Dual Meet #1 results - vs. Boston Latin, 9/16/26

On a warm and sticky afternoon, the first of three dual meets for the WHS teams was contested on the home course. The racing was as hot as the temperature, with a combined JV race going off the line first. This was a large and crowded field with over 50 finishers. Many of them were 7th and 8th graders from Boston Latin, a school which includes grades 7-12. The winner on the boys side was WHS 9th grader Henry Vukson, who picked up where he left off from last week's race. Behind Henry, a parade of Wayland runners came through, with many bunched in the top 10 overall. This group included Wyatt Ciccarelli, Griffin Jorgensen, Caleb Grace, David McLaughlin, and Alex Doxopoulos who finished within six seconds of each other. 

The next race was the girls varsity, with the visiting Boston Latin runners doing their best to take control of the race in the early stages. Despite (or perhaps because of) this early effort, as the race wore on and the runners climbed up and then down from the aqueduct, the positions started to change with the Wayland duo of Ava Miller and Ivy Robertson taking over the top two spots. Miller went on to win with a storming finish to the line. Behind the Wayland top two an intriguing race developed with Latin taking the next three spots, while Henrietta Schoeffler and Brynn Andrus secured 6th and 7th place. Latin's next 3 runners came across after that, with their sixth runner displacing Wayland's fifth who was senior co-captain Cordia Wang. Rookies Lily Hage and Anya Brown completed Wayland's top seven with senior co-captain Ainsley Jay rounded out the WHS group. When the meet score was tallied it was Wayland who came out on top by a score of 27-29. It was a closely contested race.

Finally, the boys varsity race was the last event of the day. In this case, the Latin runners hung back in the first few minutes before attempting to assert themselves as the field approached the mile mark. Meanwhile Brandon Hopps was leading all comers as the course went up to the top of the aqueduct behind the school. This part of the course is where the Wayland runners used the home course to their advantage, moving up in the field and winning key battles within the race. With Hopps winning from Latin's top runner and Ryan Foley in a strong third, Latin put three of the next four runners across the line. Ryan Young was able to break up these three getting in front of Latin's fourth runner, and then Wayland took the next three spots with Archie Baker, Elliot Hopper and Reese Migdal securing key places. As the 6th finisher for Wayland Migdal finished ahead of Latin's fifth thus displacing him and adding a point to their score. 9th grader Evan Hopps was Wayland's final member of the top seven in an impressive performance against experienced competition. The WHS group was rounded out by Grady Spence, Daniel Sondey, Thomas Conley and 9th grader Henry Tharpe as well. The team score was just as close as in the girls race, in fact it was the exact same results with Wayland taking the win 27-29. Scoring 27 points is a guaranteed win in a dual meet, but it indicates a very close contest. 

splits and times for WHS athletes - apologies to JV runners I was unable to be at the mile mark to take split times due to leading the course tour for the varsity runners when the JV race started. 

Dual Meet #1 vs. Boston Latin School, 9/16/26

Suggested warmup protocol - you may have to adjust this somewhat, particularly if you're entered in the JV race.

Meet Site: Wayland High School. The first of two home meets this season.

Start Time: First race 4:30 PM unless you hear different from me. Please arrive no later than 3:15. We may need help setting up the course. There will be three races as follows:

1. Combined JV race (short course) - 

boys - Alappatt, Choi, Ciccarelli, Doxopoulos, Garcia-Rivera, Grace, Hill, Jorgensen, LeBaron, Markey, McLaughlin, P. Sondey, Stack, Tripp, Versteeg, Vukson

girls - Davids* 

2. Varsity girls race (long course) - Andrus, Brown, Jay, Hage, Miller, Robertson, Schoeffler, Wang

3. Varsity boys race (long course) - Baker, Conley, Foley, Hopper, B. Hopps, E. Hopps, Migdal, D. Sondey, Spence, Tharpe, Young

note: the top 7 finishers in the varsity boys race will earn credit toward a varsity letter.  

* TBD based on injury status

Course Maps: 

short course (JV race)

 

long course (varsity races)

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Partly cloudy, temperatures in the mid to high 70s with SW winds 5-10 mph. Bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform.

