CMS Masters place 3rd at New England XC Championships

A lense is caught in the action
From L-R: Sam Wood, Thom Brown, Jim Pawlicki, Tim Mahoney, Joe Shairs with camera
Photo taken by Scott Mason

The Central Mass Striders masters team (40+) finished third out of eight teams that competed in the New England Cross Country Championships at Stanley Park in Westfield, MA. The race was held under sunny skies in the mid 40's. The third place finish was their highest finish since 2009 where they finished 4^th out of 12 teams.

The masters were led by Greg Putnam (4^th overall, 26:43) - just twenty four seconds behind winner, Mike Nahom, who led the Greater Springfield Harriers to the team win. Dave Dunham and Joe Shairs dueled throughout to finish 13^th and 14^th overall while breaking 28 minutes. Greg Ward finished strong in the last mile twenty seconds later in 20^th while Dan Verrington capped off the scoring seven seconds later in 22^nd place. Arthur Besse and David Mingori came on strong down the final stretch, getting in front of competitors for displacement, finishing 31st and 42^nd.  

2012 USATF New England Cross Country Champs - 11/18/2012            

Sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association                  

Stanley Park, Westfield MA

Men 40-99 8k Run CC masters men

Name                     Age Team                    Avg 1K     Finals  Points

1 #168 Michael Nahom     45 Greater Spri              3:18      26:19    1  

2 #165 Kent Lemme          46 Greater Spri             3:19      26:32    2  

3 #158 Francis Burdett     47 Greater Spri              3:20      26:38    3  

4  #51 Greg Putnam          43 Central Mass            3:21      26:43    4  

5 #178 Binney Mitchell 44 Green Mounta               3:22      26:50    5

13  #46 Dave Dunham          48 Central Mass          3:30      27:54   12  

14  #52 Joe Shairs           44 Central Mass              3:30      27:55   13  

20  #54 Greg Ward            40 Central Mass           3:32      28:15   19  

22  #53 Daniel Verrington    50 Central Mass         3:33      28:22   21

31  #44 Arthur Besse         40 Central Mass            3:39      29:08   28  

42  #49 David Mingori        45 Central Mass          3:46      30:04   36

Rank Team                            Total    1    2    3    4    5   *6   *7   *8   *9

1 Greater Springfield Harri        35    1    2    3    6   23   39   46          

      Total Time:  2:15:11.00                                                    

         Average:    27:02.20                                                     

2 Dirigo R.C.                             60    7    9  11  16  17  26   41          

      Total Time:  2:18:55.00                                                    

         Average:    27:47.00                                                     

3 Central Mass Striders              69    4  12 13  19  21  28   36          

      Total Time:  2:19:09.00                                                    

         Average:    27:49.80                                                    

4 Greater Boston Track Club    102 10 18  20  25  29 30   31          

      Total Time:  2:22:12.00                                                    

         Average:    28:26.40

Tim Mallard closing on the finish.
Photo by Tom Derderian

The men’s open team finished 11^th out of 11 teams. Jim Pawlicki finished in 76^th place with a time of 27:33. Ten places later, Timothy Mallard crossed the line in 28:29. Tim Mahoney followed up 11 seconds after with a time of 28:40 while Sam Wood turned the corner for the home stretch and finished in 29:10. Thomas Brown closed out the scoring for the open team, crossing the line in 30:47. The team raises a pint glass to Thomas for ensuring the team scored the critical five to account for a full team.            

Men 8k Run CC Open

Name                     Age Team                    Avg 1K     Finals  Points

===================================================

1 #129 Ruben Sanca          25 Greater Bost              3:01      24:06    1  

2  #25 Brian Harvey         25 Boston Athle              3:01      24:07    2  

3  #11 Samuel Alexander 22 Boston Athle              3:02      24:11    3  

4  #12 Eric Ashe              24 Boston Athle              3:03      24:18    4  

5  #24 Dan Harper           22 Boston Athle              3:04      24:32    5

76  #50 James Pawlicki    38 Central Mass              3:27      27:33   52  

86  #48 Timothy Mallard 23 Central Mass              3:34      28:29   59  

89  #47 Tim Mahoney     33 Central Mass              3:35      28:40   61  

93  #55 Sam Wood          26 Central Mass              3:39      29:10   63  

101  #45 Thomas Brown 26 Central Mass              3:51      30:47   66

Rank Team                          Total    1    2    3    4    5   *6   *7   *8   *9

1 Boston Athletic Associati        23    2    3    4    5    9   10   12          

      Total Time:  2:01:59.00                                                    

         Average:    24:23.80                                                    

2 Western Mass Distance Pro   65    6    7    8   21   23   25   30          

      Total Time:  2:05:09.00                                                    

         Average:    25:01.80                                                    

3 Greater Boston Track Club     88    1   16   20   22   29   38   42          

      Total Time:  2:06:29.00                                                    

         Average:    25:17.80                                                    

11    Central Mass Striders       301   52   59   61   63   66                    

      Total Time:  2:24:39.00                                                    

         Average:    28:55.80