The very best of the area's cross country runners collided at the Bradley Palmer State Park on Saturday for the Cape Ann League Championships, and it was the Clippers of Newburyport who managed to leave with the highest finishes — of both boys and girls — amongst the five River Rival Region teams.
The boys of Newburyport, who finished regular season competition with a 9-3 record, came in third out of the 13 teams with 90 points, behind Open frontrunners Hamilton-Wenham (61) and North Andover (48).
The Clipper boys were led by the strong running of Brian Morse, who finished sixth with a time of 16:16, Sean Hickman, who placed fifteenth with a mark of 16:56, and Ryan Clark who finished nineteenth (17:18)
"Brian had a tremendous run on Saturday," said Clipper coach Don Hennigar. "By coming in sixth he qualified as a CAL All-Star. Sean Hickman also ran a great race. It was his best run of the year."
Newburyport's girls finished fourth among the 11 participating teams with a score of 112, averaging a finish of 20:41. Lindsay Cullen came in eleventh with a time of 19:47, Kim Martins placed fifteenth in 20:07, and Kristen Cole finished 23rd with a time of 20:47.
"The entire group's pack mentality was key on Saturday," said Hennigar. "The quality of girls cross country in the CAL is incredible, and for Lindsay Cullen to run the way she did was quite the accomplishment."
Hennigar explained that goals were set and consequently attained by both of his teams.
"The boys wanted to finish no lower than third, and the girls no lower than fourth," said Hennigar who stated that his team's encouraging performances boded well for the Eastern Mass. Divisional meet that will occur in two weeks at Franklin Park in Dorchester. "It was a very good day for our runners because they all gave it their best effort and the outcomes were very satisfying."
The Triton boys finished in seventh (197) thanks to strong showings from Brian Cosgrove (20th; 17:21), Peter Buswell (39th; 18:05), and Andrew Buckless (42nd; 18:07). The Viking girls placed sixth (132) and were paced by Colleen Loughlin (7th; 19:21), Erin Loughlin (13th; 19:54), and Sara Auwerda (17th; 20:28).
Pentucket Regional fared well, with the girls team finishing in fifth place, and the boys in tenth. The girls were led by Alanna Poretta (4th; 18:48), Amy Babeu (22nd; 20:44), and Addie Desrosiers (27th; 21:04), while Jason Cox (43rd; 18:11), Conner Tribble (55th; 18:51), and Cam Doe (57th; 18:55) rounded out the Sachems top three.
The Amesbury girls finished eleventh (319), and the boys placed ninth (235). The girls were paced by Meagan Gallagher (53rd; 22:58), Deryn Zahoruiko (57th; 23:34), and Shauna Wade (63rd; 24:36), and James Parady (38th; 18:04), Peter Siess (46th; 18:22), and Alexander Tamburello (48th; 18:29) led the way for the boys.
The Georgetown Royals placed twelfth (321) thanks to the running of Luke Seaberg (22nd; 17:28), Calvin Gonzalez (65th; 19:19), and Danny Shores (68th; 19:28).
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