Shawsheen XC Mini-Camp Kicks Off Season

The Shawsheen Tech cross country squad has been running circles around the competition for the past two years.

The boys team has gone undefeated in the Commonwealth Athletic Conference (CAC) for the past two seasons, and the girls were 2008-09 Vocational State Champions. In more recent successes, the girls and boys came in second place in the State Voke meet in the 2009-10 season.

Senior Captain Johanne Legrand will be leading the girls' team this season. She played a big role in helping her team place second in last year's Mass. State Vocational Championship held at Blackstone Valley Tech. in Upton.

Legrand placed fifth out of 86 female runners in the state meet, and her average mile time was 6:50.7 in the 3.1 mile run.

"This year, Johanne should be our top girl," said head cross country coach Tim Broadrick.

Legrand's co-captain is senior Ben Bourne. Bourne came in 52nd out of 116 male runners at last year's state meet and his average mile time was 6:20.3 in 3.1 miles.

Broadrick is very confident in the amount of talented runners that make up the boys' squad.

"The boys' team is deep so there are a handful of guys who may run up front. Time will tell," Broadrick said.

The CAC is a large conference made up of mostly vocational schools. Competitors include Shawsheen, Greater Lowell, Greater Lawrence, Chelsea, Mystic Valley, Essex Aggie, Mystic Valley, Northeast Metro Tech, Whittier Tech, and Minuteman Tech.

The season officially began Aug. 26-27 with a two-day mini camp and fitness test. Broadrick, who is going on his fifth year as head coach, was not allowed to hold any team practices until the designated date of Aug. 26 due to league rules and regulations.

At their first official meeting, the runners met at the Shawsheen baseball diamond, and ran together across varying terrain, including through woods, fields, and paved streets.

"We have one big team and there are no cuts," Broadrick said. "Any kid who shows up and wants to run will be able to be on the team."

The only time the cohesive team is split up is when the running is at the Championship level. At State Championship meets, each eligible team selects the top ten runners from their squads to compete against other league/conference champion teams.

"During regular season races we are allowed to run entire teams, but later in the season we pick our top runners to continue to compete," Broadrick said.

Shawsheen's season-opener will be at home on Sept. 15. The regular season spans through mid-October.