It was a mixed bag for the Duxbury boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams, as they took on perennial powerhouse Whitman-Hanson on Tuesday and ended the week against Silver Lake on Duxbury’s newly designed 2.7-mile course.

A SHOW OF STRENGTH: The Duxbury boys’ cross-country team breaks from the pack during last Friday’s Patriot League meet with Silver Lake.

Whitman-Hanson has joined the Patriot League after playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference for several years, making a run for the league title more difficult for the Dragons. The Panthers are a proven commodity in cross-country circles and showed their prowess last year by placing second in the Division I championships in Gardner.

They had little trouble with their hosts, as they out-ran Duxbury by a 19-39 margin.

In the boys’ race, W-H senior Pat Taft won in a time of 14.56, followed by teammates Tyler Sullivan and Pat Egan. Duxbury’s Jonathan McKinley lead the Dragons (4th/15:20), while Billy Jewel (5th/16:01), Mark Brust (8th/16:10), Paul Dacey (10th/16:22) and Greg Bray (12th/17:08) closed out the Duxbury scoring. 

In the girls’ race, Whitman Hanson’s swept the top four spots to win 16-43, as Emily Rinden won in a time of 19:11. Robin Rader was Duxbury’s top finisher in fifth place (19:43), followed by Anne Steele (7th/20:00), Lauren Bittrich (8th/20:07), Nora Serres (12th/21:38) and Maddie McKenzie (15th/22:09).

Robin Rader was victorious in the girls’ race.

Both Duxbury teams bounced back on Friday against the Lakers, as McKinley (15:23) took first with a 28-second win over Silver Lake’s Jeremy Smith (15:51). Dacey (3rd/16:00), Jewel (4th/16:28), Brust (5th/15:20) and Bray (6th/16:59) completed the rout for a decisive 19-46 win.  

The Lady Dragons also did well, as they recorded their first win of the year against the Lakers. Rader led the girls’ race from start to finish in a time of 19:32, with Bittrich (2nd/20:22), Steele (3rd/20:26), Liz Doherty (5th/21:41) and McKenzie (6th/21:48) finishing out the scoring for a 17-44 win.