Though Michael Frasco ’12 overpowered his opponents, Andover Boys Cross Country was left with a bitter taste as a powerhouse Exeter team snapped Andover’s four-race win streak with a 35-21 victory.
Exeter Cross Country Captains Caleb Fujimori PEA ’12, Liam Kinney PEA ’12, and Maxwell Payson PEA ’12, who finished second, third and fourth overall, were too much for Andover to overcome.
Jeffrey Domina, Coach of Andover Boys Cross Country, commented that the Exeter captains each ran “beautifully.”
Frasco commented, “It’s really hard to beat such a talented team; they have a group of five runners that run in a tight pack in under 17 minutes.”
Frasco crushed the competition and shed eight seconds from his personal best and finishing with a time of 16:03.
Frasco said, “I expected some of the Exeter runners to challenge me for the victory, but they seemed content to just hang about 50 yards behind me. After the first two minutes of the race, I was running by myself.”
He continued, “Maybe they were racing conservatively, trying not to race too hard before the championship race.”
A key factor in Andover’s future success will be the continued progress of James Hamilton ’12, Captain of Boys Cross Country. After battling through injury at the beginning of the season, Hamilton finished sixth overall and second for Andover. In doing so, he shed 38 seconds from his season best, from the 17:20s to 16:42.
Going forward, the team is confident in its chances at the upcoming championship race.
Frasco said, “Some of our best runners are banged up and didn’t have the greatest races on Saturday, but we just had a good workout today, and they look much better. The score will be more competitive at the championship race than it was on Saturday.”
Ian Whittall ’14, Izzy Devila ’12, Max Block ’12 and Matt Fischetti ’14 constituted the rest of the Andover team that finished the race. Mike Boyle ‘13, PJ Blouin 12’ and Kian Ivey ‘12 all dropped out of the race and did not finish.
The team looks to bounce back at Interschols this Saturday.
