FALMOUTH – Over the course of 90 minutes, fans lining the track at Falmouth High School got to witness the area’s best high school runners, world-class wheelchair racers and some of the best milers in the country race in an exciting display of speed and tactics. As it does each year, the Falmouth Track Festival kicked off the festivities surrounding the ASICS Falmouth Road Race which will be held on Sunday.
The first two races of the evening gave the hometown crowd a reason to cheer. The girls Tommy Cochary High School mile was first on the track. The pack went out right at 5:00 pace. At the halfway point, Elise Casso of Falmouth Academy and Mia Rent of Wayland High School had gapped the rest of the field. Then, with 600 meters left in the race, Casso dropped the hammer. She opened a huge lead by the bell and with 250 meters to go, looked over her shoulder to see how much space she had on Rent. It was plenty. Casso broke the tape in 4:59.42, setting a nearly 11-second personal best and winning by six seconds.
“With 600 to go, I decided I was still feeling good and decided to pick up the pace a little,” said Casso, a rising senior. “I felt like maybe I shouldn’t be looking back, but I was nervous someone was going to pass me.
Rent held on for second in 5:06.72, just barely beating Leva MacInness (5:06.80) of Wellesley to the line.
The boys race was a fierce battle between defending champion Silas Gartner of Falmouth High School and Altamo Ashkensay of Brookline. The pair had run away by the second lap with Gartner leading and Ashkensay right on his heels. It looked as if Aschkensay would let Gartner do all the work up front only to slingshot past at the end of the race. And that’s almost what happened. Ashkensay took the lead at the bell, seemingly leaving Gartner in the dust. But Gartner had a second wind, catching back up with 200 meters to go. As the pair entered the homestretch, Gartner found another gear and blasted back to the front in the closing meters of the race, winning for the second year in a row.
“It took everything I had. I didn’t think I had it,” said Gartner, who finished in 4:16.85. “I was on his shoulder at 100. I took it and went for it. I was hurting pretty bad.”
Ashkensay finished exactly one second back. Theodore Butty, also of Brookline, took third in 4:20.74
Two of the best wheelchair racers in history showed off their superior skills in the wheelchair races. Tatyana McFadden, a five-time champion of the ASICS Falmouth Road Race dominated the field winning in 3:51.30, more than 21 seconds ahead of last year’s Falmouth Road Race winner Hoda Eishorbagy. Daniel Romanchuk, also a five-time Falmouth champion, finished the mile in 3:16.71, nearly fourteen seconds ahead of Miguel Jimenez-Vergara.
“Races like Falmouth are a great foundation for getting to races around the world,” said Romanchuk, who has now won the Falmouth Mile three years in a row. “It’s a great mix of elite athletes and people just getting into the sport. It can give people a good foundation.”
The thrilling finishes continued as the lights came on for the Elite miles. In the women’s race, Eleanor Fulton and Jess McGorty stayed glued to the pacer who took the field through 800m in 2:15. At the bell, the duo appeared to have broken away from the rest of the pack. But, McGorty’s training partner Angel Piccirillo stayed within striking distance. With 200m to go, she was right on their shoulders. Piccirillo finally made her decisive move with 100m left in the race and took the victory in 4:27.97.
“It was hard because you don’t want to move too late and regret it,” said Piccirillo, who was third in this race in 2023. “Once you make the move, you just take it and go.”
McGorty was second in 4:28.57, with Fulton close behind in 4:28.62.
The men’s Elite mile also saw its winner decided in the closing meters. John Reniewicki followed the pacer through 800m in 1:57.66, then led the field through the third lap. Jostling didn’t begin until the bell when Jack Anstey charged to the front with 300m to go. Then with 200m to go, Morgan Beadlescomb looked to make a winning move, only to be passed by Abe Alvarado with 100m left. Just as Alvarado was closing in on the finish line, Luke Houser snuck by, winning the race in 3:55.15, just two-tenths of a second over Alvarado. Amon Kemboi was right there too, finishing third in 3:55.46
“I just had to stay patient,” said Houser, the 2025 World bronze medalist in the 1500m. “I didn’t want to hold anything back getting to the finish line.”
Piccirillo and Houser won $6,000 and $5,000 respectively for their victories; $5,000 for winning and an extra $1,000 for Piccirillo running sub-4:28.
Full results can be found here.
By Jay Holder for the ASICS Falmouth Road Race