By the time Spiess finished ninth in Saturday’s Division 2 championship race at Devens and watched his teammates file in just behind him, he knew something special might have taken place.
The results were finalized minutes later, showing that BPS (with Latin Academy carrying the flag as the ‘host’ school) had won the program’s first state title with 105 points, just one point ahead of runner-up Longmeadow. Falmouth senior Silas Gartner (15 minutes, 43.55 seconds) took the individual victory at Willard Park.
The triumph came just three years after the BPS boys’ team qualified for its first All-State meet, and a decade after the once-dormant program was revived. The BPS girls’ program also won its first title later on Saturday afternoon.
“I turned around, and I was like ‘wow, our fifth guy is right behind me’. Once I saw that, I knew we actually had a chance.’” said Spiess. “I don’t even know how to describe it. Three years ago, the boys made it [to All-States] the first time and came in last, and today we won it all. It’s just incredible.”
Spiess (16:27.46) led the way as he has all season, and senior Ryan Collins (16:52.44) and junior Adam Kramer (16:54.92) finished 24th and 27th, respectively.
BPS needed every last point from juniors Khalid Jama (37th, 17:07.12) and Nathaniel Iliff (44th, 17:11.11). Both made strong pushes in the final mile after starting off toward the middle of the 187-runner field.
“It was a dream season,” said coach Mike Ward. “The confidence just kept building, and they just got so much closer, and everyone believed in each other. They knew that every single person mattered.”
For Gartner, the win was his second consecutive ndividual title in a near-identical time as last fall. The performance was a successful step in his quest to return to Brooks Nationals in San Diego next month.
“It’s not as exciting as winning the first time, but it’s fun to go down here and come up with the win,” said Gartner. “I was able to come up with the lead pretty early … and I just made my move according to the competition.”
Division 1 — To capture the program’s fourth consecutive Division 1 state title, Brookline knew the path would be more difficult than past seasons.
The Warriors returned just two runners from last year’s title-winning lineup, and the depth pieces that had spent years waiting in the wings needed to prove themselves against statewide competition.
The plan came together perfectly Saturday, with Brookline tallying 67 points to topple runner-up Natick (87) behind fourth- and fifth-place finishes from senior Theodore Butty (15:53.91) and junior Liam Hartmann (15:55.54).
The individual winner was Oliver Ames senior Landon Sarney (15:33.28), who overtook Natick senior John Bianchi (15:33.54) just feet away from the finish line in a thrilling victory.
“This year is really special compared to the others,” said Butty. “Maybe two years ago, we were kind of expecting it. Whereas this year, we really had to believe in ourselves the whole time and try to find it mentally. So it’s really rewarding.”
Senior Harry Flint (16:11.54) and junior Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem both placed inside the top 20, and Brookine’s key finish came from its No. 5 runner, senior Aiden Vandor, who finished 33rd in 16:23.81.
“Aiden knew the pressure was on him to be our last scoring guy, and was really struggling with that. On Tuesday, we came here to do a workout, and he couldn’t run,” said Brookline coach Mike Glennon. “I think he got to a place where he let himself actually just compete today and it really made the difference today.”
Sarney’s individual win was an impressive display of mental fortitude, after he entered the final chute a few steps behind Bianchi. As Bianchi began fading in the final 50 meters, Sarney maintained his posture and took a few long strides to overtake him in front of a stunned crowd.
The win represented a remarkable ascension for Sarney, who finished 35th at last year’s All-State meet in a time over a minute slower than he ran Saturday on the same course.
“I knew it once I saw him [nearing] the finish line, he was close enough to me, so I just went for it,” said Sarney. “There was nothing left to lose.”
Division 3 — After ceding the lead to Frontier junior Evan Hedlund with 600 meters to go, Parker Charter senior Nathaniel Henshaw didn’t know if he had anything left.
With his body hurting as bad as he could ever recall in a race, Henshaw decided to stage one last push as he reached the top of the chute.
