Carmen Luisi steals show at Coaches Invitational

WRENTHAM — Carmen Luisi was using Saturday’s race at the Frank Mooney Coaches Invitational as a dress rehearsal for the All-State meet, and she transformed it into a solo showing.

Racing in the junior/senior small school event on the 3.1-mile layout in bright chilly conditions at the Wrentham Developmental Center, the Holliston star blazed through the opening mile in 5:35 and two in 11:30 on the way to demolishing the field in 17:42.1, the fastest time on the day. Luisi led the Panthers to a 1-2-3 finish and team title with a stingy 16 points. Maggie Kuchman was second in 18:37.8 and Ella Bosselman clinched third with her 18:40.5.

Luisi and her teamates will race on the difficult Gardner Golf Course next Saturday in the divisional meet, a layout with several steep hills.

“I just wanted to use this as a preview for All-States,” Luisi said. “At the halfway mark I was like ‘whoa, I’m really flying’ and wanted to push to the finish. I tried to use the momentum from the downhills to push on the short uphills. There’s a downhill at the finish and I was able to use that.”

Milton’s Christina Sullivan shook herself free from a four-runner pack near the 2-mile mark and surged to the finish to capture the large school senior race 18:54.4. Methuen’s Miana Caraballo, who dogged Sullivan for most of the race, was just over five seconds back in 19:00.4 and Beverly’s Mia Kasperowicz clinched third in 19:14.3. Milton’s Norah Affanto finished fourth in 19:17.7 and Emily Young of Beverly rounded out the top five in 19:19.2.

Sullivan, who finished fourth in the recent Bay State Conference Championship, wasn’t surprised she had company through the mile and close to 2, given the talented field. “I was thinking I was going to stay with the pack the whole way,” she said. “I could sense they were slowing down so I started to push and was able to take the lead. I still had something left at the end. There’s a lot of rolling hills on this course and a ton of people to cheer you on.”

The harriers were able to take advantage of the chilly, calm conditions to run fast over the developmental center’s grassy grounds.

Barnstable freshman Ava Bullock moved up to the large school sophomore race and registered an impressive win. Bullock was never really challenged as she traversed the route in a swift 18:31.0. Elizabeth Latham of Acton-Boxboro was a distant second in 18:46.5 and Bullock’s teammate Callie Dedecko also dipped under 19 minutes with her 18:57.1 third-place finish.

“I’m doing the 5K next weekend (at divisionals) and my coach wanted me to get used to the course,” Bullock explained of her move to the sophomore race.

Addyson Hunt of Wilmington was an easy winner in the small school sophomore race with her 19:39 and Nipmuc’s Jess Casey sprinted across the finish line in 12:05.4 to win the 3K small school freshman race. Aoife Shovlin of Cambridge captured the gold medal in the large school freshman race in 11:28.9 and Chloe Fitzgerald of North Quincy controlled the junior large school race for the win.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3ke7LCu