Middlesex League Cross-Country: Week 1 Review
This article was written by resident Tom Grant, a parent of a student-athlete.
Two Reading runners push through the course as the crowd looks on during their meet against Burlington. Photo by Taylor Gregory.
Dual meets got underway for the Middlesex League this past week, finally giving us a glimpse of how the teams are shaping up in the early going. Here is a brief rundown of races from the past week:
Girls results
Burlington at Reading. See write-up here
Lexington at the Manchester Invitational. Lexington’s girls’ cross-country team is one of the top teams in the Northeast and potentially competitive nationally. This Invitational was their first chance to show the rest of the region where they stand, and Lexington delivered, scoring 62 points, 25 points ahead of second-place finisher Cumberland. This course is notoriously difficult, but Lexington was up to the challenge. Their top runner Jane Conrad finished third (18:33), and newcomer Amelia Whorton finished fifth (18:49).
Melrose / Wilmington at Arlington tri-meet. Melrose and Wilmington traveled to Arlington to face off against each other. Melrose, Wilmington, and Arlington ran simultaneously, but the results were scored as three separate dual meets: Melrose vs. Wilmington, Melrose vs. Arlington, and Wilmington vs. Arlington. Arlington took seven of the top ten spots against both teams, while Melrose put two runners in the top five. Arlington’s strong performance led to two victories to start the season. In the Melrose-Wilmington matchup, Melrose fared better, winning 21-38. Ainsley Ludlum was the top Melrose finisher at 21:18. Nora Chan of Arlington went under 20 minutes, posting the meet’s top time of 19:56.
Stoneham at Woburn. Stoneham’s girls’ team showed they will be a force to be reckoned with this year. Stoneham took eight of the top ten spots and easily defeated Woburn 18-44. Stoneham’s Autumn Shapiro was the top finisher in 19:50.
Wakefield at Winchester. Winchester took 11 of the top 12 spots, handily defeating Wakefield 17-46. Winchester is one of the top teams in the state, and it showed by having four runners under 21 minutes in the race. Lillian McLean put up a strong fight for Wakefield, finishing 4th in 20:30, but Winchester was too deep and fast. Julia Ramsay of Winchester was first overall in 19:42.
Watertown at Belmont. Belmont showed impressive depth on their home course in taking the top eight spots against Watertown. Reece Bundy was the top finisher in 21:07.
2026 Top Ten Girls’ 5k Times
Jane Conrad, Lexington - 18:33
Amelia Whorton, Lexington - 18:49
Ella Tyson, Lexington - 19:34
Julia Ramsay, Winchester - 19:42
Callie Glenn, Lexington - 19:48
Nora Chan, Arlington - 19:56
Ophelia Charest, Lexington - 20:06
Millie McDonald, Winchester - 20:09
Caroline Lanz, Winchester - 20:10
Abigail Bjune, Arlington - 20:25
Boys results
Reading boys head into their final mile against Burlington. Photo by Tom Grant.
Burlington at Reading. See write-up here
Lexington at the Manchester Invitational. Lexington finished fourth out of 29 teams in the highly competitive Manchester Invitational in NH. Top teams from all around New England traveled to Derryfield Park to tackle this challenging course. Lexington’s top finisher was Trevor Stevens in fourth place, running a 16:14. Not too far behind was Patrick Noonan in 14th place at 16:43. Noonan finished second in the Middlesex League Championship last year, so Lexington’s top runners are looking good to start the season.
Melrose / Wilmington at Arlington tri-meet. Melrose and Wilmington traveled to Arlington to face off against each other. In this meet, the three teams ran simultaneously, but each team was scored against the other as if it were a dual meet. Arlington put on an incredible performance this early in the season, with their top four runners going under 17 minutes. This course is a true 5k, so those times are legitimately fast. Arlington swept Melrose and took four of the top five against Wilmington (Cooper Hunt of Wilmington broke up the Arlington runners in an impressive time for a sophomore of 16:45). Despite graduating their top three runners from last year, Arlington is clearly ready to challenge Lexington and Reading for the league title again this year. Owen Merrill (16:07) was the top runner, a mere three seconds ahead of fellow senior and teammate Eli Hanover (16:10).
Stoneham at Woburn. Woburn protected its home course in its first dual meet of the year, taking four of the first five spots overall. David Harrington started the season in strong form, running a 16:53 to take the win. Mikhail Dsouza (19:54) was the top finisher for Stoneham, finishing fifth overall.
Wakefield at Winchester. Winchester swept Wakefield, despite missing two of their top runners from last year. Winchester’s top five were all at 17:33 or faster, just ahead of Wakefield’s top finisher Noah Morisseau (17:34). It’s unclear whether Winchester’s two missing runners are injured or just resting, but either way, the Sachems look like a deep team. Tyler Bernstein (17:07) crossed the finish line first.
Watertown at Belmont. Belmont took 11 of the top 12 places in this race to bring home an easy win. Watertown’s Simon Abo (17:53) put up a valiant effort to finish third overall, but Belmont had too much depth for Watertown to handle. William Olmsted (17:28) took home the win.
2026 Top Ten Boys’ 5k Times
Owen Merrill, Arlington - 16:07
Eli Hanover, Arlington - 16:10
Trevor Stevens, Lexington - 16:14
Nathan Wilson, Arlington - 16:23
Zachary Weinberg, Arlington - 16:40
Patrick Noonan, Lexington - 16:43
Cooper Hunt, Wilmington - 16:45
Tyler Bernstein, Winchester - 17:07
David Harrington, Woburn - 17:07
Alden Hall, Lexington - 17:12
Interested in seeing more high school sports coverage in The Reading Observer? We’re looking to expand our coverage with the help of parents, coaches, and community members who want to contribute. If you’re interested in collaborating, reach out to Taylor Gregory at TGregory@TheReadingObserver.com.