DEVENS — The Amherst girls cross country team nearly walked away with the program’s eighth state championship last Saturday during the MIAA Division 2 State Championship at Fort Devens. 

The Hurricanes ran about as well as they could have hoped, led by a 19th-place finish by Brooke Nedeau (20 minutes, 31.02 seconds) and a 41st place finish from Genevieve Dole (21:15.38). 

Adding in a 45th place finish from Skylar Fox (21:27.51), a 46th place run from Lilly Pope (21:27.51) and a 53rd place finish from Elizabeth Sawicki (21:42.79), the Hurricanes were able to secure a second place finish as a team with a total score of 154 points. 

Westwood was crowned the state champion with a score of 123. 

“It went better than I expected,” Dole said. “I wouldn’t have been surprised with a second place finish but during the race it didn’t feel like we’d get it.”

After running at Fort Devens during the Div. 2 state qualifier last week, the Hurricanes were plenty familiar with the course. 

Being able to know where all your teammates were was an advantage, according to Nedeau. 

“Pack running is the key,” Nedeau said. “It was great seeing my teammates the whole time. Knowing you’re not alone is great.” 

While Amherst has a history of competing for state championships, the Hurricanes went into Saturday’s race confident knowing all the work put in during the season would show on the biggest stage. 

“I didn’t really have any expectations,” Fox said. “I went in with a good mindset and knew all our hard work would pay off. We worked as a team.” 

“I was expecting, hoping and manifesting first or second,” Pope added. “All the hard work paid off either way.” 

It was Northampton’s Maeve O’Neil who was the top local finisher in the Div. 2 girls race, placing fourth overall with a run of 19:24.78. 

“It feels really good,” O’Neil said. “Especially as a senior and this being my last high school race. I woke up this morning and felt a little rough but once I got on the bus and got here, I got relaxed and knew I could do this.” 

O’Neil also competed at Fort Devens last week, but took a different approach the second time around. 

“This one was different,” O’Neil said. “This one I started out a bit slower and more conservative and my last mile was a lot more effort. My race last week was a bit more of a consistent effort. I knew exactly what the distances were which helped.” 

Northampton placed eighth as a team, as Charlotte Shimpach took 33rd (20:56.69), Tess Geis-Benton placed 90th (22:25.46), Zea Meerbergen came in 108th (22:56.58) and Eliza LaCroix placed 112th (23:13.91). 

“I’m happy for our team,” O’Neil said. “Everyone gave it their all and that’s all you need.” 

The Amherst boys ran in the Div. 2 boys race and walked away with an eighth place finish. Longmeadow finished as the state champions. 

The Hurricanes were led by Calvin Miller, who placed 27th with a time of 17:04.89. 

“It went OK,” Miller said. “It felt better than last week’s race. The warmer weather definitely helped. It helped knowing the course. I feel like I’m just burnt out from the season. It’s a long season. I think I ran about the same time as last week. I think everyone did pretty well for us.” 

Nico Lisle came in 38th (17:18.31), Peter Nedeau took 40th (17:20.90), Sam Woodruff came in 55th (17:39.01) while Alden Pope placed 87th (18:01.51) for Amherst. 

Div. 3 race

The Div. 3 state race kicked off at the conclusion of the Div. 2 race, with the Hampshire girls racing out to an 11th place finish as a team. Hamilton-Wenham were crowned the Div. 3 girls champions. 

The Raiders were led by Kathleen Barry, who crossed the finish line at the 20:10.32 mark to take 13th place. Barry said she didn’t start well but a strong push at the end got her in the top 15. 

“It went a lot better than expected,” Barry said. “I got out a little bit slow and was a little worried about it. I just wanted to stay positive because the race isn’t over until you cross the finish line. I’m really proud of how I did in the end by staying strong on the hills.” 

Unlike the Div. 2 runners, it was a new course for the Div. 3 runner who ran in Wrentham for their state qualifier last cult week. Having fierce competition all around also helped propel Barry forward.

“It’s a different course,” Barry said. “There’s so many fast people here. Being able to run with fast people pushes you so hard. I love running at states.”

Ada Corner earned 75th (22:21.90), Charlotte Niswonger placed 102nd (23:04.90), Keegan Butler came in 115th (23:24.40) while Natalie Dunlap earned 120th (23:34.40) for Hampshire.

Frontier also showed well during the Div. 3 race, placing 15th. Senior Sylvie DiBarolomeo was the top Redhawk finisher, taking 17th with a run of 20:29.56.

“I’m really happy with it,” DiBartolomeo said. “It’s my senior year so to be able to run here again and run how I planned it out in my head was really fantastic.”

Frontier has plenty of experience running at Fort Devens and made sure to arrive early to get a read of the course.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to race here before,” DiBartolomeo said. “It was nice to be back. We worked so hard for this so being able to run with these wonderful teammates again was great. We got here before everyone came and were able to walk the course to make sure we were prepared.”

Liv Christensen came in 72nd (22:20.80), Phoebe Radner took 118th (23:30.47), Maia Christensen placed 137th (23:54.02) while Sasha Malo earned 142nd (23:59.47) for the Redhawks.

“I’m really proud of our team,” DiBartolomeo said. “It twas great seeing my teammates coming through the finish line and running so hard. We had a job today to work just as hard as we always have. It’s not a race to settle for; it’s the Meet of Champions. We’re really happy to be here.”

Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School took 21st in the girls race, with Sarah Fardal (73rd, 22:20.97), Eunice Lo (105th, 23:10.36), Astrid Knyt (113th, 23:22.29), Emma Vasovic (128th, 23:42.83) and Althea Turner (24:56.78) scoring for the Dragons.

Hampshire that put together a big performance in the Div. 3 boys race, as the Raiders placed fifth overall. Parker Charter took home the Div. 3 boys crown for the second year in a row.

Hampshire’s Oscar Schiff took 18th (17:14.15) while Owen Cubi came in 31st (17:19.82), Aidan Conklin placed 53rd (17:57.47), Sam Plumer came in 54th (17:57.65) and Nick Jones took 89th (18:24.32) for the Raiders.

“It was good,” Schiff said. “I didn’t PR but it wasn’t a very fast course. It was slow. Not many people PR’d in this race. I did pretty well though which is better than I thought.”

Behind top 10 finishes from Evan Hedlund and Luke Howard, Frontier walked away with a ninth place team finish.

Hedlund led the way with a sixth place overall finish (16:48.66) while Howard took ninth (16:56.50).

“I was hoping for a top four or top three,” Hedlund said, “but I can’t be mad. [Howard] getting top 10 is something to be really excited about. The course was hard. It’s nice going from the first two laps where the grass is super flat and there’s rolling hills. If you’re good with hills, it’s an amazing course. Then you get to the third loop and it has the two steep hills on mulch. The downhills on the course are super steep.”

A sophomore, Hedlund said he enjoys being pushed against the best in the state.

“I love the competition,” Hedlund said. “I love the atmosphere. It’s everything I wanted.”