OA's Beck, Hickey Shine at MSTCA Coaches Invitational

Eight of the ten cross-country teams of the Hockomock League took part in one last tune up before the State Divisional Championships Saturday morning and afternoon. With no team scores and only individual performances being recorded, the MSTCA Coaches’ Invitational proved to be a nice but competitive environment to get a good time in before the State Championship Meets.

Drew Beck of walked away with the win in the Div. 1 Boys 11th and 12th grade race with a time of 16:29.7 on the 5K course. With no one within 10 seconds of him, it was a comfortable win for the OA senior.

“Drew ran really confident today. He was looking to use this race as a tune up for next week’s class championships,” said Oliver Ames coach Neil Levine.

The next best finisher from the Hock was Andrew Hood from Franklin with a 9th place finish and a time of 17:29.6.

Other times of note from the race include Attleboro’s Eric Harris (24th 17:57.7), Attleboro’s Ethan Fullerton (27th 18:01.6), OA’s Briton Copley (32nd 18:08.2), and Mansfield’s Conor Monks (35th 18:10.3).

Drawing shades of their race from the Hockomock League Championship, Oliver Ames’ Shannon Hickey once again found herself at the front of the pack in the Division 1 Girls 11th and 12th grade race with Alexandria Giese and Lauren Hagen of Franklin. While Giese and Hagen went 1st and 2nd with Hickey taking 4th, an error by the lead car cut the course from 3.1 miles to between 2.6 and 2.7 miles. Unable to adjust her kick in time, Hickey fell back to take 4th place overall.

“When Shannon started to make her move to kick she was thinking there was another half mile left of the course,” said Levine. “Who knows what the results would have been but the lead vehicle being a little short, it kinda threw off the girls’ race a little bit,” said Levine.

Foxborough’s Kevin Aldrich was the league’s best finisher in the Division 2 Boys 11th and 12th grade race with a time of 17:57. The time was good enough for an 18th place finish. Canton’s John Whittemore finished in 38th place with a time of 18:29.5.

In the Division 2 Girls 11th +12th grade race, Foxborough’s Jacqueline Bailey finished in 77th place with a time of 23:34.8. Not far behind was her teammate Julie Schoener in 102nd place with a time of 24:16.5.

Other times of note include Foxborough’s Kayla Sepe time of 12:54.5 in the Division 2 Freshmen Girls 3K race. The time was good enough for a 7th place finish. Foxborough’s Billy Clark finished in 15th place with a time of 11:15.7 in the Division 2 Freshmen Boys 3K race. Mansfield’s Emily Sarkisian finised in 7th place with a time of 12:40.3 in the Division 1 Freshmen Girls 3K race.

For a complete results list, click here.

Next week the harriers of the Hockomock League will compete in the State Divisional Championships at Franklin Park. First race goes off at 9:00am.