The Mustangs made some serious headway over the weekend.
The Medford High boys and girls cross country teams each took third place in the Greater Boston League Meet, Oct. 27 at Fresh Pond.
According to Medford High cross country coach Lou Ruggiero, the two teams continued to make strides as they wrap up the regular season docket, and certainly proved it as they cover the 3.1 mile course with relentless precision.
“We had a very good showing,” Ruggiero said. “We’ve come along way this season. Our training has improved, because we’re now getting in shape to do more work. We started off slow, because many didn’t put in enough summer training. As we started to get in running shape we were able to increase our mileage and it started to pay off.
The boys team took third with 63 points.
Stephen Mahoney led the way with a 10th place finish. He was followed by Brian Boune (13th), Steve Lee (16th), Paul Nyuyen (17th) and Sean Napier (18th). Paul Williams (23rd), Kevin Andes (24th) and Gabriel Hollings (26th), also held their own.
Overall the boys averaged 45 seconds faster than the last time they ran the course.
“This is a great way to end this part of the season and aim for the state meet,” Ruggiero said. “I believe our runners realize that they need to put in some summer training to be ready for the start of the season.”
The Mustang girls seemed to match their counterparts stride for stride, also scoring third with 63 points.
Caroline Daly delivered for the Mustangs taking in ninth, followed closely by sophomores Jessica Brady (10th) and Arianne Buelto (11th). Karina Barrett (15th) and Madison Carvello (20th) kept up the pace, with Daria Eshelman (22nd), Carloyn Galebach (23rd), Kathleen Callahan (24th) and Meagan Fung (25th), also factoring in the decision.
The girls average over a minute faster than their last race, but was up against the odds facing against experienced talent.
“We are very young, while the top part of the league is made up of mostly seniors,” he said. “Should they do the summer running I feel we can run with the front runners next year.”
Meanwhile, Medford’s JV boys squad proved to be the team to beat. The Mustangs managed to place the top four finishers in its two-mile jaunt, winning the meet with 16 points.
Matthew Beckshaw hit all the right notes winning his first race of the season. The super sophomore, who also moonlights as a member of the Medford High band, was pressed into service early in order to play a concert later that day. Freshman Justin Brown took second, after narrowly getting edged by by Beckshaw by less than a minute. Philip Phillippps placed third.
Newcomer Shawn Normile was strong in sixth and Stephen Monahan finished in 10th.
The JV girls were energized by Alyssa Valentyn (10th), Zoe Pancic (17th) and Clarisse Coughlan (18th).
“In all the coaches were happy with the overall performance of the team,” Ruggiero said. “We had numbers which will prove to be a strong point for next season.”
Next up for the Mustangs is the MIAA State Meet, Nov. 10.