Patrick Coppinger

Milesplitmass took the show on the road to Western, Massachusetts to cover the Umass Cross Country Invitational. Although we cover a few collegiate Invitationals now and then, our purpose of the trip was to check in on some of our collegiate freshman harriers and to see how they handled there first big test.

Mike Miller does a fantastic job recapping al of Saturdays Divisional Championships.

LOWELL -- Pat Coppinger has turned the most individual of sports into the ultimate team game. During the three seasons Coppinger has run on Lowell High's boys varsity cross country team, the Red Raiders have yet to lose a dual meet, capturing back-to-back MVC Division 1 titles in 2010 and 2011. Lowell, which won the EMass. Div. 1 Meet in 2010, finished second at the Div. 1 All-State Meet each of the past two seasons.

In what is almost certainly the biggest weekend of results so far this fall, three meets dominated the XC scene on Saturday. For those looking South, Bishop Feehan's boys and girls squads took to Cary, NC for the Great American XC Festival. A little less South, Rhode Island hosted the Ocean State XC Invitational. Those looking to stay closer to home, Wrentham was the site of the Frank Kelly Invitational. A word about Frank Kelly, the patriarch of the MSTCA meet at Wrentham today. Coaches know Frank as the wise-cracking gentleman who hands out the packets and pins at the table at many Mass. XC meets. If you're lucky, he might challenge you to an arm wrestling match, as he did John Monz today. If you're unlucky, you might take him up on it. Frank is a true gentleman of the sport, loves the kids involved, and has been involved in it since anyone can remember. Kudos to the MSTCA for giving Frank his due and naming this meet after him. Even more kudos to whoever designed the program, complete with a silhouette of Frank with his patented safari hat and walking stick. What a legend!

In what is the first true invitational weekend on the calendar, we in Massachusetts now have a much more defined look at the top teams in the state. On the boys side, top-10's Lowell, Pembroke, Brookline, Shrewsbury, and Westfield were all in action in three different states. On the girls side of things, the top four was idle, but Weston, Newton South, Lincoln-Sudbury, Amherst, Wachusett, Needham, Longmeadow, Concord-Carlisle, Haverhill, Notre Dame, Brookline, and Dennis-Yarmouth all took to the races, all except Weston and L-S at Amherst. The highlights were plenty...

It was a record breaking day as the Newton North girls took home the team title and set three meet records in the process.   The Tigers surpassed the previous best marks in the 4x50 Yard Relay (24.52), the 4x50 Yard Hurdles Relay (29.11), and the Long Jump (49’4.25).  Carla Forbes was a major part of the dash relay and long jump relay; in addition to anchoring the winning 4x400m relay. 

The indoor track season is upon us and it’s time to take a look at the top returners from each event.

The indoor track season is upon us and it’s time to take a look at the top returners from each event.

Every runner at Lowell is a cog in the machine.  But that’s not said in a negative way.  Rather, every runner in the Lowell program is an integral part of the running powerhouse that seems to top the state rankings year after year.  The cogs work in unison, and when firing on all cylinders, they execute race tactics with machine like efficiency.

  Breakdown of Boys' Varsity Races

Lowell has spent the last couple of week trying to get healthy.  If this performance is any indication, they are well on their way.

Junior Pat Coppinger finished seventh in a field of more than 150 runners as the Lowell High boys cross country team placed third in the Championship Division of the annual Ocean State Invitational (via www.lowellsun.com)

When you add up the net losses and gains/improvements of all the teams it is pretty clear that the race to the top in the MVC for 2011 is going to be very competitive and a lot closer than last fall.

Many of the athletes we will see this season did not even race on the varsity level last year, and the coaches that demonstrate the patience to employ a long-term plan will most likely hoist a championship trophy in November. (Photo by Henry Finch)

National level experience begins to show on the sophomore list.

Impressive marks should be inevitable as the state prepares for the post season.

Several athletes opted for road races while the future of Massachusetts track and field was on display at the NDA Rt. 228 Invitational.

The sophomores provided a rivalry that we will hopefully enjoy for years to come.

An inside look at all 13 events from the Division 1 championships.

  Keep up to date with the latest news from all the league championship meets. Photo by Henry Finch.

Lincoln-Sudbury US#1 DMR at Yale.  Mansfield and Centeral Catholic dominate Div. 2 State Relays.