by Dakota Antelman
Running before a thin crowd of parents and students, the Hawks fell to the North Middlesex Patriots last Tuesday by a score of 27-30.
The meet’s key matchup between Hawks captain Andrew Doherty-Munroe and visiting captain Chris Skelly was highlighted early with Skelly and Doherty-Munroe running neck and neck for the majority of the first mile of the race. However by the final strides of the 3.1 mile course, it was clear that Doherty-Munroe had missed out on the win for only the third time this season.
“He did well,” insisted boys coach Tim Reinhardt. “Andrew’s disappointed whenever he doesn’t come in first place, but that is because he is a competitive guy; it’s what’s made him good in the past.”
Beyond Doherty-Munroe, the team struggled to win close battles with members of a now 3-3 North Middlesex team. Three of the first five runners to finish the race were North Middlesex runners.
“It was a close meet, but it was hard to come back after that [the early lead by the Patriots],” said Reinhardt.
Even after the loss though, the Hawks are not panicking. Rather, a calm Reinhardt called attention to a pair of stellar performances out of two younger members of the team.
The brother of Andrew, Jake Doherty-Munroe, as well as eighth grader Ben Chase both set personal bests in Tuesday’s meet. Doherty-Munroe ran his first sub 20 minute race of the year.
Chase who had run on independent teams throughout middle school ran his race in 20 minutes and 14 seconds showing, in the eyes of Reinhardt, great improvement.
“I am learning a lot about what to do [and] how to pace myself well in these races,” Chase said. “I felt a lot better and actually felt like I could have pushed even harder towards the end.”
Chase marveled at the competitive spirit of high school sports. The competition, he says, contributes to his recent success.
“It’s bigger, I’m part of a team now…I’m on a team with people I know, so it helps me work harder in practice and in races,” Chase said.
The Hawks currently sit in fifth place in the Midland League B division and will be working to chase down teams like Westborough, Groton-Dunstable and Quabbin in the coming days.
“I think all our runners have a strong work ethic, and that comes as a team,” Reinhardt said, “and with that hard work, these last few races will be great opportunities to make up for a few losses we’ve had in the league.”
