Blue's Kick Makes It Close

were sporting pink and ready on Tuesday.

Ready to nearly break the Peabody boys' cross country team's five-year unbeaten record in dual meets.

The Swampscott boys and girls were ready to set personal bests on their home course.

Forty-six of 48 Swampscott runners did that.

Swampscott's Peter Hale sailed to a second-place finish, completing the 2.65-mile course in 14:07, a second shy of the Swampscott course record.

That was set in 2008 by Sam Rakoc.

Swampscott runners' wore pink ribbons around their arms and their heads — a few even painted pink on their palms — there for breast cancer awareness.

The team also showed course awareness, running their race, coach Jeff Bartlett said.

Excitement was high before the start and the Swampscott team looked loose.

In their pre-meet huddle the coach told them the race is not won in the first mile.

He urged them to stay focused on their race.

They did.

They finished strong and took second, fourth, sixth and tied for eighth place. They also took the 10 and 11 spots, and prevailed in a few sprint-to-the-finish endings.

Nick Hartmann (4th, 14:33), Matt Mahoney (6th, 14:37), Ryan Kelley (8th, 15:00), and Trevor Whelan (11th, 15:36) rounded out the top finishers. 

The final score was 24-31. The boys are now 5-1 on the season.

The girls showed a lot of improvement against a strong Peabody team, Bartlett said.

"Every single girl ran either a lifetime or seasonal personal best on the course today, the coach said.

Top Swampscott finishers: Hannah King (4th, 18:09), Allison Carr (7th, 18:40), Alyssa Mauriello (8th, 19:22), Abby O'Connor (10th, 20:26), and Michelle LaConte (11th, 20:47).

The lost 17-40 but showed great improvement over the last time they ran on their home course, the coach said.

Swampscott girls' record: 3-3