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I try not to ruffle feathers. The easiest way to do that is to hide under the radar - don't make predictions - and try to be everyone's friend.
Sorry. I guess I won't be doing any of the three today. Because the Hock Championships is going to be such a good meet that it deserves some pre-race hype. Northrunning.com has to fill that role since I don't see the popular media (those who actually get paid to write about stuff) stepping up to the plate.
So today I'm not hiding, instead putting my thoughts front and center. I'll make some general predictions based on what I've witnessed this season. And in the process I might tick someone off. Someone will look at this and say "Why isn't my athlete mentioned?" or "Doesn't he think I deserve some ink?"
The truth is that I could go 60 deep in athletes who I feel deserve recognition. If I consulted the other coaches the list would be even longer. Instead. I'll keep the list short and elite.
Any athlete who feels they were unjustly ignored has the option of rubbing it in my face. If you aren't mentioned in the preview but place in the top 12 you'll be mentioned on this site with an automatic ST "He doesn't know anything!" Award.
Now on to the preview.
Hockomock Cross Country Preview 2007
TEAMS
The top three teams should be the same as last year when Oliver Ames beat Franklin 28-48, Mansfield a distant third place at 103 points. It isn't a shoo-in for Oliver Ames because Franklin matches up very well. But unfortunately for the Panthers a likely 1-2 OA finish of Davidner and J. Pickett will be tough to overcome.The #5 runners for both teams will be arriving at pretty much the same time. So even if Ryan and Cole can outdistance J. Binney (something they did at Bay States but not in the tri-meet) it looks like at least a five point lead for OA after the top-3 for each team is in. It would take some fortuitous placements on the part of Franklin to get back the edge.
But upon further review – it could happen in a number of different ways. Not wanting to put undo pressure on other teams by naming names, I'll wait until the results are in and look at how the #4, #5 perform before proclaiming a hero to this battle. Rest assured it will all be over by the 20th race finisher. Both teams will have there top 5 in by that time, possibly even by the 15th .
Mansfield has the depth to underscore the rest of the league. Once green starts crossing the line there'll be a lot of them in a bunch. They may go under 100 points this year but not under the 50 it would take to get close to the creme de la creme. Stoughton will be the most improved team, possibly climbing as high as 4th, certainly higher than last year's 8th place finish.
INDIVIDUAL
Nothing short of a wrong turn will alter a 1-2 finish by Jenna Davidner and Jessica Pickett. Then it becomes interesting. Kathleen Ryan and Mary Cole have worked well together, and if they get in a close race with Julie Binney they may have a psychological edge. Binney could take it out early with Pickett to keep that from happening. The runner most likely to join this group is Alyse Rocco, having proven herself last year with a third place Hock finish. Now comes a wave of very good runners. Lianne Swanson hopes to be right with the top group. Teammates Aubree Piepmeier, Katie O'Koren and Siobhan Duffy should be able to keep her in sight. OA will counter with Sarah Loftus, Kerry Pickett and frosh Rachel Kline. Foxboro's Danielle Gentile, NA's Amanda Parker and Mansfield's Katelyn Schepis have had solid seasons and hope to crack into the top dozen. One wildcard is Stoughton's super-frosh Lindsey Walsh, fresh off a strong performance at the Bay State Meet. The hardest runners to predict will be Jessie Morse (13 th in '06) and Brittany Grueter (19 th '07). Both have missed a lot of the season. In the final tri-meet of the season Morse PR'd on her home course. I haven't heard anything about Grueter, but based on a solid track performance last year I thought I'd mention her. Following are the results of the top 25 from last year.
