Anna DiBona     

 11/15/17

On Saturday November 11 at 11:15 am the Middleboro Varsity Cross Country team left the High School to go to their last meet, the divisional meet. They were to participate in the division 5 tournament based on their school size. The varsity girls team had a total of 5 runners, while the varsity boys team had a total of 7 players. The team was led by Coach Sean Kinney and Assistant Coach Jacqui May-Beaton, as well as their captains, Mike O’Shaughnessy and Abigail Wager. The divisional meet was held at the Wrentham developmental center, with a temperature below freezing for most of the day.

        The Varsity boys team consisted of Captain Mike O’Shaughnessy, Paul Giovanoni, Noah Miles, Dylan Furtado, Jayden Carveiro, Stephen D’Errico, and Eric Baldwin. Mike O’Shaughnessy came in first for Middleboro, with Paul Giovanoni in a close second. Noah Miles ran in for third with Dylan Furtado coming in close behind him. Stephen D’Errico came in sixth with a great time. Eric Baldwin came in last for Middleboro, but did not finish last overall like his race last year. Noah Miles, Eric Baldwin, Dylan Furtado, and Paul Giovanoni all ran their personal best of the season at the tournament.

        The Varsity girls team consisted of Junior Captain Abby Wager, Shaelyn Gallagher, Anna DiBona, Lydia Masse, and Catrina Bingham Maas. Abby Wager and Shaelyn Gallagher ran together the whole race, and ended up finishing the race together. At the end of the day the results said that Abby Wager beat Shaelyn Gallagher by 0.3 seconds. Next Catrina Bingham Maas and Lydia Masse ran the whole race together, and at the 400 meter mark Catrina Bingham Maas took off at finished a couple seconds before Lydia Masse. In last for Middleboro Anna DiBona finished about 6 seconds after Lydia Masse and Catrina Bingham Maas.

        At the divisional meet the girls started off the race at 12:55 pm, once they had warmed up and stretched. In the middle of the two races the team stood together to try and keep their spirits up as well as their body temperatures. Next the boys team raced at 1:25pm. Both teams had worn multiple layers and even gloves throughout the race.

        The race was a hard fought battle for the Sachems because of the extreme conditions and the structure of the course. In an interview Dylan Further states “We were all sitting together shaking.” At this particular meet the temperature was around 20-30 degrees Fahrenheit, so the team tried to sit as close together as possible to try and stay warm. Also the Wrentham course consisted of many hills, that the Sachems had trained for, but still made the race a difficult one.

        This race did mark the end of the Middleboro Sachem Varsity Cross Country team, but it was a tremendous finish. The team is now getting in the spirit by creating a team banner, that is 5 feet by 8 feet and is hung in the lobby of the Middleboro High School. Also the team has a team dinner on December 5th at the Boston Tavern, with a fall sports award ceremony/meeting at the High School right after. The coaching staff could not be more proud of their Varsity and JV Cross Country Sachems, and the team couldn’t be more thankful for their coaches!