The Boston Herald celebrates the elite boys’ cross-country competitors of the last 10 years.
Paul Hogan
Burlington, 2012-2013
A fearless frontrunner, Hogan was the runner-up two consecutive years at the All-State championships. He had a brilliant senior year, racing to the Middlesex Conference title with a blazing 12:12.1 over 2.5 miles. Hogan was victorious in the Div. 1 EMass meet, defending his title with a 15:08.6 for 5K on the Wrentham Developmental Center layout. He also captured the Twilight Invitational title and was second at the Bay State Invitational. Hogan finished a strong 15th against a deep field at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals after taking 24th as a junior. He was third at the Frank Kelley Invitational his junior year and garnered a silver medal at the Bay State Invitational.
Where Are They Now: Hogan finished his college career at UMass-Lowell with personal bests of 23:49.1 for the 8K and 30:34 in the 10K. He was added to the elite roster of the BAA running club last July.
Ryan Oosting
Arlington, 2016-2018
Possessing a deadly kick over the final 400, Oosting had a brilliant senior year highlighted by an All-State title. Oosting captured the Div. 2 EMass title three consecutive years and Middlesex League championships, along with a victory at the Bay State Invitational. He had a huge day at the NXR Northeast Regionals with a win in 15:50.1 in difficult conditions. Oosting came back from a case of mononucleosis his junior year to place a very respectable sixth at All-States. He took ninth at the Coaches Invitational his sophomore year.
Where Are They Now: Oosting currently runs for Stanford University. He competed at the Bronco Invitational where he finished ninth.
Marcelo Rocha
Peabody, 2014-2016
Rocha joins his sister Catarina on the all-decade team after a brilliant high school career. He easily captured the All-State title with a 15:38 over the hilly Gardner Golf Course layout and defended his Div. 1 EMass crown. Rocha also came away with a third consecutive win at the Frank Kelley and raced to victory in his second Bay State Invitational. Rocha was a solid 10th at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships. As a junior, Rocha was also second at the All-State championships and took the Northeast Conference title. He first opened eyes as a sophomore when he was eighth at All-States and second in the Div. 1 EMass race.
Where Are They Now: A junior at Providence College, Rocha placed fifth at the New England Championships and 23rd at the Big East Championships. Rocha ran to a 25th-place finish at the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet last November.
Tristan Shelgren
St. John’s Prep, 2014-2017
Shelgren made an instant impact as a freshman when he captured the first of four consecutive Catholic Conference titles and won his race at the Coaches Invitational. Shelgren dominated his senior year with wins at the Ocean State Invitational, Frank Kelley Invitational, the Div. 1 EMass championships and All-States. He then went on to capture the Foot Locker Northeast Regional title at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City after taking 14th his junior year. He was named the Gatorade Massachusetts Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year. As a junior, Shelgren was second at the Frank Kelley Invitational, Div. 1 EMass championships and All-States. His wins included a first Ocean State Invitational title, the Frank Kelley Invitational and Bay State Invitational. He was eighth in the Div. 1 EMass race as a sophomore and was an impressive 17th in the All-State event after chalking up seven wins his freshman year.
Where Are They Now: Shelgren competes for the University of North Carolina.
Sam Acquaviva
Newburyport, 2016-2018
Acquaviva followed the Carleo brothers by capturing a pair of Div. 2 All-State titles on the trails. He captured two Cape Ann League individual titles and was named the league Runner of the Year twice. Acquaviva also ran to two Div. 4 EMass wins. He was second behind Arlington’s Ryan Oosting at the Bay State Invitational after winning his junior year. Acquaviva also took first at the Frank Kelley Invitational. He made an impact as a sophomore as well with fourth-place finishes at both Div. 2 All-States and Div. 4 EMass. He was second in the Cape Ann League and eighth at the Bay State Invitational.
Where Are They Now: Acquaviva competes for MIT. He placed 14th at the NEWMAC Championships, 28th at the Connecticut College Invitational and took 25th at the Purple Valley Classic last fall.
Mike Griffin
King Philip, 2016-2019
Blessed with terrific mile speed, few could keep Griffin close his senior year, where he was named Gatorade Massachusetts Cross Country Runner of the Year. He captured the All-State title after taking the gold medal at Div. 2 EMass and the Hockomock League championship. Griffin had a huge day at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals where he cracked the top 10 with an eighth-place showing. He was fourth at Div. 2 EMass and ninth at Div. 1 All-States as a junior and captured his first Hockomock League title after taking third the two previous years. Griffin captured his race at the Twilight Invitational sophomore year while also placing seventh in EMass and 14th at All-States. Griffin was second in EMass as a freshman and had victories at both the Twilight and Coaches Invitationals.
Where Are They Now: Griffin will compete at the University of Tennessee in the fall.
Sean Kay
Arlington Catholic, 2017-2019
The Div. 2 All-State runner-up in 2018, Kay pounded over the Gardner Municipal Golf Course layout a year later to earn the gold medal in 16:03. He ran to a sterling 15:49 win at Wrentham to clinch a second Div. 5 EMass title as a senior and also finished second at the Catholic Memorial Invitational. Kay was the Frank Kelley Invitational champion in Div. 2 as a junior after winning his sophomore year. He owned the Catholic Central League with four consecutive individual wins. Kay was also a two-time league MVP and was ninth at the Div. 2 All-States as sophomore and sixth at the Div. 5 EMass championships.
Where Are They Now: Kay will be competing for Yale University in the fall.
