Monomoy, Nauset Runners Medal At Cape And Islands League Cross Country Championship

SOUTH YARMOUTH – Several cross country runners from Monomoy and Nauset medaled at the Cape and Islands League championship meet Saturday at Dennis-Yarmouth High School. 

All told, seven Sharks and Warriors medaled by finishing with a top time in one of the event’s six races (boys and girls junior varsity, and boys and girls varsity split into the Lighthouse and Atlantic Divisions). Many runners set personal records. Varsity runners ran 5-kilometer races while junior varsity completed 1.7-miles.

Three Monomoy boys finished in the top 10 of the varsity Lighthouse race. Junior Quinn Muldoon finished sixth (17:52.30), senior Chatham Gillis finished seventh (18:02.00), and senior Samuel Kelley finished 10th (18:35.70). All times from the three medalists were personal records.

“Us three have really been pushing each other and pulling each other along,” Kelley said. “I definitely would not be close to where I am now without Chatham pulling me along and Quinn pulling Chatham along.”

As a team, the Sharks placed third. Also for Monomoy, sophomore Tanner Grodzicki finished 17th (19:10.40), senior Ethan Seufert finished 23rd (19:57.20), eighth grader Jonathan Michniewicz finished 30th (21:07.50), and senior Jude Hutchings MacMahon finished 31st (21:18.70). Seufert’s time was a personal record.

“As the season progressed, our hopes have gone up and our expectations have gone up,” Muldoon said.

Runners at Dennis-Yarmouth’s track ran across the grassy sports field area behind the school, cut through a wooded path and reemerged to loop back around. Varsity runners completed four laps, while junior varsity ran two. 

“I was pushing,” Gillis said. “I tried to keep my wits about me. I wanted to stay where I was in terms of placement. I wanted to keep my pace going, and then once I got to the final lap, I was like, ‘All right, got a little bit of juice left, so I'm just going to give it all I got,’ and I did, and it paid off, so this was a really good race for me.”

The Monomoy girls team placed second overall in the varsity Lighthouse race. Junior Amanda McIsaac finished 11th (21:50.80), freshman Skyler Orsmond finished 12th (21:57.90), senior Ella Baum finished 16th (22:25.00), sophomore Erin Guerard finished 17th (22:56.00), sophomore Remi (Marie) Schreiner finished 18th (23:05.50), freshman Molly Giorgio finished 27th (24:25.90), and senior Emily Rose Saliba finished 28th (25:06.60).

McIsaac, Orsmond, Guerard and Giorgio set personal records. Schreiner recorded a season best.

“As a relatively small team, especially with a lot of people who don't have as much experience as a lot of other teams, we did a really good job,” Baum said.

The Nauset girls placed second overall as a team in the varsity Atlantic race. Freshman Savannah Senatori medaled by finishing eighth (20:59.40). Head coach Moira Nobili said Senatori is “very much a competitor.”

“She, in particular, she knows how to turn it on,” Nobili said.

Also for Nauset, sophomore Hannah Pranga finished 14th (22:35.80), senior Alyssa Hutchinson finished 15th (22:48.80), freshman Cressa Lewis finished 16th (23:12.80), senior Kendall Faley finished 17th (23:19.90), and sophomore Maeve Roche finished 18th (23:22.70). All times were personal records.

The Nauset boys team placed fourth overall in the varsity Atlantic race. Senior Will Christopher finished 12th (17:53.60), junior Ethan Koufos finished 13th (17:55.00), senior Jack Hopkins finished 15th (18:06.20), junior Sam Bowden finished 17th (18:29.50), freshman Blaise Donoho finished 22nd (18:51.20), sophomore Charlie Kautz finished 28th (19:46.10), and senior Luca Bowden finished 29th (19:47.70). 

Christopher, Hopkins, Donoho, Kautz, and Sam and Luca Bowden set personal records. Koufos, who had missed Nauset’s penultimate dual-meet of the regular season due to injury, was still partially injured for the league championship race but wanted to run for the team, Nobili said. Despite that, he still set a season best. Senior Dusty O’Campbell was also unable to run due to injury but stood by the finish line supporting the team. 

Nobili said she was proud of the runners. 

“Whether you win or lose, you can't be upset because you gave it your best, so I'm very impressed by them,” she said.

Three Nauset runners medaled in the boys junior varsity race by placing in the top seven. Junior Josh Hagopian finished second (8:40.30), just barely more than a second behind the first-place winner. Junior Brady Smith finished fifth (9:05.10), and junior Sean Sheehan finished sixth (9:06.40).

“It was shorter than the varsity race, so they knew they could apply their speed, so I think they were very excited about that,” Nobili said.

In the girls junior varsity race, Nauset sophomore Emanuelly Santos finished ninth (11:33.80), and senior Natalie Butilier finished 17th (12:36.00).

Monomoy did not have any runners race in the junior varsity events. Next up for both Monomoy and Nauset are divisional races on Nov. 8. in Devens and Northfield, respectively.