The final effort made the difference for Henshaw, who overtook the lead with 100 meters to go and became Parker Charter’s first individual state champion with a four-second victory (15:43.1) over Hedlund (15:47.11).
Henshaw’s strong finish headlined a dominant team win for the Panthers (75 points), who, competing on their home course, captured their third consecutive title in a 53-point win over Bromfield.
“When [Hedlund] got a few meters ahead, at that point I was like,’ I’m already hurting so much,’ said Henshaw. “And then I don’t know how, but I just caught up to him again, and I was like, ‘I’m still in it, so I’m going to give it everything I have left.’”
Parker Charter had multiple young runners step into key roles, with freshman Jettt Johnson (16:44.23), junior Cypress Lance (16:47.06), and freshman Zephyr Schermerhorn (16:51.2) each placing inside the top 20 on Saturday.
Though the team had success throughout this season, including a dominant win at last week’s Division 3C meet, they remained focused on their ultimate goal of repeating as state champions.
“They just stuck together the whole way,” said Parker Charter coach Ben Benoit. “We didn’t really celebrate those [invitational wins] more than just for an afternoon, and then we put it away … what you’re seeing now is a celebration that these guys have been holding back the whole season.”
MIAA Division 1 Championship
at Devens 5K Course
Individual — 1. Landon Sarney, Oliver Ames, 15:33.28; 2. John Bianchi, Natick, 15:33.54; 3. Sean Finnegan, Hopkinton, 15:40.59; 4. Theodore Butty, Brookline, 15:53.91; 5. Liam Hartmann, Brookline, 15:55.54; 6. Anthony Malakidis, North Attleborough, 15:58.29; 7. Greg McGrath, BC High, 15:58.74; 8. Patrick Noonan, Lexington, 16:00.78; 9. Leon Ibanez-Fraile, Cambridge, 16:04.81; 10. James Kelly, Lowell, 16:04.88.
Team results — 1. Brookline, 67; 2. Natick, 87; 3. Concord-Carlisle, 137; 4. Lexington, 164; 5. Cambridge, 170.
MIAA Division 2 Championship
at Devens 5K Course
Individual — 1. Silas Gartner, Falmouth, 15:43; 2. Michael Mohoric, Newburyport, 15:52; 3. Luke Zahurak, Walpole, 16:03; 4. Andrew Kosiba, Groton-Dunstable, 16:08; 5. Calvin Miller, Amherst-Pelham, 16:09; 6. Atley Phinney, Middleborough, 16:14; 7. Ethan Halpern, Longmeadow, 16:19; 8. Max Harrington, Holliston, 16:26; 9. Bradon Spiess, Latin Academy, 16:27; 10. Seamus Canniff, Brockton, 16:28.
Team results — 1. Latin Academy (BPS), 105; 2. Longmeadow, 106; 3. Amherst-Pelham, 131; 4. Groton-Dunstable, 143; 5. Walpole, 164.
MIAA Division 3 Championship
at Devens 5K Course
Individual — 1. Nathaniel Henshaw, Parker Charter, 15:43; 2. Evan Hedlund, Frontier, 15:47; 3. Ben McWaters, Bromfield, 16:20; 4. Ben Stone, Hopedale, 16:21; 5. Luke Howard, Frontier, 16:27; 6. Everett Pacheco, Monument Mtn., 16:30; 7. Oscar Schiff, Hampshire, 16:31; 8. Patrick Holland, Mt. Greylock, 16:32; 9. Benjamin Harwood, Lenox, 16:32; 10. Matthew Pilon, Lunenburg, 16:35.
Team results — 1. Parker Charter, 75; 2. Bromfield, 128; 3. Mt. Greylock, 138; 4. Hampshire, 164; 5. Greater Lowell Tech, 183.
Matty Wasserman can be reached at matty.wasserman@globe.com. Follow him @Matty_Wasserman.
