Melrose's Whalen Stands Out in Middlesex League Cross Country Meet

The  cross country teams competed in the Middlesex League meet held at the Woburn Country Club on Monday afternoon, and Anna Whalen had a stand out performance finishing in 18th place. 

The race was comprised of all 10 teams in the Middlesex League, and Melrose ran well against such steep competition.

The boys varsity team finished in seventh place, and the girls varsity finished in eighth. 

The representing 2010 League Champions were victorious at the race, and victors included the Lexington girls, and the Winchester boys. The Sachems (8-0) were going into the race off an undefeated regular season. 

Whalen had an impressive outing, and was the first Red Raider to finish the girls varsity race. She came in 18th place with a time of 16:57. Hannah Singleman (21st place, 17:03) and Sarah MacDonald (30th place, 17:22) were not far behind, also registering strong showings.

John Lavasseur was the first runner from Melrose to complete the 2.5 mile course in the boys varsity race, coming in 43rd place (out 68 runners) with a time of 14:52. 

A new award was given out at the end of the race called the "Phil Riley Most Outstanding Performer Award." Reading's Micayla Oniskey was one of this year's recipients and finished in first place overall in the varsity girls race.

She finished with a time of 15:37, one of the fastest times that has ever been recorded on the course. She also recently broke the course record at Reading Memorial High School during the regular season.

"I couldn't be more proud of Micayla's race," Reading coach Michael Connelly said "She has had an excellent season, and has really worked hard over the the past 12 months to get herself to the next level and she proved herself today," he added.

This award was given out in honor of the late Stoneham High School cross country coach of 22 years and high school English teacher, Phil Riley, who passed away on April 10, 2010. Riley was only 58 years old.

Coaches, student athletes, and parents had a moment of silence at the end of the meet in remembrance of Riley. 

Also at the end of the meet the top 20 runners from each varsity race were awarded with medals, and the meet victors were presented with trophies. 

Whalen received a medal, and was applauded in honor of her achievement by her teammates and coaches.

Note: the last three pictures to the right of this article show the scores of the races. The boys varsity scores have since been recalculated.