Harwood Middle School cross-country boys won the U-32 invitational title for the second year in a row on Saturday, September 16. The Highlander girls’ team narrowly missed a spot on the podium, finishing strong in fourth place.
“After such a big showing at the prestigious Burlington Invitational and more than a few of our team members sick, our HUMS runners didn't seem to have an issue finding the heart and will to give incredible back-to-back performances,” said coach Lou Bevacqui.
The boys were led to their first-place finish by Joe Hale, who came in 13th out of 115 runners with a time of 9:31. He was followed by a wall of Harwood runners -- Carlton Cummiskey (15th) , Ruslan Henry (16th), Zennor DiMario (17th) and Luke Groom (18th). The Harwood top seven boys included a photo finish by Mason Berry (36th) and Hale Boyden (38th), finishing less than a second apart.
For the girls, Ava Thurston trumped 112 other runners for an impressive second place with a time of 9:58. Wren Forbes (5th) also pushed her way into the top 10 overall. Thurston and Forbes were followed by their Highlander teammates Kaia Levey (26th), Caelyn McDonough (27th), Katie Rush (34th), Anna Alberghini (35th) and Mackenzie Greenberg (37th).
