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25th Brown Invitational

Goddard Park, Warwick RI --- Saturday, October 20, 2007

DyeStat on-site with John Nepolitan

Meet's Own Site

Results - Boys - Girls

Entries

Schedule

Preview

2006 on DyeStat


Big 17:13 Win for Triton's Keely Maguire

NEW - John Nepolitan Story, Photos (in story) - Larry Byrne Story

Boys Results Page - Girls Results Page - all results, including JV, Freshmen

At left, Keely Maguire leads Emily Jones; at right, Robert Gibson for the win. Photos by The Track Junkie

  • Triton Regional sr Keely Maguire establishes herself as Foot Locker contender with 17:13-17:31 win over Bromfield MA jr Emily Jones. Maguire's time trails only Nicole Blood and Lindsay Donaldson on this course, all-time, and is ahead of Ari Lambie.
  • NE#4 Lincoln-Sudbury MA girls top NE#7 Bromfield, 28-60
  • NE#3 Brookline MA and its #1 man Robert Gibson both triumph. Brookline scores 46 to NY#4 Smithtown's 74. Gibson runs 15:13 to win over Gabe Pacione 15:19
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Motivated Maguire Surprises Herself; Gibson Pulls Away From Pack; Solid Wins for Lincoln-Sudbury, Brookline

By John Nepolitan

Championship Girls - Throughout 2006, Keely Maguire (Trinton Regional HS, Ma) was running in the shadow of Emily Jones (Bromfield, Ma) and felt that she had an outside chance at qualifying for the Foot Locker Championships. A late season bout of tonsillitis knocked Maguire out of contention at the Footlocker Northeast Regional while Jones went on to qualify for the National Championship. This disappointment motivated Maguire to come into the 2007 season in even better fitness with the goal of making the Northeast team in November.

Coming into this weekend’s Brown Invitational, Maguire had hoped to run in the 17:40s, a time that Jones ran last year, figuring this level of performance would be on target for a chance to making it to San Diego. A fast opening mile of 5:24 and having Jones on her shoulder through the first 2 miles pushed Maguire well below her goal. She crossed the finish line in 17:13.9 – the 3rd fastest time ever on the Goddard Park 3.05 mile course ( 70 meters short of 5000 meters) behind the 16:53 record of Nicole Blood (Saratoga, NY) and just in front of Ari Lambie. From the start it was a total two women race and a surge with about 1200 meters to go would take Maguire clear of her state rival.

The team race was also a battle between top Massachusetts schools. Coming into the weekend, Lincoln-Sudbury was ranked 4th in the Northeast following their 6th place finish in the Girls Eastern States race, but a small field here tightened the scoring up and gave 7th ranked Bromfield a chance for an upset.

Jones gave Bromfield the first scorer over the line for the two top contenders, but she was very quickly followed by Andrea Keklak(Lincoln Sudbury) and her Bromfield team mate Liz Lee in 4th and 5th, giving Bromfield a short-lived lead. Lincoln-Sudbury would slam the door on the threat 14 seconds behind Lee as the rest of their scoring 5 would come across the finish line within 2 seconds, claiming 8th-9th-10th-11th . Meanwhile, Northport(NY) was doing all they could to sneak past Bromfield, getting runners home in 12th-14th-15th-17th, but they were missing the very low number to overcome the 2nd place of Jones as Bromfield would hold on for 2nd.


Left, Andrea Keklak - #1 Lincoln Sudbury runner; right, Dana Jamieson leads home the Lincoln Sudbury pack

Keely Maguire “I was really surprised. We went through the mile, and my coach was there. He yelled 5:24 and I was hoping to run 5:40 pace. I was really worried and so I just kept saying to myself ‘you can’t die.’ It really helped having him (her coach) there. My goal was to get 17:40, not 17:14.”

“I was expecting Emily Jones to be in front of me because last year that I kept thinking that is where I want to be. So I trained all summer and did 50 miles a week. I’ve been doing the right things with my eating and training and really monitoring; trying to get good sleep and really doing everything because I really wanted to break 18:00 for 5k.”

(In regard to the move of breaking away for the win)
“It was not really until the end. She (Jones) was trailing off of me, because that is how she runs, and I kept expecting her to pass me. At the end, I had nothing down that straightaway. I just wanted to keep myself from falling. My goal is to be in the top 10 (at Footlocker Northeast) and go to Nationals. Last yea,r we were planning that I may have been able to get a top 10, and I came in 20th because of my tonsils. In fact, I had to go to an emergency room in New York since my tonsils were touching each other. She(Emily Jones) came in 9th last year (at Regionals) and I was a little bit behind her at the state meet, but not that much. So it was possible last year (to qualify for San Diego) and this year I am just aiming to qualify. This is exactly where I need to be, in fact better than were I need to be.”


