In October, coach Steve Whittey used the term “underrated” to describe the Manchester Essex boys’ cross country during the 2024 regular season. Although the Hornets finished with a 1-4 record, two of those losses were by just one point, a razor-thin margin separating victory and defeat. When given a second chance during the Cape Ann League Cross Country Championships at Wrentham Developmental Center on Oct. 26, the Hornets proved that their coach was telling the truth with that comment.
“The boys’ team placed fifth with 134 points,” says Whittey. “They finished ahead of Amesbury, Ipswich and Lynnfield which all beat us in the regular season.”
Henry Stevens was the Hornets’ top runner, finishing 12th overall with a personal record (PR) of 17:07), a fitting performance for the senior, who also earned All-League recognition. Freshman Gus Hall finished 21st, junior Lyall Cunningham was 22nd, freshman Isaiah Nicastro finished 32nd and sophomore Matt Ala finished 47th.
“Every boy except one ran a PR,” says Whittey.
The girls’ team, unfortunately, couldn’t repeat the success they found during a 3-2 regular season in 2024, finishing in eighth place. However, there were a number of individual performances that were worthy of recognition.
Senior Whitney Turner led the Hornet girls with a season-best time of 22:03 during the CAL Championships, finishing 21st overall. Junior River Silva earned a PR and finished 22nd, Senior Sabine Cooper finished 28th, freshman Kalin Bennett finished 47th and earned PR and senior Hayden Remington finished in 54th with a season-best performance.
Up next for the Hornet cross country teams is the MIAA State Divisional Meet in Fort Devens on Nov. 9. If successful there, then the next step will be the State Championship at Fort Devens on Nov. 16.
“With most runners peaking, we hope to continue to improve as we head to the Div. 2 meet at Devens on Nov. 9,” explains Whittey. “The divisional meet has three waves with each team able to run up to seven runners. We are running in wave C. From there, the top seven teams from each wave move on to the Meet of Champions on November 16. Also, the next two fastest teams from all three waves earn wildcard spots to move on. The top 10 runners not on a qualifying team get to run as individuals.”
