This Saturday, seven students competed in the Massachusetts State Championships for Division 2 boys cross country. 

Together, the boys pulled together to place 14th out of the 23 competing teams. The 23rd team came in last with 547 points while Ludlow pulled through with 324 points. 

Out of the seven Ludlow boys, Joe Keroack, a sophomore, took the lead, coming in 36th out of 185 runners, finishing the 5k in 17:09.67, missing 35th place by .07 of a second. Out of Western Massachusetts runners, Joe came in 8th place this race. Joe’s fast times are a constant in competitions, he came in 9th during Western Mass Qualifiers, and 8th during state sectionals. 

Sophomore Logan Walsh came in 49th this competition, following a 9th overall during Western Mass Qualifiers, and a 6th place finish at WMASS Championships. He ran 17:25.52, with an average mile time of 5:37. 

Sophomore Lucas Franco and Junior Kyle Martin placed similarly (102nd and 104th) running at 18:04 and 18:05. 

Captain Torcato Zina (Grade 12) placed 124th overall, running at 18:28.14 with an average mile time of 5:57. “I think the team did really well, and I think we made a lot of improvements over the season. Look out for us next year.”

Fellow Captain Alex Brown ran 18:53.89 for the 5k, almost beating his personal best, and placing 145th overall. “I feel like I did well, and I feel like we all helped each other to place better at States.” 

Ryan Mateus, freshman, placed 128th, running at a pace of 5:59 per mile, for a time of 18:34.05. 

Coach Rebecca Gauvin commented that “Our goal was top 15, and we were successful with that” stating that “they all had consistent races” leading the boys to “beat three teams that beat us the week before” which was “fun and exciting.”

As Coach Brain Walsh puts it, “It’s a great group of boys who have worked hard all season to finish with this kind of success.”