1 Davidner, Jess Oliver Ames HS 5:48.9 16:16.67
2 McNamara, Stephanie North Attleboro HS 5:56.5 16:38.02 (Graduated)
3 Rocco, Alyse Canton HS 5:58.0 16:42.42
4 Pickett, Jess Oliver Ames HS 5:59.7 16:47.16
5 Godfrey, Lea Franklin HS 6:10.2 17:16.55 (Graduated)
6 Binney, Julie Oliver Ames HS 6:11.1 17:19.02
7 Booth, Lindsey Franklin HS 6:14.2 17:27.78 (Graduated)
8 Binney, Stacie Oliver Ames HS 6:18.9 17:40.77 (Graduated)
9 Pickett, Kerry Oliver Ames HS 6:21.4 17:47.80
10 Ryan, Kathleen Franklin HS 6:21.6 17:48.40
11 Sheehan, Kelly King Phillip HS 6:23.8 17:54.59 (Graduated)
12 Swanson, Lianne Franklin HS 6:25.5 17:59.28
13 Morse, Jessica Mansfield HS 6:26.1 18:00.95
14 Duffy, Siobhan Franklin HS 6:28.0 18:06.39
15 O'Koren, Kate Franklin HS 6:29.1 18:09.50
16 Ezersky, Kathleen Mansfield HS 6:30.5 18:13.40
17 Kelley, Alicia Stoughton HS 6:38.4 18:35.37
18 Krasney, Sara North Attleboro HS 6:39.8 18:39.43
19 Grueter, Brittany Foxboro HS 6:40.6 18:41.65
20 Happnie, Sara Sharon HS 6:40.8 18:42.04
21 Andrews, Megan Oliver Ames HS 6:41.3 18:43.45
22 Gillis, Kary Mansfield HS 6:42.3 18:46.26
23 Plant, Meg Franklin HS 6:43.1 18:48.47
24 Annicelli, Sara Oliver Ames HS 6:43.3 18:49.08
25 Dominesey, Elaina Mansfield HS 6:43.6
Following are the top Hockomock Performers from the Bay State Races – these results are compiled from four different races. They do not completely represent head-to-head results.
Davidner, Jenna Oliver Ames 18:18
Pickett, Jessica Oliver Ames 19:04
Ryan, Kathleen Franklin 19:52Cole, Mary Franklin 19:54
Binney, Julie Oliver Ames 20:19
Swanson, Lianne Franklin 20:37
Rocco, Alyse Canton 20:45
Piepmeier, Aubree Franklin 20:55
Loftus, Sarah Oliver Ames 21:09
Parker, Amanda North Attleborough 21:09
Pickett, Kerry Oliver Ames 21:17
Duffy, Siobhan Franklin 21:17
O'Koren, Katie Franklin 21:21
Schepis, Katelyn Mansfield 21:25
Singer-Berk, Lila Canton 21:32
Scuzzarella, Janey Franklin 21:32
Happnie, Sara Sharon 21:33
Dominesey, Elaina Mansfield 21:38
Annicelli, Christina Oliver Ames 21:39Annicelli, Sara Oliver Ames 21:39
Oates, Caroline Oliver Ames 21:49
McGowan, Kaitlyn Mansfield 21:51
Anderson, Lauren Mansfield 21:54Moses, Stephanie North Attleborough 21:54
Burnham, Katherine Mansfield 21:54
Plant, Meghan Franklin 21:58
LoPresti, Chistina Mansfield 22:03
Kirsch, Allie Sharon 22:08
Jacobs, Erika Mansfield 22:10
Abbett, Casey Stoughton 22:17
Bailey, Kathryn Mansfield 22:18
Vlach, Sarah Sharon 22:23
Kelly, Alicia Stoughton 22:35
Thorn, Katie Franklin 22:36
Kostaras, Alexandra North Attleborough 22:46
Zussman, Rachel Oliver Ames 22:53Chase, Kathryn Oliver Ames 22:59
Vatalaro, Lauren Oliver Ames 23:05
