RallyNorth.net

BOSTON — Running in the Division 2 All-State meet, Rebecca Morse felt the effects of a week-long illness and slipped to 37th place. Morse was with the leaders for the first mile but didn’t have the strength to keep up the pace, finishing with a time of 20:01.23. Dennis-Yarmouth junior Jordan O’Dea was the individual champ in Division 2, taking the lead from the start and gradually extending it, finishing in 18:34.89. Bishop Feehan captured the team title with 63 points, 16 fewer than runner-up Hamilton-Wenham. Pentucket finished 11th in the 19-team field. Impressive freshman Kelsi McNamara complemented Morse by coming in 50th in 20:27.

Pentucket senior Rebecca Morse came in first against Triton, in an 18-43 victory, and is a likely favorite in Saturday's Cape Ann League meet at Bradley Palmer. The Sachems ended the regular season at 9-2.

Pentucket's 3-4-5 runners — Shannon Lozier, Brianna Repke and Emma Marchand — had stellar efforts to lift the Sachems to a tight 28-29 win over Lynnfield.

Rebecca Morse took first overall in 17:53 over 2.7 miles and Pentucket placed five of the top six finishers as the Sachems downed North Reading 18-43 and North Andover 15-42. Sachem freshman Kelsi McNamara placed second (19:01).

Pentucket got some pleasant surprises in its first cross country meet, sweeping past Newburyport and Georgetown. Freshman Kelsi McNamara opened some eyes by finishing fifth overall in her first-ever race. "She ran an incredible race, especially with just a couple of weeks experience," said Sachems coach Todd Ruland, who also praised Katie Coulter for her 11th place finish. "She really stepped up and ran amazing."

Freshman Emma Marchant placed 5th at 22:26 in Pentucket's 15-49 win over Triton cross country.

Pentucket cross country has had three races in the past seven days, and coach Todd Ruland stated that they all stepped up and ran well against Ipswich. Freshman Jordan Belatto placed 10th overall, her first varsity top 10 finish.

North Andover's girls cross country team packed four runners from second to fifth, led by Katrina Martyn and Ally Brillard, to stun once-beaten Pentucket 22-33. Pentucket senior Alanna Poretta was an easy winner, covering the 2.85-mile course in 17:15. Martyn and Brillard were clocked in 17:58 and 18:00 respectively.

Even with standout Alanna Poretta getting the day off, Pentucket's girls cross country team ripped Ipswich 20-43. Pentucket took places 2-6 with Amy Babeu leading the way in second, running 21:04 on West Newbury's 2.95-mile course.

Don't look now, but North Andover's girls cross country team, which was supposed to be rebuilding, is 6-1 after yesterday's 15-46 rout of Newburyport. Alli Brillaud, who was the No. 5 runner last year, was first in 20:02 over three miles, Katrina Martyn and Olivia Marshall took the next two spots .

Sisters Amy and Carolyn Babeu along with teammate Alanna Poretta finished within a second of each other as Pentucket rolled to a 16-47 win over Amesbury.

Haverhill's girls cross country team showed its back in good health as its top relay team repeated as champion at the Clipper Relays in Newburyport.

 After Beth Fullerton led off with a strong 2-mile leg, Julie Sominine took the Hillies to first place in her first competition since being injured in April and Christine McNaughton — also not at full strength in the spring — brought Haverhill to the finish line in 36:40.

Battling powerful Masconomet is always motivating, and after a tight loss last year, Pentucket had victory and revenge on its mind.

With Alana Poretta finishing a minute in front of the field, the Sachems won "a pretty big test" according to head coach Todd Ruland, beating the Chieftains, 24-32 as well as Wilmington, 15-45. Amy Babeu (20:48), Addie Desrosiers (20:55) and Carolyn Babeu (20:57) placed 3-4-5 to lock up the win.

North Reading fell in a tri-meet to Hamilton-Wenham, 15-50, and Triton, 25-34. Laura McBride was the top finisher for the Hornets (0-2), placing 11th overall in 20:59 over Triton's 3.1-mile course.

Newburyport's Lindsay Cullen placed first (19:44) at Maudslay State Park (3.0 miles). Kim Martins finished second (19:44) for the Clippers (8-4). Kristin Cole (third, 20:38), Maura Welch (fourth, 20:44) and Maddie Cutrone (fifth, 20:46) rounded out the scoring for Newburyport.