AC Boys, Girls XC Win Season Opener

– Allison Goldsberry

The Arlington Catholic girls and boys cross country teams got off to a fast start by easily defeating Marian of Framingham in the season opener on Tuesday.

The Cougars defended their turf at their home course at Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington, with the girls winning 17-44 (low score wins) and the boys winning 23-33.

AC freshman Kaitlin McCauley (Watertown) not only placed first but broke the school record for the 2.9 mile course. McCauley’s 21:59 was three seconds faster than the record held by Woburn’s Liz Sullivan.

Cougars sophomore Janelle Solviletti (Woburn) finished second and was just three seconds from matching the course record. Junior tri-captain Brigid Kirkpatrick of Medford placed third, senior tri-captain Lauren Reis (Arlington) was fourth, and juniors Mary Stanton and Becca Gonsalves-Lamontagne (both of Woburn) and Sarah D’accangelo (Malden) followed.

The boys’ race was controlled by senior captain Joe Donlon of Stoneham, who won the 2.9 mile race with a time of 18:03. AC sophomore Kevin Connors (Belmont) placed second, Medford junior Kyle Liberti was third, Billerica junior Chris Laffey finished seventh, Medford junior Nolan Hart placed eighth, Waltham’s Andrew Cohen was ninth, and junior Nick Nowell of Burlington completed the AC top seven with a tenth place finish.

Next up for the Cougars is a trip to Rhode Island on September 25 for the Ocean State Invitational.