'Nice to win something big.' Eli Merritt, Framingham sisters win BAA races before Boston Marathon

They were the first finishers along the hallowed streets of the Back Bay. On a long weekend of Boston Athletic Association races, local runners turned Saturday into a veritable MetroWest Invitational.

Two days before more than 30,000 runners clogged the path from Hopkinton to Boston, a pair of sisters from Framingham each broke the tape at the famous finish line on Boylston Street. Daria Lamakina, who attends Walsh Middle School, won the Girls Middle School 1-kilometer race in a time of 3 minutes, 18 seconds.

Hopkinton’s Nina Clement was second in 3:22.

Soon after, Sasha Lamakina won the Girls Scholastic Mile in 5:23.

“It was really fun to be part of such a big event,” said Sasha, a sophomore at Framingham High, in a text to the Daily News. “(I) tried to soak it all in and have fun. (I’m) really grateful to be running at such a big event.”

Daria had the chance to watch Sasha’s race and was just as filled with gratitude as her sister.

“It was a great environment to run in and to be around,” said Daria. “The crowd lifts you up so much.”

The sisters have both trained with the Waltham Track Club, and when they were younger, participated in the Framingham Summer Track program at Bowditch Field.

Other locals in the Girls Mile include Wellesley’s Bridget Reidy (4^th, 5:45), Hopkinton’s Elyse Srodawa (5^th, 5:45), Hopkinton’s Brigid Cavanaugh (7^th, 5:50), Ashland’s Sadie Gilhooly (8^th, 5:53), Wellesley’s Reilly Gareau (12^th, 6:06), Framingham’s Ella Terranova (13^th, 6:09), Natick’s Angela Wing (14^th, 6:11) and Ashland’s Jane Goss (15^th, 6:27).

Wellesley’s Eli Merritt win Boys Invitational Mile

Starting in the second row in a field of 16 runners, Wellesley High's Eli Merritt quickly moved up to the front of the pack and led the rest of the way to win the Boys Mile in 4:37. Newton South’s Liam Sakakeeny briefly ran alongside Merritt before the Wellesley senior held him off.

Coming off injury-plagued cross country and indoor track seasons, Merritt was pleased to break the tape.

“It felt really good to win,” the Daily News All-Star in cross country said. “I’ve never won a big race before so it was really nice to finally win something big.”

Merritt finished 11^th at All-States cross country last fall but had never been a part of a grand event like Saturday’s.

“It’s really exciting to be racing at the marathon finish line,” he said. “All the fans lining the course and the professional atmosphere since our race happens alongside the (BAA) 5k and pro mile makes for a really good mile.”

Merritt will run spring track for Wellesley, focusing on the mile and 800 meters, and will run cross country and track at Johns Hopkins University.

Max Hoffman, also of Wellesley, finished fourth in 4:45, followed by Natick’s Sean Fleming in 4:48. Ashland’s William Child (6^th, 4:53) and Framingham’s Ben Habeski (10^th, 4:56) also placed in the top 10.

Hopkinton’s Benjamin Scott (4:57) placed 11^th and Andrew Feinblatt of Framingham was 12^th in 4:58, followed by Hopkinton’s Sean Finnegan (4:59), Natick’s Jacob Tobin (5:01) and Ashland’s Luca Domestico (5:09) in places 13-14-15.

Hopkinton’s Fitzgibbons win Boys 1K

Running at a 5:04 mile pace, Hopkinton’s Matthew Fitzgibbons won the Middle School Boys 1K in a time of 3:09. Fitzgibbons and Lucas Arnold, also of Hopkinton who placed fourth (3:17), helped escort elite runners to the starting line on Monday before the Boston Marathon.

Other local results 

Boys 1K 

6.  Aarav Sanghavi, Ashland, 3:25, followed by

8. Paxton Keith, Natick, 3:26)

9. William Carroll, Wellesley, 3:31)

10. Keegan West, Framingham, 3:35

11. Cameron Barry, Wellesley, 3:35

13. Adam Aronis, Natick, 3:37

14. Maxwell Olin, Framingham, 3:37

15. Lucas Petta, Ashland, 4:02

Girls 1K 

4. Maddie Tuxbury, Wellesley, 3:23

5. Leah Dittenhafer, Ashland, 3:26

6. Kailie Rader, Natick, 3:32

7. Grace Catella, Framingham, 3:37

11. Erin Wagner, Natick, 3:49

12. April Kotch, Ashland, 3:50

13. Casey Bresnahan, Wellesley, 4:00

15. Sana Kandasamy, Hopkinton, 4:07

Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached attdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas. 

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham sisters, locals dominate BAA races ahead of Boston Marathon