Left, Varsity I winner Brianna Welch; right, Varsity II winner Clare Buck


Girls Varsity I – Brianna Welch (North Shore, NY) had the credentials to run as an individual in the championship section, but wanted to run with her teammates and try to win team crown. Welch did what was expected of her, going to the front and grab the win and the 1 point that goes with it, but it would not be enough as Shoreham-Wading River, NY would take team honors, 59-94, over North Shore.

Girls Varsity II - Clare Buck (Hopewell Valley, NJ) overcame the fast start by Anne Twombly (Exeter, NH) to run a swift 18:11.9 to claim the top prize.


Early stages of the Boys Championship - from left #1783 Giovanni Signoretti, #1891 Lee Berube, #1074 Robert Gibson, Dylan Trotzuk and #1288 Gabe Pacione


Boys Championship – In 2006, Smithtown (NY) upset the region’s #1 team, Collegiate, (NY) and returned in 2007 hoping to once again knock off a highly rated team – this year in the form of Brookline (Ma).

Giovanni Signoretti (Smithtown) jumped right to the front and tried to stretch out a lead, but tucking right in behind him was a pack which included the Brookline trio of Robert Gibson, David Wilson and Michael Burnstein, Gabe Pacione (Hamilton-Wenham HS, MA), Lee Berube (Ticonderoga, NY) and Dylan Trotzuk (Collegiate). The group slowly drew away from the rest of the field, with Signoretti staying at the front as the leaders went past 2 miles. Not far past the 2 mile point, the back of Signoretti’s right shoe got pulled off. He continued with his shoe half on, but would give up the lead to Gibson.

Coming back into view of the large collection of fans with 800 meters to go, Gibson started his drive for home which would carry him to a 6-second win over Pacione. Signoretti would continue running with a shoe half off until the final straight when Berube pulled along side. At that point Signoretti kicked off the shoe and was able to hold off Berube for 3rd place. (see photo at left)

Missing from the race was defending champion and 2006 Footlocker Finalist Brandon Jarrett (St Benedicts, NJ), who strained a groin muscle at last week’s Manhattan Invitational. The damage was minimal and Jarrett should be back in time for another run at a Foot Locker berth.

The team race was not as close as the individual battle as Brookline’s up front power was just too much for Smithtown. With Gibson already over the line, Brookline would put 3 more runners in the chute before Smithtown would get its 2nd runner in. Like many of the other teams looking for a top 2 placing at the Northeast NTN Regional meet, Brookline has a strong top few runners, but now must work on getting its 4th and 5th men closer to the front trio if they are to have any chance of making it to Portland. Today their 1:22 second 1 to 5 man spread did not hurt them due to the small size of the field, but it could cost them at Bowdoin in November.

Robert Gibson – “It was kind of surprising. I did not know what to expect coming in to today. I was just trying to stick with kids in front and just try to run off of people.”

Coming up that last little hill in the woods, I was telling myself I don’t have any speed anymore, so I might as well just go now. So I took off with like 1200 to go and just tried to hammer it into the line.”

“As a team I was just happy to see Wilson and Burnstein in right behind me. Giovanni (Signoretti of Smithtown) was leading through 2-1/2 miles, then I hopped up there and Berube jumped up there too. We kind of rotated it around for 400 meters and then after that last hill I took off. I felt really good the whole way through, and once I hit that hill I felt I had it.”

“I think our chances for NTN are looking pretty good so far. We have to see how we stack up against Danbury hopefully we will get in. I like that course (Bowdoin Park site of the NTN NE Regional). It had a good variety of hills, flat and trails.”


Boys Varsity I – From the very start, Pat Schellberg (Delbarton School, NJ) was at the front of the first boys’ varsity race. He stayed there to the finish, crossing the line in 16:02.8. Behind Schellberg, Delbarton would put 3 other runners in the top 25 to lock up the team title over Hopewell Junction (NJ), 82-96.

Boys Varsity II – In the early stages, Colin Anderson (Northport, NY) assumed the lead, but during the middle mile Bobby Andrews (Shoreham Wading River, NY) took over and powered away to a 15:48.2 – 16:08.8 win. Shoreham would put all of its scorers into the top 10 to easily take the team crown over Northport, 23 – 132.

 
Left, Bobby Andrews wins Varsity II; right, Pat Schellberg wins Varsity I race


Larry Byrne's Report

The 25th Brown HS XC Invitational was conducted today at Goddard State Park, in Warwick, Rhode Island over 5000 m of a flat, mostly wooded trails....made somewhat muddy due to 24 hours of rain on Friday. However, a cloudy day gave way to sunshine as the championship races got underway, with the temp. hovering about 68-70 degrees all day.

The Boys race was an easy romp for senior Robert Gibson in 15:13.7, leading his NE #3 team to an also easy victory at 46 points, over New York's #4 Smithtown with 74, followed by a NE "bubble" local squad, East Greenwich, RI

The watched-for dual between Gibson and St. Benedict's Brandon Jarrett, never occurred as the NJ team was a no-show at the line today. So, in-turn, the Brookline flash outran Gabe Pacione [Hamilton-Wenham]; Giovanni Signoelli [Smithtown], Lee Berube [Ticonderoga] and Dylan Trotzuk [Collegiate] easily in that order.

