Big Blue Sports

Three Big Blue Runners Compete in All-State Championships

Two Swampscott runners came away with medals marking the end of another Big Blue cross country season.

This article was submitted by Swampscott cross country coach Jeffrey Bartlett The name "Northfield Mountain" leaves no guesses as to the terrain and technicality of a cross-country course. After starting the race with a half mile uphill, the course goes up and down like a roller coaster en-route to the finish line. On Saturday, three Big Blue runners headed to the mountain to participate in the Massachusetts All-State Cross-Country Championships, held at picturesque Northfield Mountain in Northfield, Massachusetts.Freshman Isabella Kornitsky, junior Matt Mahoney, and senior Peter Hale all qualified individually for this meet based off of their performances at the Eastern Massachusetts Divisional Championships last week. All runners would …

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Big Blue Sports

Hale Takes NEC Title

Mahoney, Kornitsky Also Place; Both Teams Fourth

  By Swampscott Cross Country Coach Jeff Bartlett The Swampscott High School Cross-Country teams returned to Bradley Palmer State Park on Saturday to compete in the Northeast Conference Championships. The Big Blue ended up with 39 runners emerging with their best time on the Bradley Palmer course this year, a testament to their hard work throughout the season. Senior captain Peter Hale continued to prove that he is the best in the conference by running to a first place finish with a time of 16:06 over the 5k course. Hale, who has just started easing up on training ever so slightly, went undefeated in the Northeast Conference this year. Junior Matt Mahoney, running one of his best races ever, placed third overall with a time of 16:16. With …

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Big Blue Cross-Country Comes Up Short Against Magicians

The boys, however, finished 1-2 in their race.

  Courtesy of Swampscott Cross-Country Coach Jeffrey Bartlett The Swampscott High School cross-country teams headed over to Marblehead to face their friendly rivals in the last dual meet of the regular season on Tuesday. Marblehead, who is always well coached and loaded with excellent runners, provides a challenge for the Big Blue every year; a challenge that the student-athletes look forward to. Both races had meaning: for the boys, it would determine the second place team in the NEC South. On the girls' side, the victor would emerge as the NEC South Champions. Both teams took a "business as usual" approach to the meet and were focused on simply putting forth their best efforts. The boys started things off, and the 1-2 duo of Peter Hale …

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Gallery: Cross Country Outruns Saugus

The Big Blue boys and girls ran strong in the rain Tuesday at Upper Jackson claiming the leading positions in their races.

The Big Blue boys and girls ran strong in the rain Tuesday at Upper Jackson claiming the leading positions in their races.  We'll post a race synopsis and results later. For now, here are some pics.

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Big Blue Runners Step It Up in Big Meet

The Blue kept pace with the competition at a meet featuring some 3,000 runners.

  This article was submitted by Swampscott cross country coach Jeffrey Bartlett. The Swampscott High School cross-country teams began the meatier part of the season on Saturday at the Frank Kelley Invitational at the Wrentham Development Center in Wrentham, Massachusetts. The meet featured approximately 3,000 athletes and was held on the same race course as the MIAA Divisional Championships Meets that will take place in November. The Big Blue competed in the Division II (small school) races against other teams they will see at the state level at the end of the season, and left the race course feeling excited about what's to come during the cross-country season. This race is a turning point for many runners, as they are able to put their …

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Finelli Formula At Work At St.Mary's

Swampscott resident and former Swampscott High cross country coach Dom Finelli is building a robust program at St. Mary's.

  Passion for cross country still stirs in Dom Finelli. And his formula for building a program — hustle, salesmanship and inspiration — still works. The Swampscott resident and former cross country and track coach at Swampscott High reintroduced cross country at St. Mary's of Lynn last fall. He used the same formula there as he did when building programs at other schools where he coached, including Swampscott. St. Mary's, a grades 6-12 school of about 650 students, had been without a cross country program for 10 years.  By intense lobbying Dom got 28 kids to lace up their running shoes in 2011. "Mainly by calling almost every incoming student, emailing them and meeting students in the cafeteria the spring before our first season and …

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Big Blue Sports

Big Wins for Big Blue Cross Country and Golf

The runners and golfers gathered victories on the road Wednesday.

  Cross Country by Coach Jeffrey Bartlett The Swampscott High School cross-country teams headed to picturesque Bradley Palmer State Park on Wednesday to dual with Danvers and Winthrop in a tri-meet. Held in quintessential fall weather, the meet was a great opportunity for the Big Blue to preview the race course where the Northeast Conference Championships will be held in October. Both teams emerged with victories over both Danvers and Winthrop, with the boys leading things off. Senior captain Peter Hale and junior Matt Mahoney took the race out from the start, with senior captain Sam Crimmins and a pack of Danvers runners in pursuit. Picking up speed over the second half of the course, Hale soloed his way to victory, crossing the finish …

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Big Blue Sports

Big Blue Cross Country Off And Running

About 40 girls and 30 boys were at the opening for Swampscott Cross County Thursday at Upper Jackson.

  On the fence bordering the red track hung a bulletin board tacked with the Thought of the Day. Cross Country Coach Jeff Bartlett read it aloud for the 70 boys and girls at the first practice.  "If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it." Thursday's thought came from former Olympic marathon runner Priscilla Welch, who started running at the age of 35. It was warm at Upper Jackson. Some of the teens faced the setting sun, shielding their eyes with their hands. The coach told them his expectations for the season. It's his second and the same coaches from last year will assist — Joe Tenney, Derek Stevens and Lauren Skelton. The boys' captains are Peter Hale and …

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Big Blue Sports

Blue Runners Go to All-States

At their EMass D5 meet this weekend the boys cross country team and Hannah King from the girls team qualified for the All-State meet next weekend.

Here is a Q & A on Swampscott Cross-Country's performance at the Eastern Massachusetts Division V Meet.  Today's meet would determine which teams would qualify for the All-State meet next weekend. Four teams from each division qualify, and we knew we would be in the mix on the boys' side. Today was a day to take what we've done this season and see how it matches up on the state level.  For both teams, our main goal was the same as it was in every meet this season: to run personal bests. The boys wanted to qualify for the All-State meet, but we knew that the most important thing was running the fastest we've run at Franklin Park. We figured if we did that, the All-State berth would take care of itself, which it did. We didn't want to worry …

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Underclassmen Run

Big Blue runners had another chance to run personal best times in a coaches invitational meet on Saturday.

Swampscptt High Cross Country Coach Jeff Bartlett wrote this article. The Big Blue headed down to the Wrentham Development Center in Wrentham on Saturday to participate in the MSTCA Coaches Invitational. The meet features no team scoring, with races separated into freshmen races (1.9 miles), sophomore races, and junior/senior races (both 5k). Resting most of their top runners, the Big Blue used this as an opportunity to gain competitive experience for their younger athletes and to end the season with one last chance at a PR. In each race, the top 50 finishers earned medals with the top three earning plaques for their efforts. The highest finisher of the day for the Big Blue was sophomore Matt Mahoney, who placed 4th in the Division II …

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