The Mt. Greylock boys’ cross country team stormed to its 6th consecutive Division II Western Mass. championship on Saturday, November 14th. Senior Tommy Kirby led the pack with a first place finish, 35 seconds faster than the runner-up. Kirby even had the fastest time of the day in all divisions, clocking in faster than the Division I champion as well, by two hundredths of a second. Junior Evan Arthur, the second runner on the team, placed in fourth after a phenomenal race. Greylock runners have gotten used to running on the hilly courses of the Berkshires, but the course at Westfield was especially flat. Although this was helpful to many boys on the team, the runners who placed second and third are both track stars who are used to the flat ground, giving them a significant advantage. Arthur’s “job was to take care of his teammates by not blowing himself out for individual glory,” said boys cross country coach Scott Burdick, and he did so with ease, finishing significantly in front of Cathedral’s number one runner.

Cathedral, ranked second in the state, were the favorites to take home the title this year and Palmer’s Henry Domnarski to win the race. Burdick believed that “on any other day, Cathedral might have beat us, but that was just our day. The boys did what they had to do that day, and they were not going to lose.” With the Western Mass. title on the line, many boys stepped up as Greylock’s top five runners finishing in the top thirteen. Burdick complimented Kirby, saying, “He’s the straw that stirs the drink. He’s the one that makes this team work and we’re just fortunate to have him.”

At the end of the day, after putting on a sensational performance, the Greylock boys move on to States, where they hope to be one of the top five competitors. When asked about the team’s chances in States, Burdick made it clear that, “We go into every race thinking we’re going to win.” These words of wisdom evidently worked this past weekend as the “kids made  [Burdick] look good,” and hopefully their hard work will pay off Saturday, November 21, as they race for a State Championship.