The course was muddy and the 24-year-old Quigley was not in peak running shape, which made him hesitant to make a major move during the race.

“The rest of the pack looked pretty good,’’ said Quigley, a Braintree native, who on Tuesday was named Athlete of the Week by USA Track & Field.

“You usually only have one move during a race and if it doesn’t work, you’re in trouble. I was afraid the other runners would be able to cover any move I made.’’

So Quigley waited to make his move on the final straightaway with 100 meters to go.

The patience paid off. Quigley, who never led during the race, leaned past defending champion Jacob Korir of Kenya to win the 20th Boston Mayor’s Cup Cross Country Championship in 23 minutes, 54 seconds on Sunday.

“The fact that it was such a close race means that I have a lot of work to do,’’ said Quigley, who finished third in 2007. “I don’t want my races to always come down to the last seconds. So I’ll get more workouts in before my next race in January.’’

His next race will be the USA Half Marathon Championships in Houston, the longest race Quigley has ever run. To prepare, he will train in high altitudes for the next six weeks in Flagstaff, Ariz. He plans to rent an apartment and meet up with other runners to work out. “It’s kind of a hotspot for distance runners,’’ Quigley said.

Quigley started running his freshman year at Archbishop Williams. He thought it would be something to “kill time’’ or stay in shape for hockey season. That mentality, however, quickly changed.

“I immediately realized I was playing the wrong sport all along,’’ said Quigley, who only played hockey his freshman year. “I was beating guys who had been running for years and realized that I must have some running ability.’’

During his high school career, Quigley was the 2002 state cross-country champion, 2003 indoor and New England champion in the 3,200 meters, and 2003 National Scholastic champion in the 5,000 meters. Quigley finished his collegiate career as the second runner in LaSalle history to win back-to-back Atlantic-10 titles.

He also earned All-America honors his senior year after a 15th-place finish out of 250 runners at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, the highest finish ever for a LaSalle runner.

The long-term goal for Quigley, who placed ninth at the 2008 US Olympic Track & Field Team Trials in the 10,000 meters, is to run marathons. He said the half marathon in Houston could be a good segue.

Weymouth went 2-3 in five matches, losing to Utah, 4-1, in the consolation game. The team opened play with a 3-2 loss to Minnesota, beat Tucson, 4-1, and New Jersey, 5-0, before losing to the Caribbean, 3-2, in the semifinals.

Members of the team included: Sally Bergstein (Hingham), Rosemary Dalton (Easton), Ingrid Drago (Duxbury), Susan Doherty (Hingham), Peggy Driscoll (Milton), Dianne Heinold (Hull), Sue Kelly (Braintree), Trish Lynch (Canton), Alexis Poulos (South Boston), Colleen Robbie (Harwichport), Deb Rust (Abington), and Lisa Smith (Hingham).

Steve Crowe can be reached at crowe.steven@yahoo.com.