By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Needham High School boys and girls cross country teams both earned a second-place finish at the CM Invitational on Saturday at Franklin Park in Dorchester. The second-place finish by the girls, who were led by senior Nell Haney, qualified Needham for states.
Haney finished the 3.1-mile course with a time of 19:39 and a first-place finish, 17 seconds ahead of the nearest competition. Each lap at Franklin Park is a little more than one full mile, and after the first two legs, Haney still trailed Nashua, New Hampshire’s Adrianna Braccio. On her final lap, however, Haney finally made her move to pass Braccio and held on for the first-place finish.
The Needham girls finished the race with 126 team points, earning themselves a second-place finish ahead of third-placed Hingham (147 points) and just behind champion Lexington (94 points).
Like their lady counterparts, the Needham boys saw a solid collective effort result in a second-place finish at Franklin Park on Saturday.
The Needham boys and girls will take to the course next on October 28 for the Bay State Conference Championships.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
