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Rangers take 3rd at All-States

Monday, February, 02 By Dave Dyer

BOSTON — Methuen’s boys made the most of their first trip to the Division 1 All-State meet in four years with a superb performance at Franklin Park Saturday.

Saving its best performance of the season to last, the Rangers finished third with 127 points, trailing behind just MVC foe Lowell (97) and Cambridge (107).

The top five runners all were under 17 minutes, led by junior Jeff Reddy in 13th (16:07 for 5K).  He was followed closely by Matt Marchand in 16th (16:12) with John St. Hilaire running the cross country race of his life, taking 24th in 16:22, a 53-second improvement over his previous best time at Franklin Park.

Cam Pavao and Devin Allen completed the Methuen scoring, finishing 57-58 with the same 16:52 clocking.

“Overall, this was a great accomplishment for our runners,” said Methuen coach Bill James. “Four of our top five runners ran personal bests on this course and John St. Hilaire had an incredible race.”

St. Hilaire followed his plan just perfectly.

“I just latched onto the Lowell kids,” said St. Hilaire, a middle distance standout in track. “That’s the team we knew we needed to stay with and I was able to keep near them.

“I was in about 38th place and passed a lot of kids the last 800 yards. I saw it as my last race as a Ranger (in cross country) and I used that as motivation to go all out.”

Marchand, too, had Lowell on his mind, but he also wanted to stay close to his teammate Reddy, which he was able to do.

“He (Reddy) got out pretty quick, but I saw him at the 2-mile mark and I felt pretty good about that,” said Marchand. “I’m pretty happy with my performance and the whole team.”

It was a good day for the MVC overall. In addition to Lowell’s team championship, Chelmsford’s Quinn Cooney was the individual winner with a 15:44, with Billerica’s P.J. Garmon in second at 15:47 and Lowell;s Larry Carney fourth at 16:01.

North Andover came in 15th, led by Marty Conrad, who came in 44th. Greater Lawrence senior Yosvaldy Tejeda was 53rd.

Demeule comes in 12th

Pentucket’s Alex Demeule capped a terrific senior season by placing 12th in the Division 2 All-State meet with a personal-best time of 16:28.92. Cape Ann league rival Nick Carleo of Newburyport was the individual winner in 15:50 as the Clippers finished second, losing a tie-breaker with Hopedale, both of which had 125 points.

North Reading’s Jake O’Connell came in 42nd.

Rothmann top Andover girl

Sarah Rothmann led three Andover girls in the Division 1 All-State meet, finishing 47th in 19:53. Sophomore teammate Caroline Wacome was 59th (29:02) and Chantal Kellerd came in 97th (20:34).

Lowell junior Kaley Richards was the individual winner in 18:16 with Needham taking the team title.

In Division 2, Austin Prep freshman Stephanie Casaletto of Groveland came in 19th with a 19:35 clocking. Division 2 winner Erin Dietz of Bedford had the fastest girls time of the day, winning in 18:19. Hamilton-Wenham’s girls easily won the team crown with 97 points.

Boys All-State championships

at Franklin Park (3.1 miles)

Top Division 1 team scores (19 teams): 1. Lowell 97, 2. Cambridge 107, 3. Methuen 107, 4. Peabody 138, 5. Northampton 164, 15. North Andover 356

Winner and top area finishers: 1. Quinn Cooney (Chelmsford) 15:44, 13. Jeff Reddy (Meth) 16:07, 16. Matt Marchand (Meth) 16:12, 24. John St. Hilaire (Meth) 16:22, 44. Marty Conrad (NA) 16:42, 53. Yosvaldy Tejeda (Gr. Lawrence) 16:48; 57. Cam Pavao (Meth) 16:52, 58. Devin Allen (Meth) 16:52, 63. Chris Lord (NA) 16:53, 70. Zach Frahlich (NA) 16:55, 13. Dylan Colon (Gr. Lawrence) 17:42

Top Division 2 team scores (19 teams): 1. Hopedale 125, 2. Newburyport 125, 3. Marblehead 132, 4. Mount Greylock 163, 5. Manchester Essex 202, 6. Hamilton-Wenham 203, 11. Tewksbury 246

Winner and top area finishers: 1. Nick Carleo (Newburyport) 15:50.70, 12. Alex Demeule (Pent) 16:28.92, 42. Jake O’Connell (North Reading) 17:04.29

Girls All-State championships

at Franklin Park (3.1 miles)

Top Division 1 team scores (18 teams): 1. Needham 58, 2. Bishop Feehan 117, 3. Lincoln-Sudbury 128, 4. Weymouth 178, 5. Billerica 188, 9. Lowell 213

Top 3 area finishers: 1. Kaley Richards (Lowell) 18:16, , 47. Sarah Rothmann (Andover) 19:53, 59. Caroline Wacome (Andover) 20:02, 97. Chantal Kellerd (And) 20:34

Top Division 2 team scores (19 teams): 1. Hamilton-Wenham 94, 2. Lenox 146, 3. Dennis-Yarmouth 157, 4. Nauset 167, 5. Manchester Essex 174, 6. Tyngsboro 194

Winner, runner-up and top area finishers: 1. Erin Dietz (Bedford) 18:19, 2. Olivia Lantz (Manchester Essex) 18:43, 19. Stephanie Casaletto (Austin Prep-Groveland) 19:35