Harwood boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams had solid team and impressive individual performances at the U-32 Invitational on Saturday, September 19.
The temperatures were extremely warm for mid-September. Despite the uncomfortable conditions, the Highlanders came through with a solid performance.
Nicole Cutler got things started for the Highlander girls with a thrilling third-place finish in the JV race. Cutler’s time of 24:47 for the 5K distance was tops among Division 2 JV runners and also earned her a place on varsity for the Manchester Invitational.
She was closely followed by first-year runners Katie Ferguson (sixth) and Hannah Clark (eighth).
First-year runner Seth Beard was equally impressive in the JV boys’ race. Beard is Harwood’s top sprinter for coach Haslam’s spring track team. He is making an excellent transition to the 5K distance, according to his coaches. He placed third in the 131-runner field and also earned a place on varsity. Beard was followed by Brendan Magill (20th) and Jonas Merchant (22nd).
The varsity girls got outstanding performances from Erin Magill (third) and Anneka Williams (fourth). The remaining members were not able to fend off a hard charge by U-32 girls. The Highlander girls fell to the U-32 Raiders for the first time in seven years. “U-32 girls were tough on their own course; hopefully, we can close the gap at Manchester,” said coach John Kerrigan.
Harwood varsity girls finished fourth overall and second among Division 2 teams.
Coach Kerrigan was most pleased by the Harwood boys’ team. The Harwood boys continue to improve with every race. First- year runner Noah Eckstein finished an impressive third in the 123-runner field. The pack of Daniel Bevacqui (10th), Colin Fennelly (13th) and Anthony Palmerio (17th) closely followed.
“Cross-country is a lot like poker; you need five good cards. Today we had four. Hopefully, we will close the gap between our fourth and fifth for Manchester,” Kerrigan said.
In basketball, the sixth man comes off the bench to spark the team. In cross-country the finish of the sixth man is used to break ties. Harwood senior Nathan Palmerio found himself in that role on Saturday. Palmerio beat the Montpelier sixth runner helping the Harwood boys to a second-place finish behind host U-32.
Twice now, the young Highlander boys have been in the top three of the Division 2 standings. “I like the composition of this team. Pack running is a refreshing change for us, after two years of depending on Gatorade All-American Sam Nishi to lead the team. They run with great spirit,” said Kerrigan.
