Tim Whelan Jr.|MetroWest Daily News
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Who are the top returnees in the Daily News area as we enter the 2022 high school boys cross-country season? Here is our look at 30 of them:
Jack Almeda, Soph., Dover-Sherborn
Almeda hit the ground running as a freshman in his first season of high school cross country for coach Steve Harte’s squad in 2021. Almeda ran 17:24.1 at the Twilight Invitational, 17:47.6 at the Division 2C meet (17th place) and a season best 16:46.3 at the Div. 2 state meet (36th place) on his way to Daily News All-Star honors. “Jack became our dependable No. 2 runner,” Harte said last fall. “He’s a student of the sport. He’s always looking for an advantage and any way to improve.”
Deven Arthur, Soph., Blackstone Valley Tech
Arthur placed fourth out of 240 runners in the freshman race at the Twilight Invitational last fall on his way to Colonial Athletic League All-Star honors.
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Danny Baribeau, Soph., Holliston
Baribeau made his presence felt in his freshman fall of 2021 on his way to a Tri-Valley League Large All-Star nod.
Lorcan Bergeron, Sr., Tri-County
An outdoor track standout who plays basketball for the Cougars as well, Bergeron was a Mayflower League All-Star last fall as he took 10th at the league meet.
Wyatt Boucher, Jr., Tri-County
A Mayflower League All-Star a year ago, Boucher placed 12th at last year's league meet.
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Josh Bradford, Sr., Assabet
Bradford was a Colonial Athletic League All-Star in 2021, helping lead the Aztecs to a Small School title at the State Vocational Cross Country Championship.
Sam Burgess, Sr., Framingham
A mainstay on any short list of the state's top runners, nobody in the state was better than Burgess last fall, who was named Bay State Conference MVP. Burgess won every race he entered in-state, including the Twilight Invitational (15:30.8) and also won the Manchester (NH) Invitational in 15:39.
He ran 15:27.9 at the BSC meet, a 5k personal best time of 15:05.2 at the Division 1A meet and 15:07.5 at the Div. 1 state meet. Burgess went on to place ninth at the Eastbay Northeast Regional meet (15:29.6) and 29th at the Eastbay National meet (15:56.4)
Jason Cardente, Sr., Blackstone Valley Tech
Cardente was one of five Colonial Athletic League All-Stars a year ago for the Beavers.
John Clark, Soph., Dover-Sherborn
A Tri-Valley League All-Star as a freshman in 2021, Clark will look to build on a campaign in which he took 27th at the TVL Classic. Clark also plays baseball for the Raiders.
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Owen Collette, Jr., Assabet
Collettewas a Colonial Athletic League All-Star in 2021, helpinglead the Aztecs to a Small School title at the State Vocational Cross Country Championship.
Owen Comiskey, Sr., Dover-Sherborn
A Tri-Valley League All-Star in 2021, Comiskey finished 14th at the 2021 TVL Classic (personal-best 17:16 over 5,000 meters) and 34th at the MIAA Division 2 state championships.
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Steven D’Alessandro, Jr., Natick
As a sophomore, D’Alessandro was Natick’s No. 2 runner and helped lead coach Matthew Miller’s crew to a 12th-place finish at the Division 1 state meet in 2021. The Daily News All-Star ran 16:36.7 at the Div. 1A meet before running a 5k personal record of 16:33.3 at the Div. 1 state meet.
“Steven loves running and he gained a lot of confidence toward the end of the season,” Miller said. “He’s really maturing as a runner, which is only going to make him even more successful down the road.”
Cole Deisenroth, Sr., Hopkinton
A Tri-Valley League All-Star in 2021, Deisenroth finished 18th at the TVL Classicand will be a leader for the Hillers this fall. Deisenroth also plays basketball for Hopkinton.
Ben Feldman, Sr., Natick
Feldman put together a standout season in 2021 for Natick on his way to being named a Bay State Conference All-Star. Feldman ran 16:33 at the BSC meet (7th place), 15:51 at the Division 1A meet (7th place) and a 5k personal record time of 15:49.5 at the Div. 1 state meet (16th place).
