An outstanding Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) cross-country season came to a close on Saturday with one more great result, posted at the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) Division 2 All State Meet, held at the Wrentham Developmental Center.
Coming into the state championship, the Vineyard boys brought with them an unblemished league record, a victory in the junior/senior race at the Coaches Invitational on Nov. 6, and first place at the divisional meet on Nov. 13, but it was Wren Christy who stole the show by running the fastest ever girls 5K in school history. The MVRHS junior crossed the finish line in a personal best time of 18:56.0, placing 10th overall in the field of 186. Christy and Alexa Schroeder (117th, 21:08.7) qualified individually for the state meet based on their results last weekend in the divisional meet at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course.
The Vineyard boys, meanwhile, were hoping to close out a perfect season with a second consecutive state title, but it was not to be. MVRHS placed ninth of 23 teams, with 248 points and a combined time of 1:25:29. Wakefield topped the standings, with 99 points and a team time of 1:22:33.
Borja Tolay led the way, placing 26th of 189 runners, with a time of 16:38.8. Daniel da Silva was next for MV, finishing 42nd (16:51.0). Jonathan Norton, who took second at the Coaches Invitational and won the divisional race, got off to a rough start on Saturday with dozens of runners packed together, jostling for position, and came in 74th (17:15). “[Jonathan] was sideswiped and tweaked his knee about a quarter-mile in, and he limped home,” Vineyard Coach Joe Schroeder said. “He’s a warrior. He’s been our guy, but he was not 100 percent for 90 percent of the race.”
Daniel Serpa placed 85th (17:20.0), Sam Fetters 90th (17:24.4), Duncan Brown 136th (17:59.6), and Linus Mun, 178th (19:17.0).
“The guys ran hard, just not their day,” Schroeder said. “Wren, on the other hand, ran awesome. That’s not to discount what the boys did. They won every meet, big or small. Only one team brings the trophy home. A lot of other teams went home disappointed. Once our boys look back on it, they’ll be super-proud of what they accomplished.”
