Wellesley High School seniors Matt and Thomas D’Anieri worked together at the BAA Invitational High School Mile on Saturday morning to out-leg 14 other high school runners representing communities along the Boston Marathon course. The twins crossed the finish line — the same one used for the marathon — in matching times of 4:33.1. The next closest runner was 7 seconds back.
Unlike when famous sports siblings like Venus and Serena Williams face off in tourneys, there didn’t need to be a single winner in this event. The brothers had never competed in an official race against each other before and it was anyone’s guess who would win (anyone betting on the race would be out of luck, as it turned out). Thomas is the reigning state cross country champ, and both boys have set WHS running records.
The boys’ performance gave Wellesley the BAA title, and the girls’ reps — Eve Driver and Valerie Collins — also teamed to give Wellesley the victory in their race. Driver and Collins finished 3rd and 4th respectively, fighting a tough headwind at times on the 3-loop course.
In the middle school 1000-meter race, Wellesley Middle School’s Allison Sibold won the girls’ race.
There was actually a pretty big crowd in Copley Square, some friends and family of the runners, but many more who were in town just to soak up the Boston Marathon experience (many people stood on the side of the street I was on, avoiding the cold shade of the seats that you see in the background…
Full BAA Invitational race results here.
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