• Before the first race of the day there will be separate course tours of both the short and long courses. Anyone racing at WHS for the first time will join the course tour.  

 • Don't forget your assigned dual meet bib number. At the conclusion of your race, please remove the bib number from your jersey and return it to the large ziploc bag where the bib numbers will be stored between meets. Leave the safety pins on the corners of the bib number.

 • Be prepared to help out with setting up and/or breaking down the course before and after the meet. This mostly involves the placement or removal of cones and small flags. You may be asked to help by one of the coaches or one of the captains. 

• Team members who aren't competing can help out with finish line tasks or serving as course marshals. This help is greatly appreciated by your teammates and the coaching staff.  

• Don't forget about the team picture at 3:30! Say cheese…

Week 4 Training Plan, 9/14-9/20

Will Jackson (WHS Class of 2025), NCAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week 

This week the first of three dual meets will be held, with Wayland hosting the Boston Latin School on Wednesday. The long run will be done on Monday and the other major workout of the week will be either Friday (for those who can't make it to the practice Saturday morning) or Saturday (for those who can). The Saturday practice will meet at the Lincoln Station parking lot.  

Mon 9/14 - Practice 3:30. Warmup including BURPEES followed by progressive long run, broken down as follows:

Level 1: 36 minutes (12 minutes easy - 9 minutes fresh - 9 minutes good - 6 minutes easy)
Level 2: 48 minutes (16 minutes easy - 12 minutes fresh - 12 minutes good - 8 minutes easy)
Level 3: 60 minutes (20 minutes easy - 15 minutes fresh - 15 minutes good - 10 minutes easy)
Level 4: 72 minutes (24 minutes easy - 18 minutes fresh - 18 minutes good - 12 minutes easy)

The route for today's run will be along the Weston Aqueduct heading west towards Framingham to start. For some the run will be an out and back along the aqueduct while others will make a loop and return via the Hultman Aqueduct and Carol Getchell Trail.

Tue 9/15 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including CURTSIES followed by a short length run at an easy to moderate effort level. Upon your return to the school we'll be doing high stepping run throughs (high knees) and bounding over cones on the softball field and a few runouts next to the softball field incorporating turns.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Wed 9/16 - Dual Meet #1 vs. Boston Latin. More information on this meet will be forthcoming in a subsequent post. Today is a medium length day in terms of how much running you should be doing overall:

Level 1: 28-32 minutes
Level 2: 36-40 minutes
Level 3: 43-47 minutes
Level 4: 52-56 minutes

Depending on what level you're training at, this may mean either a very short or rather long cooldown jog after your race.

Thu 9/17 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including BURPEES, followed by a short length run at an easy to moderate intensity. In addition we'll be doing hill drills on the Hultman Aqueduct between Cedar Crest and Pine Ridge road.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Fri 9/18 - Practice at 3:30.  Warmup including CURTSIES followed by timed progression repeats of 3 minutes in length, followed by a separate set of 200 meter repeats with a 200 meter jog recovery. Each 3 minute repeat should follow this pattern: first minute 70% effort, next minute 80% effort, last minute 90% effort. The recovery after each repeat is 2.5 minutes of very easy jogging/fast walking. After finishing the last 3 minute repeat, take about 5 minutes break for water and then a series of 200 meter repeats at race pace effort. Number of reps as follows: 

Level 1: 3x3 minutes, 3x200 (warmup and cooldown of 5-6 minutes apiece)
Level 2: 4x3 minutes, 4x200 (warmup and cooldown of 5-6 minutes apiece)
Level 3: 5x3 minutes, 5x200 (warmup and cooldown of 6-8 minutes apiece)
Level 4: 6x3 minutes, 5x200 (warmup and cooldown of 8-10 minutes apiece)

