NORTHFIELD - It was a perfect ending to a literally perfect season for one team, while for another team it was hardly a perfect day, but reason to celebrate nonetheless.

Both the Bishop Feehan High girls' and Mansfield High boys' cross-country teams took home state titles Saturday with their efforts out in Northfield, but they went about it in different ways, the Shamrocks rolling to the championship while the Hornets had to sweat out the end results.

Still, it was a solid day for the locals, as expected, with the Bishop Feehan boys taking second, Seekonk boys taking third and the Warrior girls taking eighth.

"The girls won everything they were entered into. It was that kind of season. They didn't lose one meet or invitational. It was just perfect," said Bishop Feehan coach Bob L'Homme, whose team continues to climb the national rankings after winning the Division 2 Meet.

Bishop feehan ended up with 45 team points while Hamilton-Wenham, last year's champion, finished a distant second with 70 points. "Both of our boys and girls have enjoyed success at Northfield," added L'Homme. "The last time the girls won the state championship, in 2003, it was in Northfield. We thought Hamilton-Wenham would be there. They won Division 4 last week and didn't have their best runner, but our top five really had good races."

Viviana Hanley crossed the tape first for the Feehan girls as she clocked a 19:20 for third overall, L'Homme adding, "that's an outstanding time for that course. She ran that time last week in the mud but this is a much tougher course."

Erin Murphy also cracked the top 10 as she finished eighth (19:46), while Erin Svensen (20:19) and Anisa Arsenault (20:22) went 15-16 respectively. Jen Thomas cracked the top 30 for the Shamrocks, finishing in 28th at 20:47.

The Mansfield boys didn't have it quite as easy as they had to wait out their second state championship in as many years. Last season the Hornets enjoyed a 15-point margin of victory while Saturday they only won the Division 1 Meet by four points, scoring 133 as opposed to second-place Methuen's 137 points. The drama was just fine, however, with Mansfield coach Julie Collins.

"Four points is really squeaking it out," said Collins. "The close finish makes it exciting and it drives home the point that I make in the very first practice, that every man counts, that sixth and seventh are vital."

The Hornets were hampered by illness, two of the team's usual top-five runners gutting it out and barely making it to the finish line. Senior Patrick McGowan took home the individual title as he ran 16:06. The Hornets had three runners in the top 10, Brendan Boyle (16:26) taking eighth and Shayne Collins (16:30) ending up ninth.

"We were watching Methuen closely, and watching all the big schools, and Methuen was pretty excited about their chances at about the two-mile mark," said Collins. "Everybody was so upset right after finishing, but the mood changed after they announced the team standings, so it was nice that McGowan was able to enjoy his individual victory.

Matt Cioe came up big for Mansfield, taking 69th at 17:46 while Matt Hernon, one of the ailing Hornets, ended up 105th, when on an ordinary day he would have likely cracked the top 40.

"We had three guys in the top 10 but there was a lot of nervousness waiting around for the fourth and fifth guys," said Collins. "Hernon and (Jeff) Boyle (131st, 18:42) didn't feel well and that's a killer course that knocks your socks off if you're healthy, so we were fortunate that Matt Cioe ran another consistent race for us. His consistency really paid off for us.

"Matt Hernon got flat tired and had to run the last half mile with one spike, plus he ran into trouble with nausea and collapsed. He struggled to finish the race and Methuen's fifth man passed him at the finish line, so that added to the drama," added Collins. "It's such a tough sport and there's a lot of hard work that goes into it and everyone deserves to make it to the starting line healthy, but that wasn't the case for us, but we still pulled it out." **Also on the boys' side, SEEKONK took third in the Division 2 team standings, powered by Johnny Gregorek's 14th overall finish. Cody Archambault (17:31) took 25th, Nate Larrimer (17:36) 34th and Kenny Cabral (17:42) 38th.

"Cabral had the best race of the day for us. Overall, 2-3-4 came in as a solid pack," said Seekonk coach Eli Mello. "It was a good season for us, winning the SCC and Division 4. It was a good day for us, not great. I guess other teams stepped up and ran a little better.

The Warrior girls were an impressive eighth in Division 2, Jen Salit the top individual at 32nd (21:00) while Emily Gagliardi was close behind in 35th (21:01).

"The girls won the SCC and were second at Division 4. It was a very good season, a lot of first-year runners," added Mello. "Eighth was right around where we thought we'd be. There was no pressure on the girls and they ran that way. It was a good way to finish the season."

