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AUBURN, Mass. – Get ready high schoolers. The runners at Auburn Middle School are fast, really fast.
Both the girls and boys teams have been flying all season long, winning meet after meet and heading to states later this fall.
“They’re amazing,” said head coach Tracy Murphy. “They like to compete against each other, pushing one another, and that helps boost their times. It’s a real team effort.”
The girls squad is undefeated after nine meets, having turned in an impressive first-place team finish Saturday at the Quabbin Invitational. Sarah Cavanaugh led the way for Auburn, placing first out of 180 runners with a record time of 11:41 on the 1.87-mile course.
Cavanaugh was followed by Auburn’s Andrea Bolduc with a time of 11:48. Auburn’s Elizabeth Anusauskas placed seventh with a time of 12:26, Allison Anusauskas of Auburn came in 12th (12:47) and Megan Gurlitz came in 19th (13:22).
“The girls are just unstoppable this year,” Murphy said. “They’re all having an incredible season. I’m very proud of the runners who are placing, but it’s a whole team effort. The middle of the pack runners help boost the team to the next level.”
Cavanaugh followed her Saturday win with the top female time at the Maj. David Brodeur 5K on Sunday. The 14-year-old speedster finished the 3.1 miles in 20:01. That was her third win in all three Auburn road races this year. Cavanaugh won the APA 5K in May (20:52) as well as the Jules Run 5K in June (21:41).
Then Cavanaugh’s impressive stretch continued Monday as she broke the course record at Auburn Middle School’s 1.8-mile race.
“It’s exciting,” she said. “I trained with my dad over the summer. We did speed workouts and hill workouts, and it really helped me get better.”
The boys team has also been flying, winning all but one of its meets. Joe Walsh has led the way for Auburn all season. On Saturday at the 1.7-mile Wachusett Invitational, Walsh finished in ninth place out of 184 runners in 10:05. Other top finishers for Auburn included Chris Bernier in 17th place (10:23) and Nathan Pickett in 18th (10:27).
Assistant coach Shari Goudreau said Murphy has done a tremendous job with the program.
“She’s worked very hard and built up this program,” Goudreau said. “I can’t say enough about her.”
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