OR

Warmup followed by a short run at an easy to moderate pace for those doing the workout at Lincoln Station tomorrow.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Sat 9/19 - Optional practice 9:00 AM at Lincoln Station- Timed progression repeats of 3 minutes in length, followed by a separate set of 200 meter repeats with a 200 meter jog recovery. Each 3 minute repeat should follow this pattern: first minute 70% effort, next minute 80% effort, last minute 90% effort. The recovery after each repeat is 2.5 minutes of very easy jogging/fast walking. After finishing the last 3 minute repeat, take about 5 minutes break for water and then a series of 200 meter repeats at an intense (faster than race pace) effort. Number of reps as follows:

Level 1: 3x3 minutes, 3x200 (warmup and cooldown of 5-6 minutes apiece)
Level 2: 4x3 minutes, 4x200 (warmup and cooldown of 5-6 minutes apiece)
Level 3: 5x3 minutes, 5x200 (warmup and cooldown of 6-8 minutes apiece)
Level 4: 6x3 minutes, 5x200 (warmup and cooldown of 8-10 minutes apiece)

OR

Warmup followed by a short run at an easy to moderate pace for those who did the timed repeat workout yesterday.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Sun 9/20 - Off.

DCL Kickoff Results - 9/9/26

Meet results  

Meet schedule overview

On a cloudy and warm afternoon, a group of WHS athletes visited Bedford High School for a non-scoring scrimmage style meet on a 3 kilometer (1.87 mile) course. In addition to the hosts, Newton South and Westford Academy also took part. All of the Wayland runners were making their season debut, with many running their first high school race. Despite this, the sound racing tactics were impressive from Wayland runners. The course, which lacking much in the way of vertical relief, still required some discipline early on. 

The first of two races contested by WHS athletes was the boys JV race, with almost 100 finishers (over half of those from Newton South). In these crowded conditions the first three Wayland finishers were all 9th graders, led by Henry Tharpe in the top 20 with Connor Thomas and Henry Vukson in the top 30. Not long after, a group of 10 runners that included 11th grader Caleb Grace and 9th grader Rhys Hill crossed the line within six seconds of each other, packing that is normally seen only at large invitational meets. 9th graders Dylan Stack and Peter Sondey were part of another clump of runners (six finishers in five seconds) fighting to the finish line. Rounding out the Wayland contingent were 10th graders David McLaughlin and Drake LeBaron and 9th graders Daniel Alappatt, Anthony Choi and Cesc Garcia-Rivera. LeBaron, as the only Wayland runner with prior experience with high school cross country, was the grizzled veteran of the group. 

 In the girls varsity race, the 10th grade pair of Ivy Robertson and Brynn Andrus established a competitive position early and made it stick at the end, with both finishing in the top 10. While Robertson has experience from the track team last year this was an impressive effort for her first cross country race.  

The next race on the schedule is next Wednesday, which is the first of two home meets this season. This will also be team picture day. As can be seen from the meet schedule overview linked above, there are nine meets remaining on the schedule. While no one on the team will be competing in every single one of them, there are plenty of opportunities to race between now and the end of the season. 

DCL Kickoff Scrimmage - 9/9/26

Warmup protocol 

Schedule overview for 2026 season 

Meet Site: Bedford High School, 9 Mudge Way 

Bus leaves at 2:45

first race 4:30

Order of races and lineups:

JV boys - Alappatt, Choi, Garcia-Rivera, Grace, Hill, LeBaron, McLaughlin, P. Sondey, Stack, Tharpe, Thomas, Vukson

JV girls - none

varsity girls - Andrus, Robertson

varsity boys - none

Any girls that complete the race and the seven fastest boys on the day will receive credit towards a varsity letter as outlined on pages 6 and 7 of this document.

Course Map:

The course begins and ends on a baseball field next to the high school, with an out and back portion on the other side of Railroad Street (there will be a crossing guard). The course is a mix of grass with some pavement along the road. If you have spiked shoes it might be a good idea to put 1/8" elements or blanks in them.

Meet Information:

• Weather forecast: Overcast, temperatures in the high 70s with S winds 5-10 mph. Bring clothes to wear at the meet besides your uniform. You won't be allowed on the bus if you don't have clothes to wear besides your uniform.
• You'll need to wear your assigned bib number for this meet and the upcoming three dual meets. After your race and before you leave, please return this bib number to the ziploc bag that holds the bib numbers and safety pins.
• There's no team scoring at this meet.