On the Girls side, senior Keely Maguire, the lone entrant from Triton Regional, ran away from Bromfield's Emily Jones, the 2006 outdoor New England 3,200 m champ and ranked 19th in the current DyeStat Foot Locker Girls Favorites Top 20 List. In fact, Keely's time of 17:13.9 is the 3rd fastest over this course, behind the 16:52.0 by Nicole Blood of Saratoga Springs and the 16:54.0 by Lindsay Donaldson, then at Lincoln-Sudbury, both in the 2003 Brown race, and moved past Ari Lambie's 17:15.0 while running for Bromfield, into 4th place.

As the results indicate, it was a two girl race, from about the 2,000 m mark, with Keely opening up a 50 meter gap to the tape.

In the team battle, Lincoln-Sudbury, the NE #4 continued it's mastery over cross-state MA rival Bromfield, the current NE #7, 28 to 60, with Northport, NY a close 3rd at 66.


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Meet Preview

Bromfield v. Lincoln-Sudbury, Brookline v. Smithtown will be best team battles

Meet Preview by John Nepolitan

The 2006 edition of the Brown Cross Country Invitational saw the emergence of Donn Carbal, Brandon Jarrett and Emily Jones to the national spotlight, as all used the Brown race as a stepping stone to the Footlocker Finals. The 2006 races also saw major impact on the NTN Northeast regional rankings as the Collegiate HS (NY) boys, who had sat atop the rankings for 4 weeks, were upset by Smithtown(NY).

The 2007 series of races, including a championship division, could once again provide a spring board for a few athletes to emerge as contenders for a ticket to San Diego, and final team scores could have a major impact on Regional Rankings as the Northeast heads into the county, regional and state part of the fall.

1:50pm – Girls Championship – Emily Jones(Bromfield, Ma) looks to be the class of the field and based on her 14:16, 4th place finish at last week’s Eastern States race at Van Cortlandt park’s 2.5 mile course, is definately in fine shape, but she could get pushed by Keely Maguire of Trinton Regional (MA).

The team battle should come down between Jones’s Bromfield team and in-state rival Lincoln-Sudbury. Lincoln Sudbury does not have the home run hitter to run up front with Jones, but depends on a tight pack (5 runners in 25 seconds at Manhattan) while the smaller Brown field may help Bromfield get closer if not beat Lincoln-Sudbury. Regional bubble team, Pinkerton(NH) could also be in the mix and move up in the rankings with a solid performance.

2:25pm Boys Championship – One of the major stories of last weeks Manhattan Invitational was the dropping out of Brandon Jarrett (St Benedict’s NJ) with a groin strain. The question remains will he toe the line this weekend. With or without Jarrett in the race, the battle for individual honors could be a tight one as Robert Gibson(Brookline, Ma), the winner of this year’s Bowdoin Classic, races against a number of the Northeast Regions top runners, Gibson is not a 1 man show at Brookline and is backed up by David Wilson and Michael Burnstein, both who could be in the top 5. Back from the powerful Collegiate team is Dylan Trotzu, who will look to battle with Lee Berube (Ticondaroga, NY) – 12th at the 2006 FLNE race – and Giovanni Signoretti (Smithtown, NY) for the top runner here from the Empire State.

The team battle should come down to Smithtown and Brookline. Up front, Brookline has the edge with its 1-2-3 punch which will be all around Signoretti, but last week Brookline had to wait 1:12 for its 5th man to cross the line. Smithtown’s #5 was a little closer to the team’s front man as the Long Island school had all 5 runners over the line with 1:01. In the small Brown field the 1-2-3 of Brookline will not have as much of an impact as in a bigger 40+ team race like Manhattan, but also there will be few places between each teams #5 in a race as small as this weekend will not hurt Brookline as much. Going into the race Brookline has to be the favorite, BUT in 2006 Smithtown was the underdog and came away with a major upset – could they do it again in 2007 is the question.

Schedule: Course walk-through--Friday at 3:30 and 5:00 p.m.

8:50 Race 1 Freshmen overflow Extra 9th graders Girls/Boys combined
9:20 Race 2 Freshmen 1-7 9th graders Girls
9:45 Race 3 Freshmen 1-7 9th graders Boys
10:10 Race 4 J.V. I Unlimited number Girls
10:40 Race 5 J.V. II Unlimited number Girls
11:10 Race 6 J.V. I Unlimited number Boys
11:35 Race 7 J.V. II Unlimited number Boys
12:00 Race 8 Varsity A - I 5-7 runners Girls
12:30 Race 9 Varsity A - II 5-7 runners Girls
1:00 Race 10 Varsity A - I 5-7 runners Boys
1:25 Race 11 Varsity A - II 5-7 runners Boys
1:50 Race 12 Championship 5-7 runners Girls
2:25 Race 13 Championship 5-7 runners Boys



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