Jenkins top runner in New England

Nate Jenkins, who starred at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell from 1999 to 2004 and finished seventh in the recent US Olympic Marathon Trials in New York, has been named New England Runner of the Year by New England Runner magazine, and a recipient of the Jock Semple Award.

Jenkins, a Templeton native who lives in Lowell, surpassed all expectation in the marathon trials, bettering his No. 20 seed with a time of 2 hours 14 minutes 56 seconds. The Semple Award is a first for Jenkins, while the Runner of the Year honor was his second in three years.

"These awards are really cool because there have been some really big names that have won them," Jenkins said. "The Jock Semple Award hasn't been given in a couple of years, and runners such as Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, and Johnny Kelley have won it."

Jenkins will be presented the Semple Award, named after the longtime BAA manager and trainer, next Sunday in Boston at the 30th annual Bill Rodgers Jingle Bell 5K, and will appear on the cover of the January issue of New England Runner.

The run in the Olympic Trials was one of a handful of superb races for Jenkins this year. He placed 11th overall and fourth among American runners at the Steamboat Classic 4-Mile in Peoria, Ill., with a time of 18:49; and 13th overall - tops among Americans - at The Boilermaker 15K in Utica, N.Y., in 46:22.

"A lot of really good runners have won" Runner of the Year, Jenkins added. "I think it has become a lot more competitive now, so this is a good thing." Jenkins currently serves as an assistant coach with the UMass cross-country and track and field teams.

Cameron Ghorbani, 15, of Lexington advanced to the final of the recent New England National Tennis Tournament at the Longfellow Tennis and Fitness Club.

Ghorbani, ranked No. 4 in New England, lost, 6-4, 7-6, to Harry Seaborn of North Salem, N.Y., but not until he raised a few eyebrows with stirring wins in the quarterfinals against No. 9 seed Daniel Mamalat of Philadelphia, 6-3, 7-5, and in the semis against top-seeded Justin Shane of Falls Hill, Va., 7-6, 7-6. Ghorbani was the only unseeded player in the field of 128 to advance as far as the quarterfinals.

Ghorbani also defeated Shane last summer in another national tournament, prompting Shane to ask, "Does he always play this good or just against me?" With his runner-up finish, Ghorbani qualified for the US Tennis Association Winter National Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., over the holidays.

The mailbag is overflowing with postseason honors for many local student-athletes. A sampling: Ernie Mello, the heart and soul of the Wilmington football team's offense, was named the most valuable player of the Cape Ann League. Earning All-Cape Ann League honors were running back Matt Burckhardt of North Andover; wide receivers Darren Hartwell of North Reading and Alex Andrews of Lawrence; linemen Ken Joyce of Wilmington, Andrew Bogosian of North Andover, and J.J. Lyons of Wilmington; and linebackers Corey Groves of Wilmington and Brendan Lutz of North Reading. . . . Kristi Korsberg of Andover and Katelyn Martin of Chelmsford were the Division 1 Co-Swimmers of the Year in the Merrimack Valley Conference. Laura Moriarty of Methuen was tops in Division 2, and Marilyn Fitzgerald of Andover and Lauren Akashian of Dracut were named the Division 1 and 2 Coaches of the Year. . . . Division 3 state volleyball champion North Reading walked off with most of the Cape Ann League hardware. Alison Friberg was the MVP and Keri Forest was Coach of the Year, while Adrianna Doyle and Erica Diamantides were named to the All-CAL team, as were Kim Pierce of North Andover and Tiffanie Davis of Wilmington. . . . Central Catholic senior Adrian Gonzalez has accepted a full scholarship to play basketball at Bentley College in Waltham. The 6-foot-5-inch Gonzalez chose Bentley over Northeast-10 Conference rival Assumption.

Boston College freshman Stefanie Murphy of Londonderry, N.H., is off to a flying start with the women's basketball team. Murphy had double-doubles in wins over Delaware (26 points and 16 rebounds), Notre Dame (18 and 10), and New Hampshire (26 and 11). She was named Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Week. . . . The Merrimack men's basketball team also is off to a rip-roaring start. The Warriors beat American International, 83-74, to go 5-0 for the first time in school history. Senior Olatungie Lightfoot-Taylor of Lawrence had 15 points and 13 rebounds to trigger the win. . . . The Merrimack women, on the other hand, are having early-season struggles. After winning their first two games, the Lady Warriors dropped four straight. The latest defeat occurred against AIC, 59-49. . . . Peter Koskores of North Andover has been elected cocaptain of the 2008 New England College soccer team. The midfielder also received the Coach's Award. Koskores played soccer at North Andover High, where he was a tricaptain his senior year.

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