• There will be a course tour sometime soon after we arrive, which might be led by Coach Mayall.

• As noted in a previous communication, those athletes who raced on Sunday at the Vineyard Invitational won't be racing at this meet. The plan is for them to come along on the bus and do the day's workout (as laid out in the Week 3 Training Plan on this website) on the Reformatory Branch rail trail which passes just to the south of the middle school playing fields. This path, which is an unpaved former rail bed, can be located at the southernmost part of the race course on the map above. The run will be an out and back heading west towards Concord along this path, returning halfway through to Bedford High School. Take particular care at all road crossings, especially Concord Road (route 62) if you reach it. Stop, look both ways and wait for a safe opportunity to cross. 

 What to Bring:

• uniform
• everyday training shoes
• racing shoes if you have them
• warmup clothes
• plastic bag to store clothes and backpack/duffel bag
• water bottle - including a larger (24-32 oz.) bottle if you have one
• snacks for post-race (chocolate milk will be provided using proceeds from the Wayland XC Festival)

for parents:

• From what I can tell, there's parking near the Bedford Public Library next to the high school, but the lot behind John Glenn Middle School (next to tennis courts) might be a better option as the race course passes directly by this spot. 

Week 3 Training Plan, 9/7-9/13

This week the DCL meet schedule begins with the non-scoring "DCL Kickoff" on Wednesday. This is a scrimmage type event with the 11 teams of the DCL spread out among three sites for a race run on a shorter course. Wayland will be attending the kickoff race at Bedford, with Newton South and Westford Academy also attending. Anyone who raced at Martha's Vineyard on Sunday 9/6 won't be racing on Wednesday at Bedford. This group will come along with the team and do their run in Bedford along the Reformatory Branch trail which is a smooth dirt rail bed that runs from Bedford Depot to Concord Center. The long run will be done on either Friday or Saturday at Lincoln. Practices on both Monday and Saturday are optional and will meet at the Lincoln Station parking lot. 

On Tuesday there'll be a discussion of racing strategy with new athletes; returning athletes can attend if they would like to.

Mon 9/7 - Practice 3:30 at Lincoln Station. Warmup including BURPEES followed by a medium length run at an easy to moderate level of effort. Those who raced yesterday should definitely take it on the easy side of things. The OuterSpatial app, available from major app stores, is an excellent tool for navigating the trails here, please use it if possible. Overall length of the run as follows:

Level 1: 28-32 minutes
Level 2: 36-40 minutes
Level 3: 43-47 minutes
Level 4: 52-56 minutes

Tue 9/8 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including CURTSIES followed by a short length run at an easy to moderate effort level. Upon your return to the school we'll be doing high stepping run throughs (high knees) and bounding over cones on the softball field and a few "fly zone" accelerations incorporating turns.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Wed 9/9 - DCL Kickoff at Bedford. More information on this meet will be forthcoming in a subsequent post. Today is a medium length day in terms of how much running you should be doing overall:

Level 1: 28-32 minutes
Level 2: 36-40 minutes
Level 3: 43-47 minutes
Level 4: 52-56 minutes

Depending on what level you're training at, this may mean either a very short or rather long cooldown jog after your race. 

Athletes who raced on Sunday 9/6 at Martha's Vineyard will do a medium length cyclic run, where the pace will increase in cyclic fashion, first at a 40% (4/10) effort, then 60% effort, then 80% effort. This 40-60-80% effort cycle will be repeated four times, meaning there will be 12 total segments. The total length of the run will be as follows:

Level 1: 24 minutes (2 minute segments)
Level 2: 36 minutes (3 minute segments)
Level 3: 48 minutes (4 minute segments)
Level 4: 60 minutes (5 minute segments)

Thu 9/10 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including BURPEES, followed by a short length run at an easy to moderate intensity. In addition we'll be doing hill drills on the Hultman Aqueduct between Cedar Crest and Pine Ridge road.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Fri 9/11 - Practice at 3:30. Warmup including CURTSIES followed by a workout with three repeats, the first at about a 65% effort level, the second at 75% effort, and the last one at 85%. 2 minutes of recovery (jog or walk) in between each. Breakdown as follows:

Level 1: 5-7 minute warmup jog, 3x5 minutes, 5-7 minute cooldown jog
Level 2: 6-8 minute warmup jog, 3x6 minutes, 6-8 minute cooldown jog
Level 3: 8-10 minute warmup jog, 3x8 minutes, 8-10 minute cooldown jog
Level 4: 10-12 minute warmup jog, 3x10 minutes, 10-12 minute cooldown jog

OR

Warmup followed by a short run at an easy to moderate pace for those doing the workout at Lincoln Station tomorrow.

