza, ninth-grader, 66th place, 18:07.96
  • Shea Van Cleef, sophomore, 100th place, 18:32.34
  • Christian Johannesen, junior, 102nd place, 18:34.67
  • Micah Wiebe, ninth-grader, 116th place, 18:49.88
    Team score: 221
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