Mount Greylock Girls, Boys Finish First in Vermont

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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WOODFORD, Vt. -- After two straight weeks of finishing second to Lenox, the Mount Greylock girls returned to the top of the leader board on Saturday when the Berkshire County Cross Country Ski League returned to Prospect Mountain.
 
Jacqueline Wells placed first overall in a time of 23 minutes, 42 seconds on the 6-kilometer course to lead the Mounties to a four-point win.
 
Brandi Gill was fourth, and Annie Miller and Lily McDermott finished two seconds apart in sixth and seventh, respectively, to give Mount Greylock 18 points in the team race.
 
"We needed today," Gill said. "I think we've been a little flat for the last couple of races and maybe a little doubtful of ourselves. So to come out today and get this win and have people race really well and add that fire back was really good."
 
Wells pulled ahead on the third lap around the course to finish 10 seconds ahead of runner-up Grace Elliot of Lenox (23:52). Mary Elliot was just behind in 24:06.
 
The Mounties had a strong performance throughout their lineup, placing eight racers in the top 20.
 
Mount Greylock's boys also placed eight in the top 20 in a dominating team win.
 
Behind another first-place finish by Col McDermott (19:16), the Mounties compiled 12 points (10 is a perfect score). Foster Savitsky placed second, Gabe Gerry fourth and Quinn McDeromott fifth to round out the scoring for the Mount Greylock boys.
 
Hoosac Valley's Justin Levesque broke up the Mountie party at the top of the leader board, edging Gerry by three seconds to finish third in 21:09.
 
McDermott seemed to pick up a few seconds on the field on each lap.
 
"I definitely started out going really hard, and first lap I was a little worried," he said. "But I said, 'Well, I might blow up, but there's a lot of rest toward the end of the lap.' So I was able to recover, and then I figured, 'There's one more lap. I may as well leave what I have out there.' "
 
Saturday's course was a little different than the usual layout at Prospect. The varsity skiers passed through the base area a total of six times, including the finish, as they completed their three laps.
 
That meant that the spectators saw a lot more of the racers than usual, and the racers also got to hear it from the crowd.
 
"The crowd tends not to affect me as much, but I think it's very motivating for other people," Gill said. "Other people usually put in kicks when they pass the crowd, so it kind of changes the dynamic of the race when you're passing people more often. Because people have those bursts of energy from the crowd.
 
"You definitely have to take that into consideration when you're planning your race strategy because it affects the way that you race."
 
McDermott agreed that the atmosphere was a little different this time around.
 
"It's definitely really fun to hear all the little kids screaming and stuff," he said. "I think it definitely makes a difference. But in some ways it's also nice to be in the woods because you know it's just you and the course and just slowly grinding away it.
 
"I think they're both nice, actually."
 
The Berkshire County League wraps up the regular season next Saturday at Notchview Reservation before taking a break going into the state championship on Feb. 25.
 
 
Girls Top 20
1. Jacqueline Wells, Mount Greylock, 23:42; 2. Grace Elliot, Lenox, 23:52; 3. Mary Elliot, Lenox, 24:06; 4. Brandi Gill, MG, 24:22; 5. Erika Looman, Mohawk Trail, 24:32; 6. Annie Miller, MG, 24:43; 7. Lily McDermott, MG, 24:45; 8. Aidan Burns, Lenox, 25:07; 9. Solia Herndon-Schmidt, Lenox, 25:27; 10. Ava Bachman, Lenox, 25:50; 11. Juliann Lawson, MG, 25:52; 12. Hollin Keyser-Parker, Northfield Mount Hermon, 26:26; 13. Haley Crosier, Wahconah, 26:41; 14. Julianne Harwood, Lenox, 26:46; 15. Elizabeth Dupras, MG, 26:59; 16. Sophia Mele, MG, 27:12; 17. Miriam Bakija, MG, 27:16; 18. No bib, Mohawk, 27:58; 19. Celeste Dileo, NMH, 28:12; 20. Piper Maxymillian, Lenox, 28:41.
 
Girls Team Scores
1. Mount Greylock, 18 points; 2. Lenox, 22; 3. Mohawk Trail, 67; 4. Wahconah, 5. Hoosac Valley, 93; 6. Northfield Mount Hermon, 98; 7. Amherst, 128.
 
Boys Top 20
1. Col McDermott, Mount Greylock, 19:16; 2. Foster Savitsky, MG, 21:05; 3. Justin Levesque, Hoosac Valley, 21:09; 4. Gabe Gerry, MG, 21:12; 5. Quinn McDermott, MG, 21:15; 6. Micah Bruner, Amherst, 21:16; 7. Colin Young, Lenox, 21:28; 8. Corben Craig, HV, 21:49; 9. Ollie Swabey, MG, 21:50; 10. Jack Pudlo, Wahconah, 21:51; 11. Cedric Lemaire, MG, 21:55; 13. Ted Yee, Lenox, 22:18; 14. Hayden Kendall, Wahconah, 22:20; 15. Nor Young, Amherst, 22:30; 16. Owen Tucker-Smith, MG, 22:38; 17. Corban Miller, MG, 22:40; 18. Tomas Leger, Lenox, 23:14; 19. Jackson MacDonald, Northfield Mount Hermon, 23:15; 20. Parker Winters, MG, 23:33.
 
Boys Team Scores
1. Mount Greylock, 12 points; 2. Lenox, 48; 3. Hoosac Valley, 58; 4. Wahconah, 62; 6. Amherst, 65.
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