Let’s make it easy. If you’ve ever been to a cross country meet in which Marblehead High was competing, there’s a good chance Marrietta O’Connell crossed the finish line first.
In her three years sporting the red and black, the junior has consistently been one of the fastest runners in the Northeastern Conference.
Scratch that – the state.
“Freshman year, I had to decide between soccer and cross country,” O’Connell said. “I had been playing soccer for a long time, but I wasn’t exactly good at it. My mom and dad were always good runners, so I thought I would try cross country. I did spring track in 8th grade, but didn’t take it too seriously.”
O’Connell said she had run the mile on a track, but the thought of having to run a 5K in cross country was originally daunting.
“I was really nervous because a 5K seemed really long,” said O’Connell, whose favorite song is “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers. “Everyone else on the team had been doing it for a while, so it was scary because, to me, it was a new sport.”
What helped was the camaraderie of teammates, which is what made her fall in love with running.
“At first, I didn’t like running, but the team environment was really welcoming and great. After the season, I realized running was pretty fun and I was enjoying it and wanted to run more,” O’Connell said. “I liked the fact that it was basically: You’re racing yourself and you’re trying to improve your time each race. I was looking forward to seeing what I could do with running and how much I could improve throughout my high school career.”
Improve, she did. Ahead of competition, however, even a runner like O’Connell admits to having race-day jitters.
“Every time I wake up the day of a race, I say, ‘Today is going to be a great day,’ because the boys’ coach (Brian) Heehan once said to the boys when they wake up that they need to decide if it’s going to be a good day or a great day – and that really stuck with me,” she said. “Then, it’s all just nerves and anticipation for the race. But to help with the nerves, I just keep saying to myself that I’m excited. With all the stress and anticipation, I normally can only eat a banana before the race. On the starting line, my coach and I came up with this mantra where I say, ‘I’m excited, I’m ready, and I can do this.’ My heart is going crazy waiting for the gun to go off. Once it goes off, I’m in my own world and all the nerves go away.”
Now, a more-than-accomplished O’Connell can call herself a back-to-back Northeastern Conference Individual Champion.
After placing second her freshman year, she has been crowned conference champion two years in a row. Not only did she retain her championship honors this fall, but beat last year’s time by 20 seconds with a time of 18:05 in the 5K race.
O’Connell, in rather humble fashion, credited a Swampscott runner for pushing her until the very end.
“This year, the new freshman runner over at Swampscott, Annabelle (Averett), was with me for the majority of the race and I think she really pushed me to cut off those 20 seconds from last year’s time,” O’Connell said. “I also believe I was in better fitness shape, so her being there and pushing me really helped me improve my time.”
O’Connell praised her coach, Will Herlihy, as well as teammates for turning her into the athlete she is today.
“He really helped me get to the place where I am now. [It was] through his hard workouts and how he helped me see the big picture,” she said. “My teammates helped encourage me, both on the boys’ and girls’ side. Having amazing athletes like Nate Assa, Issac Gross, and Will Cerrutti helped me become a better runner.”
Herlihy returned the favor to his top runner.
“There’s no question that Marri is an outstanding talent, but what people don’t see is her amazing leadership. The way she approaches her training with intent and dedication sets a tone for others to follow, but she’s also incredibly vocal and supportive of all her teammates,” he said. “Whether it’s finishing a race and then going back to the course to support her teammates still running, shouting words of encouragement during hard workouts, or running and engaging with all of her teammates on easy training days, Marri does everything she can to make every athlete on the team feel welcome.”
— Marrietta O’Connell
Last year, I was also a captain, but played more of a backseat role . . . Being a captain really helped me grow as a person.”
Captain for a second consecutive season, O’Connell has embraced her leadership role in more ways than one.
“Being a captain this year was a good experience because of my fellow captains, Maren Potter and Abbie Goodwin. Because they’re one year older, they helped me with the captainship. Last year, I was also a captain, but played more of a backseat role and this year, I fully embraced being a captain,” O’Connell said. “Being a captain really helped me grow as a person.”
Despite being the fastest runner in the conference, O’Connell still has goals ahead of her 2026 graduation.
“In cross country, I hope that I can get a personal best of 17:30. Last year, I got second in states, but I hope to get first or win at all-states and compete in nationals,” she said. “My current personal best is a 17:48 at Twilight (Bob Glennon Twilight Invitational).”
