AC Cross Country Closes Successful Regular Season

– Allison Goldsberry

The Arlington Catholic girls cross country team completed their third consecutive undefeated season by trouncing Austin Prep 25-36 in Reading. The Cougars wrapped up their league competition with a perfect 8-0 record and are 9-0 overall, according to Head Coach Jack Dempsey.

The Cougars displayed a solid team effort by placing runners from third through ninth place. Janelle Solviletti, a junior captain from Billerica, and Kaitlin McCauley, a sophomore from Watertown, were the first Cougars to finish in third and fourth place. Senior captain Becca Gonsalves of Woburn placed fifth, junior Lauren O’Neil of Stoneham was sixth, freshman Kathleen Mclaughlin of Waltham was seventh, senior captain Brigid Kirkpatrick of Medford finished eighth, senior captain Mary Stanton of Woburn was ninth, and sophomore Olivia Liberti of Medford rounded out the AC top seven in tenth place.

This past weekend the Lady Cougars pulled of a very strong performance in the prestigious Catholic Memorial Invitational Cross Country Championships at Franklin Park, finishing fifth out of forty teams. The Cougars were led by McCauley and Solviletti, who were tenth and twelfth, respectively, in a field of over two hundred of the top runners in the state.

The Cougar boys lost a close one to Austin Prep by a score of 26-29. The boys team was lead by junior captain Kevin Connors of Belmont, who finished in first place. He was followed by senior captain Chris Laffey of Billerica in fourth place, junior Matt Woods of Arlington in seventh, senior Joe Buccheri of Medford in eighth, and senior captain Nolan Hart of Medford in ninth place.

The boys finished the regular season with a record of four wins and four losses.

The next races for girls and boys cross country teams will be the Catholic Central League Championships, the State Coaches Meet and the Eastern Mass Championships, said Coach Dempsey.