Patrick Noonan ran 15:12.40 to shatter the Victory Gardens at Rock Meadow course record and lead the Lexington boys cross country team past Belmont, 24-35, on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The senior's time broke the previous mark, set by Reading's Tim Connolly in 2024, by more than 30 seconds, according to the Lexington High cross country team site. It was Noonan's second consecutive race victory.
Captain Trevor Stevens, also a senior, pushed the pace alongside Noonan from the start. The pair hit the first mile in 5:08, five seconds ahead of Belmont's William Olmsted and Ishaan Kanagaraj. A 5:02 second mile blew the race open. Stevens finished in 15:16.60 for second place.
Belmont's underclassman trio of Olmsted (15:42.60), Kanagaraj and Noah Geiger swept third through fifth. But Lexington's depth sealed the win. The Minutemen took the next seven spots, starting with junior captain Rhys Behling in sixth at 16:11.80. Behling was racing with his team for the first time this fall after an early-season injury.
Junior Matteo Sanchez de Rojas (16:15.60) placed seventh, and freshman Ares "Buckey" Beaver (16:19.50) rounded out Lexington's scoring five in eighth.
On the girls side, Lexington rested its top runners after a weekend meet in Virginia and still rolled to a 16-44 victory.
Freshman Lucia Cassano earned her first career high school win. She led three teammates through the first mile at about 6:30, then held that pace to finish in 19:27.60. Fellow freshman Anjali Pandya (19:35.80) was second, sophomore Beatrix Koch-Cochrane (19:53.70) third and senior Josie Bettencourt (20:08.10) fourth. Lexington claimed five of the top six spots.
The Lexington girls enter the championship season as two-time defending Middlesex League champions. The boys are the defending league champions. Both squads head to the 56th Middlesex League Championship at Woburn Country Club on Monday, Oct. 26, with races starting at 2:30 p.m.