Jack Carleo
Newburyport, 2013-2016
A tough harrier who liked to push hard from the gun, Carleo took the EMass title as a senior and the Div. 2 All-State race a week later. Carleo was a winner at the Ocean State Invitational and took 14th at the Coaches Invitational. He went on to take 23rd at the Foot Locker Northeast Regionals. Carleo was sixth at All-States as a junior and third in the EMass race. He was victorious at the Frank Kelley Invitational and second in the Cape Ann League championships. He took fifth at EMass his sophomore year and 16th at the Bay State Invitational. Carleo won the first of two league titles as a freshman and was ninth at the Bay State Invitational and seventh at the Coaches Invitational.
Where Are They Now: Carleo competed at Providence College. During his final cross country season in 2018 he raced to a 43rd-place finish at the Big East Cross Country Championships and 22nd at the UNH Cross Country Invitational.
Andrew Ernst
Marblehead, 2013-2015
With blazing speed over 800 meters, Ernst ran away with the Div. 2 All-State title his senior year after taking the Div. 4 EMass race by 14 seconds. He was a strong 16th against an elite field at the Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships. Ernst was second to Newburyport’s Nick Carleo in Div. 2 All-States a year earlier and captured the win at the Twilight Invitational and the Frank Kelley Invitational. As a sophomore Ernst cracked the top 10 in the Div. 4 EMass race with an eighth-place finish and went on to take 16th at All-States.
Where Are They Now: During his senior year at the University of Virginia, Ernst finished in the top 20 in four races. He was named to the All-ACC team and earned USTFCCCA All-Southeast Region honors.
Tom D’Anieri
Wellesley, 2013-2015
Consistent and tough, D’Anieri blazed his way to the Div. 1 All-State title with a 15:16.1 after capturing the Div. 2 EMass race. D’Anieri was 13th at the NXN Northeast Regionals and clinched his second straight individual title at the Bay State Conference championship. He was second at the Frank Kelley Invitationals and third at the Twilight Invitational. D’Anieri was fourth at the Div. 2 EMass championships and 17th at All-States. As a sophomore, D’Anieri was a stellar fifth at All-States and the Div. 2 EMass meet. He took third at the Bay State Conference meet and was fifth at the Frank Kelley Invitational.
Where Are They Now: D’Anieri competed at Claremont College where he finished third in the Div. 3 NCAA Cross Country Championships last fall. He also picked up wins at the UC San Diego Triton Classic and the SCIAC Cross Country Championships.
Quinn Cooney
Chelmsford, 2012-2014
A dominant runner on the track as well, Cooney was 22nd at the 2014 Foot Locker Northeast Regional championships at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City. He was the EMass and All-State champion and also notched wins at the Ocean State Invitational and the Merrimack Valley Conference championships. As a junior Cooney was fourth at the Manhattan Invitational and eighth at All-States after sprinting to fourth in the EMass meet. Cooney had a big sophomore campaign with a win at the Ocean State Invitational and fifth at the Manhattan Invitational. He was third in the EMass race and 16 at All-States.
Where Are They Now: Running for Dartmouth College, Cooney was seventh in last fall’s Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown and won the Souther Cross Country Invitational. He also took 40th at the NCAA Div. 1 Northeast Region Cross Country Championships.
Nick Carleo
Newburyport, 2012-2014
This Carleo brother traveled to New York City and finished 13th at the 2014 Foot Locker Northeast Regionals. He was the Div. 2 All-State champion and victorious at EMass after taking first and second as a junior. Carleo also notched wins at the Bay State Invitational and Cape Ann League championships. As a junior he was 10th at the NXN Northeast Regionals after taking 20th his sophomore year. Carleo took seventh at the Div. 2 All-States and fourth in EMass to go along with wins at the Frank Kelley Invitational and Bay State Invitational.
Where Are They Now: Running for Providence College, Carleo was eighth at the UNH Tri Meet last fall and took fifth at the CCSU Mini Meet, to go along with a 33rd-place showing in the Big East Championships.
Gabe Montague
Newton North, 2012-2013
After a third-place finish at the EMass championships, Montague upped his game by capturing the Div. 1 All-State title. He won two consecutive Bay State Conference championships and garnered a gold medal at the Coaches Invitational. Montague was third at the Twilight Invitational and picked up six dual meet victories. He was 19th in the Div. 1 All-State race as a junior and took fourth in the EMass championships.
Where Are They Now: Montague competed for three seasons on the Harvard University cross country team.
Wesley Gallagher
Pembroke, 2010-2011
Gallagher defended Div. 2 All-State title as a senior and won the EMass championship. He took second at the Bowdoin Classic and third at the prestigious Brown Invitational. Gallagher was third at the NXN Northeast Regionals. As a junior, Gallagher took second at the EMass championships and fifth at the Brown Invitational. He was 12th at the NXN Northeast Regionals.
Where Are They Now: Gallagher led Ole Miss to its first NCAA championship meet in school history where he finished 80th overall. He was an All-SEC first team harrier and placed seventh in the Greater Louisville Classic.
Lucas Aramburu
Brookline, 2016-2018
Consistent and a money runner in big races, Aramburu finished a strong second at the Div. 1 All-State race and third at Div. 1 EMass. Aramburu raced to a third-place finish at the 2018 Foot Locker Northeast Regionals and went on to take 18th at the national meet. As a junior, Aramburu was third at both the Div. 1 All-States and Div. 1 EMass. He also captured the Amherst Invitational and Twilight Invitational. Aramburu was a force his sophomore year as well with a win at the Manchester Invitational and third place in the Div. 1 All-State race.
Where Are They Now: In his first year of cross country at Columbia University, Aramburu took 45th in the Princeton Cross Country Invitational and finished 58th at the Ivy League Cross Country Heps.
