The Middlessex boys' cross-country teams, undaunted by the wind that caroused the hilly course at St. George's, once again seized first place in the Division 3, New England Championship race on Saturday. 

 The team score of 29 points (2^nd place was 100 points) resulted from the sum of the first five finishing places for Middlesex.   Sophomore phenomenon Viraj Deokar repeated his ISL- winning performance, finishing in the dazzling time of 16:21, a full 36 seconds faster than the course record of 16:57, set in 2009 by Lowell Reeve of St. Paul's School.  The second-place runner, Hythem Al-Mulla of Canterbury, mounted a challenge to Viraj for about two miles, but Viraj decided he'd had enough and proceeded to lengthen his lead.  Al-Mulla eventually crossed the line at 16:43.

The rest of the Middlesex contingent, all of them now in great racing condition, fought their way, against some surprising opposition from The Masters School runners, to gain crucial spots in the top ten.  Lucas Estrada took 4^th place; Gavin Fujimori, 5^th; Miles Petrie, 9^th; and Peter Howe, 10^th.   The finishing times for Lucas, Gavin, and Miles were the best of the season.   These runners, along with sophomore veteran Will Fletcher, were named All-New England by virtue of their finishing in the top 20 of the 152 runners competing in the race.

  Another highlight of the day was Christian Papadellis' stunning, come-from-behind victory in the JV race.  Though stalwart Eric Dolce set the pace for the team – and even held the lead for two miles – he was passed by Nathan Gamble from Concord Academy, coming up the last hill of the course.  But Christian, up to that time maintaining his position in 3^rd, responded to a signal from Eric and surged ahead to pass the two runners in front of him and capture first place, in a time of 18:57.  The other three Middlesex runners – Matt Kafker, Jordan Phinney, and Tristan Collins – were no more than thirty seconds behind, guaranteeing a second New England Championship win for the JV team as well.