NEWBURYPORT — The tests figure to get harder for the Newburyport cross country teams, but through three meets the boys and girls are perfect.
Both teams provided encouraging performances for coach Don Hennigar yesterday afternoon with sweeps of Ipswich and Lynnfield. Brian Cosgrove (16:35) and Greg Englehart (16:45) finished first and second, respectively, against the Cape Ann League's top returning runner, Greg Krathwhol of Ipswich. Krathwhol is still recovering from a bout with Lime's Disease, but the two Newburyport runners posted significantly faster times than they ran at Maudslay State Park this time last year.
"Krathwhol will be a different runner in a month and a half, but Brian and Greg have the ability to be in the mix against anybody," Hennigar said. "Both worked very hard to get where they are."
The Newburyport girls, capitalizing on a pack mentality, swept the top eight places against both teams. Lindsay Cullen (19:59) finished first, breaking 20 minutes for the first time ever. Kim Martins and Maura Welch finished second and third, respectively.
The true test for both teams would appear to come next Wednesday when Masconomet visits Maudslay State Park. The Chieftain boys' and girls' teams both posted 11-1 records last fall.
Cullen appears to have grasped the sport rather quickly after competing in Irish dance and ski racing during her freshman and sophomore years. She had success in the 800 in indoor track as a sophomore and decided to try her hand at cross country.
"I wasn't expecting this to happen," Cullen said. "Maura and Kim get me on pace and help me so much. It's been a nice ride, and now I'm able to get out in front."
Englehart was Newburyport's top male runner last season before what he described as a disappointing performance at the CAL Open. During the regular season, he was the ninth fastest runner in the conference.
"I knew we'd have a good team this year, and I knew Brian would be right up with me," Englehart said. "I don't care who takes the top spot as long as we win meets."
With a boys' team that includes a top seven of all sophomores or juniors, Cosgrove felt next season would be Newburyport's best chance to win a league title.
"I guess it could be this year," Cosgrove said. "I hope so. This year and next year are big years. There are a lot of strong teams in the CAL."
But if yesterday's race was any indication, the Clippers are capable of surpassing even Cosgrove's expectations.
"We had no idea what to expect before the race because we knew (Krathwhol) is really fast," Cosgrove said. "We realized at the end of the race that we were dropping their guys as we came around the last bend. We just kept going hard."
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