By RICK WILSON
WATERTOWN — If you were looking for surprises at the Berkshire League cross country championships at Black Rock State Park on Friday, Eddie Nicholas and Maegan Desmarais weren’t your people. If you were looking for brilliant performances, well, now you’re talking.
Neither had lost to a BL opponent this season and nothing changed by the time the last feet crossed the finish line. Nicholas, a senior at Nonnewaug, and Desmarais, a sophomore at Thomaston, captured the BL titles by comfortable margins.
Nicholas dusted the boys field by 31 seconds. He covered the 3.1-mile course in 16:19.7, with Chris Deforest of Terryville taking second in 16:50.9.
In the next race, Desmarais pulled into championship alley in 20:30.5, outdistancing Shepaug’s Elisa Afiouni (20:30.5).
Nicholas, who placed fourth in 2017, was a heavy favorite coming into the race. Pressure? Nah.
“It just made me more confident in my ability,” said Nicholas. “Seeing that I ran against these people before, I knew I could do this. I really wanted the meet record (set by Thomaston’s Rich Klauber, 16:00), but I’m happy. This was a personal best for me. I tried speeding up, but there was some wind.”
Eddie is the younger brother of BL running legend Jackie Nicholas, who won three Class M and BL titles and two State Opens. Big sister was on hand and more than willing to share some mantle space.
“I feel just as happy today as I did when I won,” said Jackie. “He’s a great kid and a great competitor. We do weight training together. He deserves this.”
As for the precocious Desmarais, the tone for the day goes back to last year’s sixth-place finish.
“I think Maegan could win the title next year,” said a prophetic coach Mark Olsen at the time.
That became the goal.
“I’ve been looking for this for a year,” said Desmarais. “Everyone at school was saying, ‘You better get first.’”
Mission accomplished. Like Nicholas, she brushed off any hint of pressure. Afiouni and Shepaug teammate Eilish Foy, who finished 2-3, put the pressure on Desmarais, but she wasn’t having any of it.
“We knew that (Desmarais) was a great runner,” said Afiouni. “We were together at the second mile, but then she outran me at one point.”
Olsen couldn’t have been prouder.
“Meg really has a knack for pacing and grinds everybody down,” he said. “She starts out, sees girls in front and doesn’t lose her cool. She moves up and then she takes the lead.”