Despite the absence of two of their top five runners, Harwood girls pulled a major upset at the NVAC (Mountain Division) Cross-Country Championships in Newport, Vermont, on October 24.
Erin Magill led the Highlander girls with a third-place finish. She was followed by the pack of Phoebe Sweet (6), Jordy Kulis (8) and Lily Clark (9). “Cross-country is a lot like poker; you need five good cards. Without Anneka and Izzy we needed one wild card today; Katie was that wild card and we needed help from our sixth and seventh runners as well,” said coach John Kerrigan.
Harwood sophomore Katie Ferguson had her best effort finishing 19th and beating the fifth runner from North Country to spoil the host teams chances of a home victory. Harwood’s sixth and seventh runners, Nicole Cutler and Aenea Mead, sealed the Highlander victory by displacing the fifth runner from U-32.
Harwood girls also dominated the JV races – winning the team JV title. They were led by Hannah Clark (2), Gloria Richter (3), Anna Schmeltzer (4), Ciara Mead (7), Victoria Morgan (8) and Grace Simmons (10). It was all black and gold also from places 11 to 16 as well – Carly Wilcox (11), Callie Anderson (12), Wynne Plagge (14), Anna Van Dine (15) and Grace Woodruff (16). “Our girls’ XC team is a dominant force in northern Vermont,” said a very happy John Kerrigan.
Harwood boys were without their top runner, Noah Eckstein. Despite a poor start, the Harwood boys came back strong to finish third in the conference. They were led by Daniel Bevacqui (13), Colin Fennelly (15), Anthony Palmerio (16), Kyle Dash (18), Nathan Palmerio (21), Seth Beard (22) and Tristan Touchette (24).
“Our pack was just a little behind the U-32 pack; hopefully, we can close up that gap next week at States,” said Kerrigan. U-32 boys won the team title with Montpelier second.
“I think Montpelier may actually be the team to beat at States. Winning the NVAC meet is often a jinx. It’s kind of like having your photo on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Last year we lost the conference meet to Montpelier and won at States,” said Kerrigan.
Kerrigan’s superstitious thoughts may be influenced by the fact that the State Cross-Country Championships take place on Halloween Day in the Thetford Woods.
Harwood JV boys battled with the U-32 boys for the top spots. They were led by Cam Alberghini (2), Jonas Merchant (3), Riley Powell (7) and Chris Cahalan (9). U-32 boys placed six runners in the top 10 to nip the Highlanders.
The Vermont State Cross-Country Championships take place Saturday, October 31, at Thetford Academy. The boys’ race starts at 11 a.m. The girls’ race follows the boys. Harwood boys will be going for their fifth straight state title. Harwood girls will be striving for an unprecedented seventh straight Vermont Division II title.
