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Martlets Finish Third at New England D2 Championships
For the final team competition of the season, the Martlets traveled on an unseasonably cold day to Berkshire School for the NEPSTA D2 championships, an event that pits Westminster against 16 other schools from the region. The competition at this meet just keeps getting stronger each year, as the XC programs at a number of schools have taken off. The temperature hovered around freezing as the gun went off, and the field climbed for the first half of the race into the hills surrounding the school. Emmett de Kanter ’19 traded third place back and forth with the top runner from Thayer. He broke 17 minutes on this very hilly course but ultimately slipped to fifth place, which is still his best finish at this event. Teagan Stedman ’18 ran a composed race, trading places with the top Williston runner with whom he has battled several times this season. Stedman finished just behind the eighth place runner. Justin Schuster ’19 was told he was 21st at the two-mile mark, and he took off, ultimately battling into the top 20 at the 19th position by running two seconds off his lifetime best on this hilly course. De Kanter, Stedman and Schuster were designated All-New England runners for finishing in the top 20 and can compete in the All-Star meet next weekend. Daniel Pinckney ’20 narrowly missed that distinction, finishing in 26th place, followed closely by a surging John Kuzminskas ’18, who finished in 35th. These five scorers earned the lowest score (93) Westminster has earned in the past few decades at this meet. The displacers, Daniel Chey ’18 (38th) and Elliott Kennard ’19 (54th), again helped the team finish in front of Thayer for third place overall. This Westminster team is the first in more than 20 years to score less than 100 points at this championship meet. It was a great team effort and conclusion to a wonderful season.
In the JV race, the sun had dipped below the mountains and the temperature dropped well below freezing when the runners stripped out of their sweats at the line and took to the course. More than 150 competitors charged up the hillside in the first mile, with the black and gold in the mix behind a pack from powerhouse Roxbury Latin. Will Rizzo ’21, easily distinguishable around the course by his bright red Rangers hat, finished first for the Martlets and 10th overall. Two Sixth formers who ran their season bests, despite the cold, closely followed Rizzo and challenging terrain, to also ribbon in this meet; Andrew Doucette ’18 took 15th and Ryan Szykowny ’18 took 16th. Again, placing three runners at the top of this competitive JV field says a lot both about the preparation that team members did for the season and the determination they showed on meet day. Other scoring finishers were Connor Seeley ’18 (21st) and Alex Ellis ’20 (48th), who also ran his season best. The team had a solid third place finish as well. A special shout-out to Mike Riberdy ’18, Chris Whipple ’18 and Sean Ryan ’18 who, along with Stedman, Chey, Doucette, Szykowny and Seeley, finished their Westminster XC careers today. Thank you, too, to all of the parents who braved the cold and darkness to come and support the team, today and all season.
For full results, go to http://www.coolrunning.com/results/17/ma/Nov11_NEPSTA_1_set1.shtml
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