“Ben had a great season,” Natick coach Matthew Miller said last fall. “He’s at his best at the end of a race when he’s getting challenged.” A three-season runner, Feldman enjoys playing the guitar and drums.
Owen Fontaine, Jr., Dover-Sherborn
A three-season varsity runner, Fontaine was a Tri-Valley League All-Star last fall for the Raiders.
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Nathan Giordano, Sr., Holliston
The Panthers' MVP in 2021, this three-season varsity runner was a Tri-Valley League All-Star last year as well.
Jackson Hunt, Jr., Hopedale
A three-season varsity runner, Hunt was a First-Team Dual Valley Conference All-Star last fall and took 14th at the MIAA state Division 3C meet.
Lex Kaye, Sr., Hopkinton
Kaye was one of six Tri-Valley League All-Stars in 2021 for the perennial power.
Andrew Klinedinst, Soph., Hudson
After placing 11th at the Mid-Wach C Championships in 2021 on his way to league all-star honors, the then-freshman Klinedinst went on to run a personal best 18:27.2 at the District E Championships en route to league all-star honors.
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Joseph Lamburn, Jr., Algonquin
After placing 11th at the Mid-Wach A Championships, this league all-star then placed 10th at the District E Championships(17:59).
Michael LeLacheur, Sr., Westborough
LeLacheurwas the Rangers' top runner in 2021 and was named a Midland-Wachusett A All-Star. LeLacheur ran 17:34.9 at the Twilight Invitational, 17:29.6 at the District E CMass meet (3rd place), 16:58.5 at the Division 1C meet and a 5k personal record 16:48.9 at the Div. 1 state meet. A former basketball player, LeLacheur now does indoor track in the winter followed by outdoor track in the spring.
Mark Murphy, Sr., Medway
Murphy was the Mustangs' lone Tri-Valley League All-Star from a team that went3-2and was an MIAA divisional race qualifier.
Andrew Naim, Jr., Marlborough
A Mid-Wach B All-Star a year ago, Naimtook seventh at the league meet (19:33.6), just behind his older brother, Jacob, who finished fifth.
Cooper O’Neil, Sr., Blackstone Valley Tech
A Colonial Athletic League All-Star in 2021, O'Neil placed fourth (and first among BVT runners) at the league meet with a run of 18:24.7 to lead the second-place Beavers.
Wyatt Ruff, Sr., Hopkinton
A Daily News All-Star on the track, Ruff has been a key part of the Hillers' deep cross country teams, placing sixth at last year's Tri-Valley League Classic in a personal-best of 16:43 on his way to league all-star honors.
Craig Salois, Sr., Hopkinton
A two-time captain, Salois won every dual meet during the regular season and was named the Tri-Valley Large MVP in 2021. He ran 16:55 at the Twilight Invitational and ran a 5k personal record time of 16:20 at the TVL meet, which he won. “Craig ran incredibly well this season,” Hopkinton coach Laura McKenzie said last fall. “His hard work and dedication to the sport and his team are unmatched. I’m excited to see what he can do next season.”
Ben Scott, Jr., Hopkinton
A Tri-Valley League All-Star in 2021, Scott placed seventh at the TVL Classic with a 5,000-meter run of 16:48.
James Seaver, Jr., Hopedale
A Dual Valley Conference All-Star, Seaver placed 45th at the MIAA Division 3C meet last fall and will be a key piece of the 2022 Blue Raiders.
Arya Sheth, Fr., AMSA
As an eighth-grader in 2021, Sheth more than held his own, placing 14th at the Colonial Athletic League meet (20:09.4) and earning league all-star honors.
Nathan Slaney, Jr., Blackstone Valley Tech
A Colonial Athletic League All-Star in 2021, Slaney placed sixth (and second among BVT runners) at the league meet with a run of 18:52.5as the Beavers placed second. Slaney is also a standout basketball player for BVT.