2019 Meet Results
September 14, 2019
St John’s Harriers Earn Podium Visits At the Big Wave Invitational.
The St. John’s Cross Country team opened their season at the Big Wave Invitational at Apponequet High School in Lakeville with a respectable showing in both the Freshmen/Sophomore and Junior/Senior races.
In the boys Freshmen/Sophomore race,the Pioneers finished 2nd out of 14 teams while narrowly losing to Marshfield High School by a mere 4 points.
Leading the way was sophomore, Chase Whitney who ran a strong race finishing 7th overall with a 14:42 effort over a flat and fast 2.6 mile course. Sophomore, Brody Massad followed in 16th place in 15:14 while freshmen, Victor Nedelescu secured 18th place, only 5 seconds back in 15:19. Rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers were freshmen, Liam Secrist in 20th place in a time of 15:23 and Jackson Harris in 24th place with a time of 15:33.
In the Junior/Senior race, the Pioneers ran to a 3rd place finish, scoring 86 points behind a strong Marshfield and the City of Boston team.
Running up front for the Pioneers were seniors, Ben Morris in 5th place and Jeff Secrist in 6th place. Running together most of the way, they worked together gaining ground on the field, with only 2 seconds separating them at the finish in 13:42 and 13:44 respectively. Senior Connor Whitney finished in 22nd place in 14:34 while newcomer to the sport, senior Jack Robertson showed off his speed finishing in 25th place in a time of 14:36. Rounding out the scoring for the harriers was senior Andrew Bird in 32nd place in 14:53.10, just ahead of teammates senior Austin Muzzy in 14:53.4 and junior Connor Gothorpe in 14:53.8.
For their next meet the Pioneers will travel to Goddard State Park in Warwick RI for the Ocean State Invitational on Saturday, September 28.
Saturday, September 28, 2019
Pioneers Compete at Ocean State Invitational
On Saturday the St. John’s Cross Country team travelled to Goddard Park in Warwick RI to compete in the Ocean State Invitational Cross Country meet.
In the Championship Race against some of the best high school teams in the Northeast, St. John’s finished 10th overall with a total of 226 points.
Leading the way for the harriers over the 5k course and finishing 15th was senior co-captain, Ben Morris in a time of 16:36.5. Senior Jeff Secrist followed in 44th place in a time of 17:17.2, followed by fellow senior’s Jack Robertson in 61st place and co-captain Connor Whitney in 62nd place in 17:55.7 and 17:56.5 respectively. Rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers was sophomore, Chase Whitney in 78th place in a time of 18:31.6.
In the Varsity race, the top finisher for the Pioneers was junior, Padraig Vona in 134th place in a time of 18:48.6.
In the JV race, with close to 300 hundred competitors, the top finisher was junior, Evan Wynn in 20:51 for a 174th place finish.
In the freshman race, the young Pioneers earned a podium visit with a 4th place finish with a total of 153 points. Liam Secrist was the top finisher in 15th place in a time of 14:45.9 followed closely by teammate Victor Nedelescu in 16th place in 14:47.3. Gabe Conboy was the third Pioneer “Frosh” across the line in 28th place in a time of 15:03, followed by Jackson Harris in 42nd place in 15:34.1. Rounding out the scoring for the freshman was Austin Tenczar in 69th place in a time of 16:14.8.
Next on the schedule, the Pioneers will face the Doherty High School Highlanders on Wednesday, October 2 in Worcester.
October 2, 2019
SJ Harriers roll over Doherty Highlanders for 17-47 win.
Yesterday afternoon, on a rainy and muggy afternoon, the SJ Pioneers traveled to Doherty High School and ran away with an impressive 17-47 win over the Highlanders.
Leading the way and winning for the Pioneers was junior Connor Gothorpe in 18:01 with seniors, Tim Walsh and Andrew Bird following close behind in 2nd and 3rd place in 18:05 and 18:09 respectively.
Rounding out the scoring for the SJ harriers were junior Padraig Vona in 5th place in a time of 18.26 and senior, Austin Muzzy in 6th place in a time of 18:28.
On Saturday, October 5 at 2:30PM the team travels to WRHS to compete in the Wachusett Invitational.
October 10, 2019
Pioneers Lose to Colonials
On a cool and overcast afternoon the St.John’s Pioneers hosted their cross town rivals and met their match against the Shrewsbury Colonials, losing 24 to 33.
Senior co-captain, Ben Morris coasted to victory over the hilly 5k course in 17:18.3 while fellow co-captain, Connor Whitney finished 5th in 18:23.
Finishing 7th was senior Jack Roberston in 18:36.
Rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers was senior Tim Walsh in 8th place in 18:43 and sophomore Chase Whitney in 12th place in 19:06.
In the JV race, the Pioneers lost to the Colonials 22-33.
Top scorer for the Pioneers was second place finisher, junior Dylan Joerres in 19:17.
With a dual meet record at 1-1, the Pioneers will host their CML Conference meet on Wednesday, October 16 at 4:00PM with Holy Name High School, St. Peter’s High School and Notre Dame Academy.
October 19, 2019
Pioneers Run Strong at Twilight
On a fast and comfortable night under the lights at the Barnstable Fairgrounds, the St. John’s harriers took advantage of the conditions and turned in numerous respectable performances in all their races.
In the highly competitive D1 Varsity race, the Pioneers finished 12th out of 34 teams. Leading the way for the thinclads was senior co-captain, Ben Morris who ran a personal best over the 5k distance to finish 10th in a time of 15:52.5. Next across the line was fellow senior, co-captain, Connor Whitney in 73rd place in 16:58, followed closely by senior Jeff Secrist in 79th place with a time of 17:03. Rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers were seniors Jack Robertson and Andrew Bird in 108th and 110th place in 17:23 and 17:24 respectively.