Lemoie, Noelle Oliver Ames 23:11Thompson, Meredith Oliver Ames 23:15
Comeau, Dayna Franklin 23:15
Franey, Allison Mansfield 23:20
Prudue-Smithe, Alexandra Sharon 23:24Ingemanson, Catherine Stoughton 23:25
Meyer, Liz Oliver Ames 23:25Kent, Melissa Oliver Ames 23:26
Dominesey, Anna Mansfield 23:31
Gannon, Stephanie Franklin 23:36
Udall, Carolyn North Attleborough 23:38
Miller, Emily Mansfield 23:50
Vaichys, Sabina Sharon 23:50
Betro, Kristen Mansfield 23:51
Holzman, Ali Franklin 23:54
Reardon, Kerrianne Franklin 23:57
Kelley, Megan Canton 24:01
Monestime, Gianina Mansfield 24:02
Briseno, Taylor Mansfield 24:16
Kozak, Katarzyna Stoughton 24:17
Larrabee, Annie Oliver Ames 24:29
Czepiel, Katie North Attleborough 24:34
Miller, Carolyn Mansfield 24:35
Cubberly, Lauren North Attleborough 24:44
Cortizo, Lauren Canton 24:57
Kennedy, Christina Canton 25:11
Bay State Freshman Race
Walsh, Lindsey Stoughton 12:35
Kline, Rachel Oliver Ames 13:04
bolt, Brooke Franklin 13:27
Columbare, Lauren Mansfield 13:30
Pinchieri, Laura Stoughton 13:34
Gallagher, Lauren Oliver Ames 13:43
Fontaine, Alyssa North Attleborough 13:50
Hyde, Kelsey Oliver Ames 13:51
Shaw, Megan Franklin 13:56
Teague, Sara Canton 14:05
Dias, Emily Oliver Ames 14:22
Tilton, Lianna Stoughton 14:29
Kimball, Brianna North Attleborough 14:33
1 Collins, Ryan Mansfield HS 4:50.2 13:32.43 (Graduated) 2 Lutkevich, John Mansfield HS 5:10.1 14:28.25 (Graduated) 3 Moverman, Mike Oliver Ames HS 5:11.5 14:32.15 4 Erwin, Andrew Mansfield HS 5:12.5 14:34.81 5 May, Frank Franklin HS 5:14.7 14:41.03 6 Matz, Paul King Phillip HS 5:15.6 14:43.48 (Graduated) 7 Ricci, Derek Foxboro HS 5:16.0 14:44.60 (Graduated) 8 Mattocks, Ben Sharon HS 5:16.3 14:45.52 9 Howards, Casey Sharon HS 5:17.9 14:50.13 10 Strange, Austin Oliver Ames HS 5:18.3 14:51.23 (Graduated) 11 Stein, Etal Sharon HS 5:19.7 14:55.03 (Graduated) 12 Bolea, Mike Mansfield HS 5:21.2 14:59.29 13 Barca, Brendan Mansfield HS 5:21.5 15:00.11 (Graduated) 14 Payne, Greg North Attleboro HS 5:22.1 15:01.66 15 Meagher, Kevin Mansfield HS 5:22.7 15:03.48 16 Aliberti, Alex North Attleboro HS 5:24.2 15:07.62 (Graduated) 17 David, Harrison King Phillip HS 5:25.2 15:10.50 18 D'Arcangelo, Ryan King Phillip HS 5:25.5 15:11.28 (Graduated) 19 Dacey, John Franklin HS 5:25.6 15:11.60 20 Curari, Joe Oliver Ames HS 5:26.5 15:14.05 (Graduated) 21 Willox, Brad North Attleboro HS 5:28.3 15:19.09 22 Davin, Sam Franklin HS 5:31.7 15:28.56 (Graduated) 23 Card, Bill North Attleboro HS 5:32.7 15:31.55 (Graduated) 24 Cohen, Brian Oliver Ames HS 5:33.4 15:33.48 (Graduated?)
25 Paparazzo, Anthony Oliver Ames HS 5:34.2
32-82