Sobieraj put exclamation mark on cross country career by leading Oliver Ames to team crown
Katie Sobieraj saved her best for last.
The Oliver Ames senior ended her decorated cross country career in fine fashion Saturday, finishing second overall in the Division 1 state championship race at Fort Devens.
"Katie's had a tremendous run here at Oliver Ames," coach Kyle Sousa said. "She certainly put herself on the map very early in her career, so I know she's a name that's pretty well-known around the state at this point. I thought for capping off her four-year cross country career, that was the best race I've seen her run."
Sobieraj completed the 5K course in 18:29.21, trailing only winner Aoife Shovlin of Cambridge Rindge & Latin (18:06.29). Sobieraj's finishing kick helped Oliver Ames claim its first-ever state team crown. The Tigers won the Div. 1 title with 88 points. Arlington (172) was a distant second.
"I would consider it the best performance we've had in OA girls cross country history," said Sousa, whose team finished fourth a year ago. "It was a tremendous day. (We had a) really strong group of girls who worked very hard, not just this season but in previous years, to set up a chance to do what they did on Saturday."
OA had a strong grouping with its first four runners finishing in the top 21 and a fifth at No. 37.
Senior Annie Reilly was 17th overall, in 19:28.38. Juniors Braelyn Graham (19:34.05) and Hannah Dupill (19:34.45) finished 20th and 21st, respectively, and sophomore Iole Apostoli was 37th in 19:52.96.
"It was awesome having so many girls that high up," Sousa said. "To be honest, I thought they went out a little bit conservative at the beginning of the race. And then when we got to the middle stages (we adjusted). We didn't have four girls in that top 25 or so until the last half-mile of the race. There was a lot of late-race work to get in there.
"There were some bodies there, some shirts to be caught at the end. I give the girls a lot of credit for wanting it bad enough to go after them, even when they're that tired."
Sousa said Reilly, in particular, had been disappointed with her showing in the Div. 1C qualifying race in Gardner the week before when she placed 11th overall but was fifth among OA runners. The Tigers won the 1C team title, too.
"I thought on Saturday she just came back with a vengeance," Sousa said. "She was so active during the race, working past bodies. Every time I saw her she was working on the next shirt (in front of her), the next gap. She's so strong; she's worked so hard to be there."
Sobieraj finished a fraction of a second ahead of third-place Megan Moran of Westfield (18:29.69). In last week's 1C race, Sobieraj had placed second to Moran.
Asked what he likes about coaching Sobieraj, Sousa said, "A lot of things. It probably starts with just how dedicated she is. She'll do whatever she possibly can to be the best runner that she can be. I also appreciate the grit that she has on the race course. She's a tough competitor. And it's hard to be that tough, week in and week out."
BC High made history
BC High placed third in team scoring in the boys' Div. 1 race. It was the Eagles' best showing in 30 years and, according to coach Seth Kirby, "the most impressive BC High has been up front since the school's 1968 state title."
Senior Chris Larnard, from Scituate, was second overall in 15:25.21. The University of Pennsylvania commit trailed only champ Paul Bergeron of Westford Academy (15:06.43). Larnard won the qualifying 1A race the week before, becoming the Eagles' first champ at that stage since 1999.
Teammate John Wilson, a junior from Norwell, was fourth in 15:38.43. Sophomore Greg McGrath (20th, 16:11.92) and junior Shamus Larnard (24th, 16:13.84) also had strong races for BC High.
"Overall, I could not be more impressed with this group of harriers," Kirby said. "They worked hard, enjoyed each others company, and the bigger the spotlight or meet, the more they seem to rise to the occasion to get the most of their abilities. They believe in one another and have been a pleasure to coach."
Other highlights from Saturday's races:
-- West Bridgewater's Ella Dubury matched Sobieraj and Larnard for the best individual finish by a local, placing second in the girls' Div. 3 race in 18:59.62. That was the best showing ever by a WB runner.
-- Canton freshman Lauren Raffetto was fourth in the girls' Div. 2 race in 18:58.54.
-- The Weymouth girls were fifth in Div. 1, led by Gracie Richard (5th, 18:44.48), Izzy Galusha (18th, 19:32.89) and Kate Carnes (33rd, 19:46.67).
-- Norwell had top-10 team finishes in both the boys' Div. 3 race (seventh) and the girls' Div. 3 race (eighth). Thomas Corbett paced the boys with a fifth-place showing (16:20.65), and teammate Jack Twombly was 44th (17:33.53). The girls were led by Olivia Sowinski (31st, 21:02.38), Adelle Gravina (35th, 21:06.28) and Hallie Robitaille (42nd, 21:20.58).
-- Notable individual finishers included: East Bridgewater's Ezra Blasko (7th in Div. 3 boys, 16:27.33); Archbishop Williams' Maddie Hussey (20th in Div. 2 girls, 20:21.33); Brockton's Aaron Corlette (30th in Div. 2 boys, 17:04.71); Carver's Luke Holden (30th in Div. 3 boys, 17:19.69); Abington's Selena Wood (36th in Div. 3 girls, 21:09.98); and the Quincy/North Quincy duo of Salma Boukhtam (38th, 19:53.93) and Aluna Coogan-Coyne (39th, 19:56.36) in girls Div. 1.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Oliver Ames girls cross country team celebrates Div. 1 state crown
