By Michael Letendre
MANCHESTER – This past Saturday, the 40th Annual Wickham Park Cross Country Invitational took place in Manchester and both the girls and boys programs from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern were in action.
The boys squad from Central finished 18th overall (438 points) while the boys over at Eastern were two spots behind (20th, 559 points) over a very competitive event.
“The Bristol Central boys looked good today after a tough week of racing and training,” said Central coach Tamara Stafford-Kirk. “They are definitely racing tired at this point in the season so to have so many PRs (personal records) is a good sign of things to come.”
This time around, Central’s senior running sensation – Frankie Porrini – made a top six finish.
Porrini earned sixth place with a stellar time of 16:31 which was forty slots better than Bristol’s next best finish.
Next to place for the Rams was Chris Roy who nabbed 46th overall with a time of 17:47 while Eastern’s Dominic Tartarelli (67th, 18:11) and Jack Mulcunry (69th, 18:12) nearly crossed the finish line at the same time.
Central’s Patrick Wininger (75th, 18:14) showed a little grit on the course from Manchester before a slew of runners from the Mum City ended the race with times below 20:00.
Eastern’s wheelhouse of Brendan Tartarelli (141st, 19:38), Aidan Tartarelli (146th, 19:40), Cole Beland (147th, 19:41) and Aidan Gezelman (149th, 19:41) all ran well as did Central’s Lance Archibald (153rd, 19:43).
Eastern’s Dylan Prince (162nd, 19:58) and Central’s duo of Nick DiMatteo (171st, 20:34) and
Aiden Georgakopoulos (183rd, 21:32) rounded out an excellent day of action over a very competitive boys event.
“Frankie Porrini continues to run well. We are keeping his training pretty heavy right now so that he is ready for the state meets later this month,” said Stafford-Kirk. “Chris Roy and Patrick Wininger continue to be a strong combo at 2-3. Lance Archibald wasn’t at his best today but has run some strong races over the past few weeks so we know he will help us out in the coming weeks. Sophomores Nick DiMatteo and Aiden Georgakopoulos have really stepped it up lately.”
In the girls race, Central and Eastern did not score as teams but still had quality individual finishes up and down the roster.
Eastern freshman Kaelyn Gonzalez was the best runner between the schools, finishing in 36th place with a time of 21:35.
For Central, Katie Tran (104th, 23:48) and Emma Cavallari (122nd, 24:24) were 1-2 for the Rams while Eastern’s Lauren Ayotte (130th, 24:39) made good gains as well.
The rest of the Bristol finishers included Central’s Lynae Lewis (138th, 25:01) and Ruth Smith (167th, 27:25) and Eastern’s Kaydence Meyer (163rd, 26:52) and Rita Gao (170th, 28:12).
“We have been struggling to put a full five on the line the past few weeks for a few reasons but we are coming together and should be ready for a great race next week at the City Championship,” said Stafford-Kirk. “Katie Tran led the way again today with a huge personal record at Wickham! Freshman Emma Cavallari really stepped up as did newcomers Lynae Lewis and Ruth Smith.”
This coming Thursday, it’s the big one as all three high schools in Bristol take part of the Bristol City Series Championship from St. Paul Catholic over on Maltby Street.
Meet time is scheduled for 3:45 p.m.
Wickham Invite – Saturday, October 8
Boys Team Finishes – Large School Division
Bristol Central, 18th (438 points)
Bristol Eastern, 20th (559 points)
Individual Times
6. Frankie Porrini (Bristol Central) 16:31
46. Chris Roy (Bristol Central) 17:47
67. Dominic Tartarelli (Bristol Eastern) 18:11
69. Jack Mulcunry (Bristol Eastern) 18:12
75. Patrick Wininger (Bristol Central) 18:14
141. Brendan Tartarelli (Bristol Eastern) 19:38
146. Aidan Tartarelli (Bristol Eastern) 19:40
147. Cole Beland (Bristol Eastern) 19:41
149. Aidan Gezelman (Bristol Eastern) 19:41
153. Lance Archibald (Bristol Central) 19:43
162. Dylan Prince (Bristol Eastern) 19:58
171. Nick DiMatteo (Bristol Central) 20:34
183. Aiden Georgakopoulos (Bristol Central) 21:32
Girls Race – Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern did not score as a team
Individual Times
36. Kaelyn Gonzalez (Bristol Eastern), 21:35
104. Katie Tran (Bristol Central) 23:48
122. Emma Cavallari (Bristol Central) 24:24
130. Lauren Ayotte (Bristol Eastern), 24:39
138. Lynae Lewis (Bristol Central) 25:01
163. Kaydence Meyer (Bristol Eastern) 26:52
167. Ruth Smith (Bristol Central) 27:25
170. Rita Gao (Bristol Eastern) 28:12
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