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Sat 9/12 - Optional practice 9:00 AM at Lincoln Station - Brief warmup followed by a workout with three repeats, the first at about a 65% effort level, the second at 75% effort, and the last one at 85%. 2 minutes of recovery (jog or walk) in between each. Breakdown as follows::

Level 1: 5-7 minute warmup jog, 3x5 minutes, 5-7 minute cooldown jog
Level 2: 6-8 minute warmup jog, 3x6 minutes, 6-8 minute cooldown jog
Level 3: 8-10 minute warmup jog, 3x8 minutes, 8-10 minute cooldown jog
Level 4: 10-12 minute warmup jog, 3x10 minutes, 10-12 minute cooldown jog

For those not going to the practice in Lincoln, try to do the following short workout (run or some other type of continuous movement exercise like cycling or swimming) on your own:

Level 1: 22-26 minutes
Level 2: 26-30 minutes
Level 3: 32-36 minutes
Level 4: 42-46 minutes

Sun 9/13 - Off.

Vineyard XC Invitational Results, 9/6/26

For the third year in a row, the WHS cross country season kicked off with a meet on Martha's Vineyard. Compared to the last two years at this meet, the weather was much more favorable with lower temperatures and humidity. There was a strong wind 15-20 mph from the north which wound up being a tailwind to start and a headwind in the later stages with the layout of the courses. There was a lot of racing savvy on display from both experienced team members and new athletes as well. Wayland athletes won medals in multiple races and there were competitive battles throughout the roster.

9th grade boys 3k (46 finishers): Evan Hopps 1st, Thomas Markey 34th, Brendan Tripp 37th. Evan led from start to finish and put on a clinic in his first high school race.

JV girls 5k (44 finishers): Cordia Wang 5th, Lily Hage 6th, Anya Brown 7th, Ainsley Jay 26th. Very impressive racing led by co-captain Cordia Wang who improved 21 places from last year. She was followed directly by Hage and Brown, both rookies in their first high school race. Co-captain Jay rounded out the foursome in the top 30 overall.

JV boys 5k (74 finishers): Daniel Sondey 4th, Grady Spence 11th, Jack Ricci 16th, Johan Versteeg 31st, Griffin Jorgensen 42nd. With medals going to the top 25 finishers in the JV race, there were three more medal winners for Wayland in this race. The team scored 4th out of 8 teams.

Varsity girls (72 finishers): Ava Miller 29th, Henrietta Schoeffler 46th. Ava and Henrietta ran the two fastest times for Wayland female runners on this course in the three years Wayland has participated in this event.

Varsity boys 5k (115 finishers): Brandon Hopps 5th, Ryan Young 17th, Ryan Foley 25th, Archie Baker 27th, Reese Migdal 47th, Elliot Hopper 60th. This race was once again quite competitive, with a front pack that was racing at a high level from the gun. After leading early on, Brandon Hopps was able to secure a top five finish and a medal. He ran the fastest time of any WHS athlete at this meet in the three years Wayland has participated. Behind him the team depth was much improved over previous editions of this meet, with the rest of the scoring top five runners all having impressive time drops compared to last year at this meet. The team score had Wayland in third out of fifteen (last year 5th). The two teams finishing ahead of Wayland were Catholic Memorial, a parochial school that recruits athletes, and East Greenwich, one of the better teams in Rhode Island.

All this and there was time to frolic in the surf at Vineyard Haven, where many interesting t-shirts can be purchased, before boarding the ferry to return to the mainland.

Meet results

WHS best times at this meet