Highlanders Have Eyes on the Prize

The Somerville High girls cross country team claimed its second consecutive Greater Boston League title last week and it now has its sights set on a bigger prize.

The Highlanders finished the season with a perfect 4-0 record in league meets and will look to improve upon its standings in the Eastern Mass. District Meet coming up later in the month. Only the top-four teams in the Eastern Mass. Districts advance for the shot at state recognition in the All-State Meet, and the Highlanders finished just inside the top-20 last season.

The girls are a year older and a year stronger, and head coach Charlie Tesch isn't ruling out anything.

"There is a possibility," said Tesch. "It's just going to depend on how people are going to develop and if they are able to run a high quality race in terms of not starting too fast and running a steady pace so they can stay strong at the finish."

This season the Highlanders have stayed strong and finished well all season against their league opponents. Iaritza Menjivar has mounted herself as the top-runner on the team and junior Pristine Mei hasn't been far behind.

This is Mei's second year of running cross country, and she's come a long way in those two years, said her coach.

"Last year she gradually got stronger and obviously she has some talent. Outdoor she was the league two-mile champion. Ran a lot of miles in the summer. She's continued to improve."

The two top-runners have separated themselves from the rest of the pack, but that second wave features some very strong milers. Rita Kelliher, Melina Jarrow and Maggie Langwig make up the next group of runners who help gobble up top-10 spots for the Highlanders.

Jarrow even ran on a twisted ankle earlier in the year to finish 10th to help secure a victory over Malden.

"It was hilly and the surface was really bad," Tesch explained. "It was getting kind of dark, and it was getting hard to see and the footing was bad. She rolled her ankle but kept running in spite of it."

The girls still have to run in the Greater Boston League Championships this weekend in Cambridge, but Tesch said no matter what the outcome, the Highlanders still take home the league title. He said he wants to see his girls continue to run strong, and hopefully make a move to creep up the leader board for a shot at the All-States.

"I think they are gong to be fairly close," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised, and there is a possibility. So we will see."