On a sweltering early fall afternoon at Governor's Academy, the Middlesex varsity boys cross-country team dropped a close result to the hosts 29-28, while the junior varsity picked up a 25-32 win.
 
The hot and humid conditions, as well as the winding and hilly course, slowed runners from both schools considerably. Sophomore Justin O'Toole, running in his first-ever cross country race, came to the halfway point neck and neck with the frontrunner from Governor's, but opened a large lead in the third mile and claimed a commanding win with a time of 19:11. Freshman Andrew Harris followed in third place overall in 19:41, and senior co-captain Luke Collins was fourth in 20:20. Junior Jack Audett and freshman Mac Hadden also scored points for the Zebras, with senior Kiran Tremblay and sophomore Jack Starobin rounding out the top seven.
 
Senior co-captain Ted Pyne paced all JV runners with a time of 21:55, with freshman Gavin Cassidy finishing close behind in 22:02. Strong races from senior Zeke Golnik, freshman Cannon Caspar and junior Sam Ferrone secured the team victory for the junior varsity, with senior Ameya Shere and freshman David Latham rounding out the top seven.
 
Middlesex returns to action this Saturday against Belmont Hill, Nobles and St. Sebastian's at Rock Meadow in Belmont.