Sunny, humid, and 70-degree weather were the conditions during Saturday’s Clipper Relay at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport.

It saw three runners per team, each running a full 2-mile loop through the park for a total of six miles per team.

“It was, overall, a good showing… with nearly everyone improving their time from last year or improving on their 2-mile time trial from earlier this season,” said Marblehead girls coach Will Herlihy.

A Marblehead boys team of Nate Assa, Henrik Adams, and Will Cerrutti took first place out of 141 teams.

“Nate recorded the fastest opening-leg split for any Marblehead runner to ever run at the meet and handed off the baton in second place,” said Marblehead boys coach Brian Heenan. “Henrik ran a tremendous second leg to give Will a chance to track down the leaders. Not only did Will track down the leaders, he went on to win by 11 seconds. He recorded the fastest split by any Marblehead runner to compete in this event, one we have been going to for over 20 years.”

It was the first time a boys team from Marblehead won the event.

Over to the girls, junior captain Marri O’Connell turned in the fastest Marblehead split for the third consecutive year. Her 11:45 time on the anchor leg caught eyes among all girl runners.

According to Herlihy, his team’s MVP for the day was senior Abbie Goodwin, who ran a two-minute personal best on the opening leg, then doubled back to close out the third leg of her own relay after a late injury to another runner.

Marblehead also showed off its new, young core. Sophomore newcomer Evelina Beletsky delivered the second-fastest Marblehead time in 13:56, while freshmen Ruby Assa and Evie Becker each ran in less than 15 minutes (14:16 and 14:40, respectively). Fellow freshman Mary Donnellan impressed in 15:21.

13th: Ruby Assa (14:06), Evelina Beletsky (13:56), Marri O’Connell (11:45) – 39:57
54th: Maren Potter (16:08), Mary Donnellan (15:21), Anna Cruikshank (16:10) – 47:38
63rd: Evie Becker (14:40), Willow Waddington (16:55), Avery Barbeau (16:59) – 48:34
77th – Thea Shaw (15:40), Ivana Nguyen (17:35), Emma St. George (17:04) – 50:19
79th – Abbie Goodwin (14:02), Molly Helmuth (21:31), Abbie Goodwin (16:17) 51:50

CROSS COUNTRY

St. Mary’s turned in a solid showing at the McNiff Relays held at Bishop Fenwick High School on Saturday. The boy trio of Lucian Paula, Xavier Paula, and Cristian Rodriguez settled for a seventh-place finish. The girls (Kelsey Kwiatek, Siena-Rose Summa, Nina Lopes) kicked off the fall in style with a fourth-place finish.

As for Bishop Fenwick, its girls team of Julia Davis, Adelaide Sweatman, and Marianna Kay successfully defended their title in the 3-mile course with a four-second win against Greater Lowell. Fenwick’s girls finished seventh, 16th, 17th, and 20th in the 30-team field.

The Crusader boys came out strong with Sam Appleyard, Doron Appleyard, and freshman Chris Kay finishing fifth. Fenwick’s other teams placed 11th, 15th, and 22nd in the 32-team field.

In the co-ed race made up of two girls and a boy, the Crusaders finished first and second with strong finishes from the Appleyard twins, as well as Marianna Kay, Davis, Sweatman and Olivia Rowe. They also placed sixth, ninth, 10th, and 11th in that race.

GIRLS SOCCER

Marblehead 3
Waltham 0

In a non-league game for the Magicians, they blanked Waltham on their home turf of Piper Field. Courtney Hitscherich scored two goals (Sydney Ball and Sadie Halpern assists), while Callie Gilmore netted an unassisted tally to secure the win.

Lily Heller saved three shots, while Hailey Gilmore picked up another.

“The whole team played well,” said Marblehead coach Lisa Wales. “Sammy Dosch and Cora Gerson came off the bench and made some excellent contributions. Sydney Ball has the ability to play anywhere on the field and her versatility is huge to our team success.”