Second to One

It was perfect running weather on Saturday for the annual Merrimack Valley Conference Cross Country Meet at Chelmsford High School.

, was Tewksbury's first girl to cross the finish line in 18:46 over the 3.2 mile course. She was just one second behind the overall winner, Maggie Mullins from Andover. Patriarca, Mullins, and Haverhill's Julie Solimine battled for the lead position throughout the entire race. The race came down to a sprint down the straightaway, but Patriarca was edged out by Mullins.

Tewksbury Head Coach Peter Molloy said he was pleased with the race.

"They raced against Andover 10 days ago... (Laura) was 17 seconds back. Today she only lost by one second."

Ashley Toland finished 8^th overall with a time of 19:53, and Emily Parker ran the course in 20:59, good enough for a 20^th place finish. Sarah Parker, Sam McGouldrick and Jen Berian rounded out the top six finishers for Tewksbury.

"I'm really happy with the way they competed," said Molloy. "Ashley all conferenced for the first time in her career. She's one of the best all around runners (on the team).  Emily Parker came along and improved upon her time from last year."

Tewksbury's girls finished sixth as a team. Molloy said that Tewksbury's third runner was unable to race in MVC's, but should be back and healthy by the time states rolls around.

with 171 points.  Brian Amaral, 22^nd overall, was the Redmen's top runner, finishing in 17:41.  Craig Tino, 17:55, Kip Horahan, and Sean Foley were the next three runners for Tewksbury in 34^th, 35^th, and 38^th

places.

The MVC race drew more than 400 runners. All of the teams in the conference will be competing at the Eastern Mass State meet next Saturday at Franklin Park in Boston. The top five teams in each divisional race will advance to the All State Meet in Gardner, MA.