Bellows Falls takes multiple firsts at Springfield meet

Bellows Falls put together a dominant performance to win the high school boys cross country race at the North Springfield Dam Tuesday afternoon.
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Bellows Falls takes multiple firsts at Springfield meet By TIM TAYLOR | Oct 07, 2015 Photo by: Tim Taylor Bellows Falls’ Cody Tallent (left) passes Thetford Academy’s Malcom Silver-Van Meter on a hill during Tuesday’s race at the North Springfield Dam. de Bellows Falls’ Lia Clark rounds a corner on the way to victory during Tuesday’s race. (Photo by: Tim Taylor) Enlarge... h Windsor’s Will Jaarsma (left) has a slight edge on Springfield’s Andy Freeman as they approach an uphill challenge. (Photo by: Tim Taylor) Enlarge... f Springfield’s Eva Harris leads Green Mountain’s Eliza Rounds down a hill. (Photo by: Tim Taylor) Enlarge... fg Windsor’s Hannah Achilles competes in Tuesday’s high school girls race. (Photo by: Tim Taylor) Enlarge... g Green Mountain’s Josh Woods competes in Tuesday’s high school boys race. (Photo by: Tim Taylor) Enlarge... NORTH SPRINGFIELD — Bellows Falls put together a dominant performance to win the high school boys cross country race at the North Springfield Dam Tuesday afternoon. Cody Tallent found his kick on a hill and pulled away to claim the individual title and four of his teammates would finish among the top 10 also as the Terriers cruised to a relatively easy victory. However, those were just a couple of victories that helped fill the Terriers’ plate. Lia Clark would then cap what turned out to be a 4-for-4 day on the solo circuit, running away with top honors in the high school girls race. Prior to the high school events, the middle school boys and girls ran a shorter course and BF’s Tim Salter-Roy and Maya Waryas posted victories in their respective groups. Salter-Roy posted a time of 10:25 and Waryas clocked 11:37. “The kids have been working tremendously hard,” said Bellows Falls coach Tim Eno. “We do one workout a week and it’s a tough workout. The kids, they’ve really stepped it up in the last month. I’m ecstatic. I’m so pleased that we got a win and these guys are where they should be right now with their training with a month to go before the state meet.” High school boys Bellows Falls 27, Thetford 49, Springfield 92, Green Mountain inc., Hartford inc., Windsor inc. Tallent passed Thetford Academy’s Malcolm Silver-Van Meter on a short, steep hill and then put some distance between himself and his opponent, as well as the rest of the field. He crossed the finish line with a time of 18:27 and Silver-Van Meter’s finishing kick wasn’t enough as he clocked 18:31 “He hit the wall and I definitely had some more left,” Tallent said of the opportunity to pass the Thetford runner. Malcolm ran a good race, but he just couldn’t keep up. I just felt really, really good.” Tallent and Silver-Van Meter were neck-and-neck early until Tallent took control on the hill just past the midway point of the race. The Terriers’ victory in the high school boys race was the result of a solid team effort as Nick Potter (20:34) and Jackson Purdy (21:05) placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Ian Wallace (21:29) finished seventh and Cameron Joy (21:55) rounded out the BF top five in 10th. Even though they finished out of the scoring, Matthew Chapin was 12th in 22:09 and Ethan Lauricella (24:34) was 16th. “I’ve been coaching this sport for 16 years at Bellows Falls and like I told the kids, I don’t remember the last time we won a meet,” said Eno. “Everybody had a really good race,” said Tallent. “They’ve been training really, really hard and definitely today paid off.” The host Cosmos’ top finisher was Andy Freeman, who placed eighth with a time of 21:33. Chris Starr took 19th (26:06), Aleks Antosiewicz (26:12) 20th, Ryan Cooney (30:09) 22nd and Ben Parent (32:20) 23rd. Will Jaarsma was the lone competitor for Windsor, placing sixth with a time of 21:22. Green Mountain had four runners and was led by Josh Woods, 17th in 24:47. Tommy Knockenhauer (28:54) took 21, Jenner Haseltine ((32:49) 24th and Ben Reilly (32:52) 25th. High school girls Thetford 43, Springfield 70, Bellows Falls inc., Green Mountain inc., Hartford inc., Windsor inc. Although she is only a freshman, Clark is a veteran runner, having started at age 7. She planned her strategy for the race and it definitely worked in her favor. “I was kind of going to follow the lead people for the first loop and then pass them on the hills,” Clark said. By the time the trek through that loop was over Clark already had a solid lead and was never challenged. She was the lone competitor for the lady Terriers and zipped across the finish line in 22:55. Runner-up Ellenor Koppers of Thetford was well behind, timing in at 24:04. “It feels really good,” said Clark of her follow-up victory to Tallent’s win. “I think I did pretty good, for me.” Springfield’s Eva Harris paced her team’s effort, placing fifth in 25:53. Rebekah Ferreria (27:40) was 12th, German exchange student Jule Latocka (28:41) 14th, Rayven Hersey (33:15) 19th and Alex Grasley (37:52) was 21st. Hannah Achilles was going it alone for Windsor and placed third with a time of 24:20. Green Mountain’s Eliza Rounds led her team, taking sixth in 25:55. The Chieftains’ Lydia Churchill (26:29) was eighth, Sarah Schleimer (29:36) 16th and Sadie Wood (32:20) 18th.