Harwood boys’ XC wins New England Small School Championship
Harwood boys shocked the field of runners and coaches at the 41st annual Manchester Invitational in Manchester, New Hampshire, on September 26.
Running in the Small School Division (less than 1,000 students – Harwood has about half that number) Harwood boys placed their top five runners in the top 50 to squeak out a five-point victory.
“Harwood boys have not won a single meet this year. So it was a complete shock to all who witnessed their effort at Manchester. It was a real team effort, said veteran coach Kerrigan.
“This was supposed to be a rebuilding year! During the Morse, Hyde and Nishi years, we never finished this high,” he added.
The Highlanders packed five boys within one minute of each other to help their effort. The Highlanders were paced by a surging Noah Eckstein (12), a steadily improving Daniel Bevacqui (30) and Kyle Dash (42), who had the best race of his career. Anthony Palmerio (44), Colin Fennely (46) and Nathan Palmerio (73) helped support the team effort.
Harwood girls proved that they might be the team to beat from northern New England. Harwood girls placed an impressive third (only two points out of second) in the elite field of runners: Erin Magill (9), Anneka Williams (17), Phoebe Sweet (26) and Jordy Kulis (30). Lily Clark (42) and Isabel Jamieson (48), Nicole Cutler (111) paced them.
“I was especially proud of Anneka who conquered the psychological demons stemming from her collapse from heat exhaustion in the 2014 Manchester Invitational. Lily, Jordy, Izzy and Phoebe also had outstanding races. Erin is closing the gap on Caitlin Compton’s school record of 19:10,” Kerrigan added.
All results can be found at http://nh.milesplit.com/meets/180285-manchester-invitational#.VgqBknvxg9c.
Both Harwood teams travel to Belfast, Maine, this weekend to compete in the Maine Cross-Country Festival. Seventy-two teams and 900 runners from four states and three Canadian provinces will compete.
