Zahn, Desilets Win at County Invitational
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – A fast start served both winners well at the Berkshire County Invitational at Berkshire Community College on Sunday.
Pittsfield High’s Cohen Zahn and Monument Mountain’s Amelia Desilets each went to the head of the pack early and won their respective races in the final county event of the season.
Teamwise, the Mount Greylock boys and girls continued their dominance after each completed a perfect regular season in dual meets.
The Mounties boys, led by the trio of Finnegan Voisin, Patrick Holland and Luke Irwin, put four runners in the top 10 and finished 43 points ahead of runner-up Taconic in the team standings.
Mount Greylock’s girls were led by Cornelia Swabey and Riley Mae Dickinson in fourth and fifth, respectively, and placed five runners in the top 10 to take first place by 11 points from runner-up Lenox.
Lenox’s girls had the day’s second-fastest runner, as Nora Schoeny hit the finish line in 20 minutes, 13 seconds. But Schoeny and the rest of the field were chasing Desilets, who clocked a time of 19:31 to finish first.
“I always try to get out in front,” Desilets said. “I like to kind of be on the outside [at the start], so it kind of worked how we were positioned on the start line. I kind of wanted to cut across and get in front. Because if I get stuck in the back, it’s kind of hard to move around, especially going into the woods here.
“So I definitely was prioritizing getting out front, no matter what it took, just trying to get a strong start to get ahead. And I think it worked well.”
Zahn also was happy with his morning at BCC.
“It was a good race,” he said. “I wanted to get out fast and hold that pace, but it’s kind of hard with the grass and the hills. But it was a good race overall, I think.”
Zahn finished in a time of 16:25, 15 seconds ahead of Mount Greylock’s Voisin, Holland and Irwin, who finished in a three-man pack in the span of five seconds.
Sunday morning’s races marked a return to action for many of the county’s harriers after they ran their last duals on Oct. 7 and 8.
But the Monument Mountain girls were among the area teams who used the interim for a trip to Cape Cod and the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Twilight Meet, where the Mount Greylock boys were fifth in the small-school 5-kilometer race, and Desilets was an individual champion and the Mounties and Spartans placed second and fifth, respectively in the girls team 5K.
Desilets said the trip helped with team bonding and will pay a specific dividend in the weeks and years to come.
“It gave some of the girls a chance to experience really big races,” the Monument Mountain senior said. “We have a bunch of new middle schoolers this year that are coming in, and they’ve only done small county races like this.
“The big races, the big start lines are very intimidating to a lot of people. I know they’re definitely intimidating for me, and I’ve been doing it for a while now. So I think it’s really helpful for them to get out and experience a big meet … so they can visualize what it’s going to look like and so they have a better picture of it.”
The meets only get bigger – in terms of fields and stakes – from here on out.
Next Sunday, it is the PVIAC Western Massachusetts meet at Stanley Park in Westfield. Then, after a two-week break, it’s the state qualifier on Nov. 8 followed by the State Championship a week later for those who qualify.
Pittsfield’s Zahn is looking forward to new challenges as the postseason progresses.
“Between now and sectionals, I have to tone in the speed work, maybe do some threshold work, too, just to get the legs ready for it,” Zahn said.
“It’s kind of hard going solo here. So with more competition at the state meets and Western Mass, some of the kids might do better with new competition. … It’s way easier to run when there’s people around you. You lose yourself in your head when you’re running on your own.”
Boys Team Scores
1. Mount Greylock, 32 points; 2. Taconic, 75; 3. Lenox, 100; 4. Wahconah, 101; 5. Pittsfield, 117; 6. Mount Everett, 161; 7. Monument Mountain, 176; 8. Lee, 187.
Boys Top 20
1. Cohen Zahn, PHS, 16:25; 2. Finnegan Voisin, MG, 16:40; 3. Patrick Holland, MG, 16:43; 4. Luke Irwin, MG, 16:45; 5. Collin Norton, Tac, 17:05; 6. William Keefe, Lnx, 17:23; 7. Noah Wesley, Wah, 17:33; 8. Ben Vella, ME, 17:33; 9. Benjamin Mandel, MG, 17:33; 10. Autumn Higa, MM, 17:46; 11. Quinn Ives, Tac, 17:47; 12. Noah Hassmer Lee, 17:50; 13. Connor McCormack, Lnx, 17:54; 14. Finnegan Noyes, MG, 18:05; 15. Ryder Voisin, MG, 18:05; 16. Brayden Ryan, Wah, 18:15; 17. Boaz Slater Lee, MG, 18:37; 18. Andrew Holland, MG, 18:40; 19. Cameron Reynolds, Tac, 18:45; 20. Nick Martinez, Tac, 18:53.
Girls Team Scores
1. Mount Greylock, 33; 2. Lenox, 44; 3. Monument Mountain, 58; 4. Pittsfield, 132; 5. Wahconah, 136; 6. Lee, 167; 7. Taconic, 191.
Girls Top 20
1. Amelia Desilets, MM, 19:31; 2. Nora Schoeny, Lnx, 20:13; 3. Gianna Love, Lnx, 20:17; 4. Cornelia Swabey, MG, 20:24; 5. Riley Mae Dickinson, MG, 20:29; 6. Ellyssa Scrimo, Lnx, 20:35; 7. Bridget Holland, MG, 20:42; 8. Adriana Carasone, MG, 20:54; 9. Josephine Bay, MG, 21:04; 10. Anna Desilets, MM, 21:05; 11. Ani Koamaya, MG, 21:06; 12. Lucy Gregg, MG, 21:12; 13. Koenig Halle, Lnx, 21:19; 14. Elly Wilkinson, MG, 21:34; 15. Myah Bailly, MM, 21:38; 16. Grace Irwin, MG, 21:43; 17. Nina Martin, MM, 21:52; 18. Shelby Tart, PHS, 21:58; 19 Sophia Lamalfa, PHS, 22:06; 20. Maya Filson, MG, 22:10.