**Cassie Olson finished her career in style for MANSFIELD, finishing in 37th place overall. Olson, a senior running her first year of cross country, clocked a 20:31, which is the fastest time ever run by any Hornet girl on that course. "She's run track in the past, but for her first year of cross country she did great," said MHS coach Derek Ellis. "She came on strong and really gained confidence as the year went on and that showed today because she was up with the lead pack."

**A runner-up performance by the BISHOP FEEHAN boys' team was another highlight of the day as the Shamrocks were second to Pembroke for the second year in a row.

"Ask anyone going in and they probably would have guess Feehan might be fourth, fifth or sixth, but to finish second was a big accomplishment," said L'Homme. "No one was talking about us and we knew we would have to run a perfect race to get up there and we pretty much did that. There was a 48-second gap from one through five for us, which is pretty strong."

Bobby McShane was Bishop Feehan's top finisher as he ended up eighth (17:02). Alex Murray was 26th (17:32), Tim Gill 29th (17:35), Will Clerx 33rd (17:37), and Kevin O'Brien 44th (17:50).

Several of the local teams will be headed to New York next weekend for the Nike Invitational, which features some of the best harriers in the Northeast.

MIAA All-State Meet

at Northfield

Divsion 1

Boys' team results: 1-Mansfield 133, 2-Methuen 137, 3-Brookline 153, 4-Lowell 158, 5-St. John's Prep 164, 6-Nashoba 179, 7-Oliver Ames 182, 8-Concord-Carlisle 182, 9-Lexington 194, 10-Westboro 198.

Mansfield results: 1-Patrick McGowan, 16:06; 8-Brendan Boyle, 16:26; 9-Shayne Collins, 16:30; 69-Matt Cioe, 17:46; 105-Matt Hernon, 18:14; 113-Ryan Petrella, 18:23; 131-Jeff Boyle, 18:42.

Girls' team results: 1-Lincoln-Sudbury 52, 2-Newton South 102, 3-Franklin 126, 4-Wachusett 147, 5-Whitman-Hanson 166, 6-Haverhill 175, 7-Amherst-Pelham Regional 188, 8-Acton-Boxboro 190, 9-Concord-Carlisle 201, 10-Wellesley 206.

Mansfield results: 37-Cassie Olson, 20:31.

Division 2

Boys' team results: 1-Pembroke 37, 2-Bishop Feehan 95, 3-Seekonk 142, 4-Whitinsville Christian 158, 5-Hamilton-Wenham 177, 6-Marblehead 190, 7-Hopedale 194, 8-Newburyport 196, 9-Sandwich 222, 10-Medfield 272.

Seekonk results: 14-Johnny Gregorek, 17:08; 25-Cody Archambault, 17:31; 34-Nate Larrimer, 17:36; 38-Kenny Cabral, 17:42; 105-Mark Hafley, 18:51; 110-Jake Silva, 19:02.

Dighton-Rehoboth results: 48-Colin Hoye, 17:55; 60-Jake Medeiros, 18:02.

Bishop Feehan results: 8-Bobby McShane, 17:02; 26-Alex Murray, 17:32; 29-Tim Gill, 17:35; 33-Will Clerx, 17:37; 44-Kevin O'Brien, 17:50; 63-Tom Marcotte, 18:07; 85-Peter Corkery, 18:36.

Foxboro results: 37-Brendan Sullivan, 17:38.

Girls' team results: 1-Bishop Feehan 45, 2-Hamilton-Wenham 70, 3-Milton 141, 4-Mount Greylock Regional 157, 5-Sutton 186, 6-Medfield 213, 7-Swampscott 217, 8-Seekonk 226, 9-Holyoke Catholic 229, 10-Dennis-Yarmouth 236.

Bishop Feehan results: 3-Viviana Hanley, 19:20; 8-Erin Murphy, 19:46; 15-Erin Svensen, 20:19; 16-Anisa Arsenault, 20:22; 28-Jen Thomas, 20:47; 46-Katie Powell, 21:20; 47-Abbey MacBeth, 21:24.

Seekonk results: 32-Jen Salit, 21:00; 35-Emily Gagliardi, 21:01; 81-Victoria Belcher, 22:09; 83-Alyssa Taylor, 22:12; 124-Anna Spencer, 23:41; 136-Julia Spencer, 24:30.