Angelica Baptista of Athol, shown here in against Hopkins Academy earlier in the season. The Red Raiders need a home win against Mahar on Monday to clinch the playoffs.
Angelica Baptista of Athol, shown here in against Hopkins Academy earlier in the season. The Red Raiders need a home win against Mahar on Monday to clinch the playoffs. Credit: FOR THE ATHOL DAILY NEWS/MIKE PHILLIPS

Mahar competed at the PVIAC cross country championships at Westfield State College on Sunday.

Conditions at Stanley Park were cold and misty on the 5-kilometer course.

Thor Mead placed 79th out of 255 runners with a time of 18 minutes, 37 seconds for the Senators.

Edward Bennington finished 167th in 20:48, while Alex Plotner was 203rd in 21:54.

Loren Bennington was 249th at 26:28.

Owen Ryan rounded out Mahar’s runners, finishing 253rd in 30:23.

“I am pretty proud of the guys,” Mahar coach Ben Just said. “Everyone ran hard. Wasn’t the best conditions but it was good.”

Amherst Regional won the team race.

Gabriel Medina, of West Springfield, was the individual champion, finishing in 15:49.

WIN OR GO HOME — Both of the Athol High School soccer teams need a win in their regular-season finales on Monday to qualify for the playoffs.

The boys team travels to Palmer to play the Panthers at 7 p.m., while the girls squad stays in town to host Mahar at 6:30.

The Mahar girls team can clinch a share of the Pioneer North title with a win over Athol and a Gateway tie against Easthampton. If Mahar wins and Gateway loses, the Senators win the league title.

MORE FOOTBALL — The MIAA released non-tournament games for this week. The Athol football team will host Smith Vocational, while the Mahar football team will travel to Mohawk.

The Red Raiders play at 7 p.m. this Friday.

Mahar’s game time and date has not been officially announced.

Adam Hargraves is a sports reporter at the Greenfield Recorder. A graduate of Keene State College, he covers high school and college sports. Reach him at ahargraves@recorder.com and follow him on X @Hargraves24