The Staples boys cross country team finished second today at New England Cross Country championships in Belfast, Maine.
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The Staples boys cross country team at Belfast, Maine. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Contributed photo
Approximately 340 teams competed to reach the championship race, putting the Staples boys in an elite category with their second place finish.
Xavier Academy of Connecticut won the see-saw battle as Staples beat Xavier at the state LL meet and then lost at CT State Open.
Both Xavier and Staples beat nationally ranked Bishop Hendricken from Rhode Island and Concord High School from New Hampshire.
Of the nearly 8,000 runners in New England that compete for these championships, Staples had three seniors finish in the top 15 with Ben Seiple leading the team with a fifth place finish in 15:53.
Christian Myers, seventh, was close behind in 15:56 and Will Landowne finished 11th in 16:01.
Only once since 1935 has Staples had two runners finish in the top 10 at New Englands.
In 80 years, only five boys from Staples have previously finished in the top 10 at New Englands.
Staples scorers were rounded out by junior Ryan Smith who finished 48th and senior Tyler Wright who finished 70th.
The final finishers from Staples were sophomore Nick Taubenheim in 72nd and senior Sunil Green in 104th.
While second was an amazing accomplishment, Ben Seiple said “We are happy with finishing second and how well we did at this level of competition, but we are capable of more.”
In two weeks the team will run at the Nike Sponsored NXR, where the top two teams and top five individual finishers will go to the national championships.
The competition will add into the Northeast championships teams from Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey.
Both Xavier and Staples look to have a very good shot at a place at the nationals.
