Taconic Boys Show Results of Off-Season Work
PITTSFIELD, Mass. -- By the end of last season, it was clear that the Taconic boys cross country team had the potential to be pretty special.
But it took a lot of work in the offseason to get there.
And as the 2018 regular season nears its conclusion, it is clear that Taconic’s work is paying off.
On Senior Day Tuesday at Reid Middle School, Taconic junior Chris Adams posted a first-place finish to lead his team to a pair of dual meet wins over Lenox and Mount Everett.
Taconic finished up a season in which it lost just twice -- to perennial power Mount Greylock -- and in which coach Paul Phelps’ squad has realized the promise it showed a year ago.
“They worked all summer, so it’s a testament to them,” Phelps said. “They knew what we had last year. We didn’t have any seniors. So when we met in the spring, that was pretty much the conversation: You guys can have the season you want, but you’ve got to put in the work in July.”
With No. 1 Jacob Paris resting to get ready for Saturday’s Brown University Northeast Cross Country Championship, Adams filled in and pulled away late from Lenox’s Colin Young to win in 14 minutes, 19.66 seconds on a course shortened by storm damage.
Young finished second in 14:24.53, ahead of Taconic’s Mike LaFreniere (14:41.95).
Taconic seniors Brandon Pelkey, Zabion Powell and Sean Cicchetti placed seventh through ninth, respectively, but their contributions are all over the Taconic lineup this fall.
“My two captains have been huge,” Phelps said. “I”ve had Zabion Powell and Brandon Pelkey the last two years because I didn’t have any seniors. For two years in a row, they’ve been the guys who have been gung-ho and said, ‘Guys, if we want this, we’ve got to put in the work.’
“I tell them all the time: I can give them Olympic workouts, but if they don’t do the work (in the summer), it’s not going to matter what we do on practice day. It came together.”
Another Taconic runner, junior Thomas Rabasco, finished 10th.
The top 10 included a pair of runners from Mount Everett: juniors Grayson Duval (14:54.57) and Cole Duval, who placed fourth and fifth, respectively to help the Eagles earn a dual meet win over Hoosac Valley.
Hoosac Valley also fell to Pittsfield, which was led by sixth-place Anthony Hunt (14;56.94). The Hurricanes got a 15th-place finish from Justin Levesque (15:54.71).
The day’s tightest dual race was won by the Pittsfield boys, who edged Lenox, 28-29. Packing up Hunt were Jack Archey and Bryan Brophy in 14th and 16th, respectively. Thomas Rindfuss and Matthew Harrington were 21st and 22nd for the Generals.
Taconic’s girls joined the boys in picking up a pair of dual meet wins. Simira Hanger (18:44.42) placed eighth to lead Taconic, which scored wins over Mount Everett and Hoosac Valley.
Lenox’s Girls defeated Taconic and Pittsfield behind 1-2 finishes from Grace Elliot (16:07.36) and Ava Bachman.
Pittsfield’s Cami Diehl (17:04.95) finished third to lead her team to a win over Hoosac Valley and a narrow, 24-31, loss to Lenox.
Hoosac Valley’s girls went 1-1 on the day, defeating Mount Everett behind a 10th-place finish from Natiya Cilli (18:54.51). Mount Everett was led by Carly Duval (19:37.12), who placed 14th.
The dual meet season behind it, Taconic is looking forward to the trip to Rhode Island this weekend and the Berkshire County Championship a week later.
But the real fun begins in November, with a trip to the Western Mass Championship and a goal of finishing third there to earn a trip to the state meet -- both those events are scheduled for the Northfield Recreation Center.
“It’s a tough course,” Phelps said. “I ran it when I was in high school, and I felt there was such an advantage running all the hills around here [in Berkshire County]. We run state forest in the summer, we do it in the fall.
“We prep for Northfield. That’s sort of been the goal all season -- a lot of hill repeats, just building our strength up because that course is a monster.”
Boys Team Scores
Mount Everett 18, Hoosac Valley 45
Pittsfield 18, Hoosac Valley 45
Taconic 19, Lenox 42
Pittsfield 28, Lenox 29
Taconic 21, Mount Everett 40
Girls Team Scores
Hoosac Valley 19, Mount Everett 44
Pittsfield 15, Hoosac Valley 48
Lenox 17, Taconic 40
Lenox 24, Pittsfield 31
Taconic 18, Mount Everett 45
Taconic 19, Hoosac Valley 40
Boys Top 20
Chris Adams (T), 14:19.66; 2. Colin Young (L), 14:24.53; 3. Mike LaFreniere (T), 14:41.95; 4. Grayson Duval (ME), 14:54.57; 5. Cole Duval (ME), 14:54.83; 6. Anthony Hunt (P), 14:56.94; 7. Brandon Pelkey (T), 15:08.95; 8. Zabion Powell (T), 15:17.00; 9. Sean Cicchetti (T), 15:17.70; 10. Thomas Rabasco (T), 15:19.68; 11. Renzo Vargas (L), 15:26.02; 12. Maxime Leger (L), 15:28.95; 13. Gabe Carrington (T), 15:40.01; 14. Jack Archey (P), 15:49.65; 15. Justin Levesque (HV), 15:54.71; 16. Bryan Brophy (P), 15:56.93; 17. Ian McGrath (T), 15:57.97; 18. Jeff Crosier (T), 16:02.78; 19. Nolan Smith (T), 16:04.40; 20. Matthew Kane (ME), 16:08.11.
Girls Top 20
Grace Elliot (L), 16:07.36; 2. Ava Bachman (L), 16:09.98; 3. Cami Diehl (P), 17:04.95; 4. Maggie Sorrentino (L), 17:11.03; 5. Megan Francoeur (P), 17:21.86; 6. Emelyn Theriault (P), 18:02.17; 7. Abby Kittler (P), 18:21.82; 8. Simira Hanger (T), 18:44.42; 9. Sydney Wilk (L), 18:53.16; 10. Natiya Cilli (HV), 18:54.51; 11. Julianne Harwood (L), 19:08.85; 12. Gianna Maddalena (P), 19:28.83; 13. Calie Champoux (T), 19:33.62; 14. Carly Duval (ME), 19:37.12; 15. Sydney Ferris (P), 19:39.08; 16. Mya Corkins (P), 19:39.53; 17. Shannon Dean (19:44.14); 18. Holland Tuck (L), 19:45.47; 19. Lila Ribero (T), 19:48.57; 20. Maddie Malumphy (P), 19:53.05.