In the JV race, junior Padraig Vona was the top Pioneer, finishing 10th overall in a time of 17:32.6 He was followed closely by senior Austin Muzzy in 14th place in a time of 17:39 and junior, Dylan Joerres in 17th place in 17:44.
In the Sophomore race, Brody Massad was the first Pioneer to cross the line in 18:30 while Victor Nedelsecu ran to an 18th place finish in the 2.1 mile Freshman race in a time of 11:51.
The Pioneers next race is on Tuesday, October 28 at WRHS against the Mountaineers
October 29, 2019
Pioneers Lose a Close One to the Mountaineers.
3 points were the difference between winning and losing in a hard-fought battle between two of the top two cross country programs in Central Massachusetts yesterday afternoon at WRHS.
The Mountaineers edged the Pioneers by a score of 26-29.
Wachusett’s top runner Isaac Steele won with a time of 16:19 over the hilly 5k course.
St. John’s co-captain Ben Morris finished 2nd, 10 seconds back in 16:29.
Senior Jeff Secrist finished with a strong 3rd place showing in 16:57.
Co-captain Connor Whitney closed hard, finishing 7th overall in 17:32 followed closely by seniors Jack Robertson and Tim Walsh who rounded out the scoring in 8th and 9th place respectively with photo finish times of 17:37.
In the JV race, top finisher for the Pioneers was freshman Liam Secrist in 6th place in 19:03.
The Pioneers conclude their dual meet season with a record of 3-2 while looking forward to the postseason championship season meets.
St. John’s next meet is the Frank Mooney MSTCA Coaches XC Invitational at the Wrentham Developmental Center on Saturday, November 2.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Pioneers gear up for Districts with a strong showing at MSTCA Coaches Meet
On Saturday, the St. John’s XC team traveled to Wrentham, MA to compete in the MSTCA Coaches Meet on the rolling and spectator-friendly 5k XC course at the Wrentham Developmental Center.
Leading the way for the Pioneers was senior Andrew Bird who finished 37th in the Senior race in 17:48.6; followed by Austin Muzzy in 67th place in 18:10.33 and Joe Bafaro in 114th place in 19:06.66.
In the Junior race, Dylan Joerres was the top Pioneer with a time of 17:58.07 for a 41st place finish; followed by Connor Gothorpe in 54th place in 18:10.12 and Jackson Andrews in 125th place in a time of 18:56.34.
In the ultra-competitive sophomore race with over 400 runners, freshman Liam Secrist ran a personal best 18:10.68 for the 5k distance for a very respectable 51st place finish and the 5th fastest Pioneer finishing time of the day!
Following Liam was classmate Victor Nedelescu in 69th place in at 18:22.4 and sophomore Brody Massad in 87th place in a time of 18:38.9. In this race, fellow freshmen Jackson Harris and Gabe Conboy finished with PB’s of 18:51.6 and 18:58.5 respectively.
The Pioneers next meet is Saturday November 9 at Gardner Municipal Golf Course @ 1:00PM where they will defend their District Championship and attempt to qualify for the All State Cross Country Championships on November 16 back at Gardner.
November 9, 2019
Ben Morris Wins District Championship.
On a cool crisp autumn day, over a hilly and very demanding Gardner Municipal Golf Course, senior co-captain Ben Morris displayed his fitness by running a flawless race, capturing the 2019 District E Championships.
Running from the front as he has all season, Ben dueled with his long time nemesis Isaac Steel of Wachusett Regional High School until the 2 mile mark where Ben surged and opened a 15 second gap that he held to the finish, covering the grueling 5k distance in a victorious 16:37.
Fellow co-captain, Connor Whitney ran a strong second half to finish 18th in 17:46 while fellow seniors, Jack Robertson and Tim Walsh finished the circuit in 20th and 24th place with times of 17:53 and 18:09 respectively. Rounding out the scoring for the 4th place Pioneers was junior Chase Whitney in 27th place in a time of 18:13.
Despite not securing a top 3 team finish in this year’s District Championships that would allow the entire team to compete in next week’s ALL State Championships (to be held again at Gardner Municipal Golf Course), Ben Morris along with Connor Whitney, Jack Robertson and Tim Walsh qualified and will compete as individuals in next week’s D1 Boys Championship race at 1:00PM in Gardner.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
It’s a WRAP!
On cold and blustery Saturday afternoon, over a hilly and very demanding Gardner Municipal Golf course, the St. John’s Cross-Country team concluded their season at the All State meet with some notable performances from the (4) individuals who qualified at Districts last week.
Leading the way (as he has done all season) was co-captain Ben Morris who finished a very respectable 23rd in a time of 16:48 over the challenging Gardner course. Next cross the line for the Pioneers was senior Tim Walsh who finished in 114th place in 17:46, improving his time from a week ago by 13 seconds. He was followed by senior co-captain, Connor Whitney in 134th place in a time of 18:00, while senior Jack Robertson, running in his first cross country season and competing for the first time in the All State meet, finished 147th in a time of 18:14.
Despite failing to qualify as a team in last week’s district race, these seniors along with Jeff Secrist, Austin Muzzy, Andrew Bird, Joe Bafaro, Nobel Paul, Sam Sziklas and Brendan Wolohan all displayed enthusiastic leadership and great character throughout the season, sharing with our younger runners how to train and compete at the highest levels.
The harriers will return next year with a solid nucleus of talented runners as juniors Padraig Vona, Connor Gothorpe and Dylan Joerres along with sophomores, Chase Whitney and Brody Massad and freshman Liam Secrist, Victor Nedelescu and Jackson Harris will provide the foundation for a high performing group of competitive runners.
The future remains bright for Pioneer Cross Country!
