Thomas Mackin is off to a strong start to his senior year in the Lynn Classical High School boys cross country program. And in the Lynn Invitational Cross Country Meet at Lynn Woods held Sept. 11, the Rams’ captain was off to an even better finish.
Mackin earned the unofficial title of best runner in Lynn by outracing competitors from the city’s high schools to the finish line in a time of 16:36 over the 2.85-mile Lynn Woods course.
It was the second city championship in a row for the humble Mackin, son of John and Paula Mackin.
Mackin is competing in his fourth varsity cross country season for Classical. “I probably finished close to last place as a freshman in this race,” he recalled.
But his improvement over the past three seasons has been steady and noteworthy. He took second place in the Lynn Invitational as a sophomore before claiming back-to-back crowns as a junior and senior.
How did he improve his times?
“Just working hard over the summer,” said Mackin. “I did the [Fernando] Braz Camp at Fenwick this summer. It’s three days a week for the whole summer.”
Mackin said his individual goals are to win the Eastern Mass. Meet and qualify for the All-State Meet.
The 6-foot, 137-pound harrier won seven dual meets last year, but he’s prouder of the fact that he helped Classical post a record of 5-4, the school’s first winning season in 32 years.
“I’m wicked excited about the season,” said Mackin, who is looking at Division 1 college programs URI, Central Connecticut, and UMass/Lowell. “I think our team should do really well.”
Classical coach Cori Russo was impressed by Mackin’s performance in which he outdistanced the second-place finisher by 21 seconds.
Thomas Mackin, with his mother, Paula, following his first-place finish
in the Lynn Invitational.
“Thomas is amazing,” said Russo, who teaches Latin at Classical and is in his second year as head coach. “He puts in the most work and gets the most results. He was already strong when I got him. He’s been a huge beacon for the rest of the team. He’s a senior captain and all the kids look up to him. There are people all over Lynn who saw him running in the city this summer. I don’t have him in class but I know he’s an excellent student and a wonderful kid.”
Sarah Corbett of St. Mary’s High School won the girls’ race in 21:58, heading a superb effort overall for coach Dom Finelli’s girls and boys teams.