Burgess, Shea turn in strong performances at the Eastbay Northeast XC Regionals

Sam Burgess had the luxury of not having to be saddled into setting the early pace at Saturday’s Eastbay Northeast Cross Country Regional.

He more than showed he can come from behind when the situation warrants it.

Racing against a deep, fast field in cold conditions over the famed Van Cortlandt Park layout in the Bronx, the Framingham speedster was as far back as 30th in the opening mile. Burgess put his head down to buck the gusty winds over the second-half of the hilly, 3.1-mile course on the way to a stellar ninth-place finish in 15 minutes, 29.6 seconds. The top-10 showing guaranteed Burgess a place on the starting line at the national championships on Dec. 11 at Balboa Park in San Diego.

The race was a burner as Gavin Sherry of W. Hartford, Conn., broke Domm Cabral’s 2007 course record of 15:09 with his 15:05.8. Burgess, who was six seconds off the leaders’ pace with a 4:46 opening mile, had plenty of spring in his legs for the grind over Cemetery Hill and the rolling Back Hills.

“I was basically moving up the entire second half of the race,” said Burgess. “I wanted to run conservatively early. I was passing people until I was in eighth and a guy passed me right at the finish.”

Burgess is in the midst of a mammoth championship season. He broke the Wrentham Developmental Course meet record at the Div. 1A championships two weeks ago with his 15:05.8, a time that lasted week before Uxbridge’s Aidan Ross lowered it to 14:47.11 in the Div. 3 All-State race. Burgess ran away with the Div. 1 All-State title on the same day.

He certainly liked having company through the entire race.

“It’s definitely a good change of pace from being in the lead,” said Burgess. “I was fortunate to have some fast guys to push me in the latter stages of the season. Having other guys in front of you definitely makes it easier to push a little harder than you thought you could.”

Burgess won’t be the lone Massachusetts harrier in San Diego. Belmont sensation Ellie Shea bolted to a strong sixth-place finish with a 17:55.3. Angelina Perez of Ringwood, NJ came away with the win in 17:21.5. Shea, an Emerging Elite athlete, had a big performance early in the fall when she placed second in the Mayor’s Cup championship race with a quick 17:12.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3pcELNg