At the end of the day, both Harwood Middle School cross-country girls’ and boys’ teams stood on top of the podium at the Randolph XC Invitational on Friday, September 23, in Randolph.
Ava Thurston (first overall) with a time of 11:54 and Wren Forbes (second), only 12 seconds behind her teammate, blasted a clear path through the competition for the middle school girls, bringing home yet another title. The middle school boys, led by Carlton Cummiskey (third overall) with a time of 10:59 and Joe Hale (fourth) followed suit, insisting on their spot on the podium as champions for the second time this season as well.
“This is the first time since I've had the privilege of working with Harwood's gritty middle school cross-country teams where both the girls and boys swept an invitational!” said coach Lou Bevacqui. “The hard work and dedication that these runners have displayed over the last few weeks has been nothing less than inspiring and their work ethic is becoming more and more obvious as the season progresses.”
On the girls’ side, Thurston and Forbes were followed by Caelyn McDonough (fourth), Mia Smith (seventh), Kaia Levey (ninth), Izabella Hubble (10th), and Anna Alberghini (13th) with five finishers from Harwood in the top 10 overall. After Cummiskey and Hale, the boys’ team was rounded out by Ruslan Henry (seventh), Hale Boyden (eighth), Luke Groom (10th), Zennor DiMario (11th) and Mason Berry (17th); the Highlander boys also had five finishers in the top 10 overall, clinching the victory.
Some other great performances of the day: Hadley Kielich, Charlotte Mays, Angela Bywaters and Sophie Krotinger came in like a wave crashing at the finish line, only 13 seconds apart from each other, keeping any competition at bay. Mia George, even after having suffered an ankle injury early in the race, willed herself across the finish line. For the boys, Ethan Geiger, August Peterson and Ben White barely let air get past them, coming in only nine seconds of each other.
Next, the Highlander Middle School teams take on their parents and families at the Friends and Family Meet at Harwood on Friday, September 30.
