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Boys’ Invitational notes
Posted on May 11, 2008 by ariglian
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Stoughton’s Sean Byron dominated the javelin on his biggest stage yet, winning the event with a throw of 186 feet, two inches at the MSTCA Boys State Coaches Invitational in Durfee on Saturday.
Byron’s throw was the furthest this season. Not bad for someone who took up the sport last season. His arm strength comes from his experience as a quarterback for the Black Knights, but his javelin form is all hard work.
He was not the only local athlete that performed well in the javelin. Hingham’s Ben Lincoln finished second with a 180-1, easily the best in Division 3. Hanover’s Mike Peredna came in third with a 166-2 and Carver’s Scott Gilmore took fourth with a 162-4.
Milton’s Craig Bennett, the only athlete in the race to break the 50-second barrier in the quarter this season, won the event in 50.68 seconds.
Hanover’s Mike Wheeler continued to burn up the sprints, finishing sixth in the 200-meter in 23.28 seconds. Not far off were Milton’s Paul Connor and Silver Lake’s Darius Smith, who finished 11th and 12th respectively with times of 23.54.
Weymouth’s Malcolm Gurney emerged onto the scene with a fifth place finish in the 300 intermediate hurdles (41.82).
The Atlantic Coast League was well-represented in the 800, with Plymouth North’s Justin Bowman taking fifth (2:01.38) and Marshfield’s Peter Jusseaume finishing seventh (2:01.58).
Absent from the meet were perennial ACL top-dog Whitman-Hanson, again choosing the Andover Invitational, which features elite competition from Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The Panthers took fourth in the event and outscored cross-country rival Brookline in distance events.
Pat Taft and Kevin Gilmore finished one-two in the mile (4:29.91; 4:32.09) and Peter Gilmore set a school record of 9:31.97 in the two-mile, finishing third.
Panther’s wide out Noel James may need to switch to track full-time. The burgeoning star won the high jump at the event with a height of 6-4.
All-States worth the wait
Posted on February 25, 2008 by ariglian
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That extra three-day wait may have cost this blogger the opportunity to attend All-States (a few news stories kept me away from the Reggie unfortunately, but it certainly did not hurt performances.
The projections I made in my last post did not quite hold up, but at least I was close. BC High’s Corey Thomas did take home the 55-meter hurdles title by five one-thousandths of a second. Fellow Eagle Mike Murphy joined the 50-plus club with a throw of 51-2.5, good for a fifth place finish.
Whitman-Hanson’s Peter Gilmore did not jump ahead of Brookline as I projected in the two-mile, but he ran one heck of a race, picking up third place in 9:36.37. Fellow Panther Pat Taft took fifth in the mile in 4:25.47, dropping a couple of seconds off his Div. 2 time.
Hanover’s Mike Wheeler took third in the dash in 6.57 seconds, but he’ll get another chance to show his speed at New England’s, as will Plymouth North’s Justin Bowman who came in fifth in the 600 with a time of 1:23.88.
Speaking of New England’s, Quincy/North Quincy’s Alyssa Mullen became the first girl from the coop squad to make it to the regional meet since Suzanne Lewis in 1993. Mullen took seventh in 11:28.41, but qualified for New England’s after another runner deferred.
“(She’ll) go to New England’s, take it all in, give it her best and we’ll see what happens,” said Quincy/North Quincy coach Geoff Hennessy.
The mile featured a fantastic final indoor performance from Canton’s Alyse Rocco, finishing second in 5:06.33 to close her senior season. Whitman-Hanson’s Jill Alves just missed scoring by fractions of a second, finishing ninth in 5:16.57.
In relays, the Milton 4×200 finished fourth in 1:33.52, incredible when you realize that two members of last year’s squad have graduated, including former state champ Eric Wornum.
BC High’s 4×400 finished third in 3:28.32 behind Belmont and Woburn who both broke the meet record set by Lexington last season.
Three squads were separated by .22 seconds in the girl’s 4×200. The Hingham 4×2 finished third in 1:45.89, led team anchor Molly O’Dea who finished eighth in the dash earlier in the meet.
That wasn’t the only success Hingham had in the relays. The school’s 4×800 squad finished fifth in 9:37.87, led by Shauna McNiff who had already run the 1000 earlier in the meet, finishing sixth in 3:00.8, trailed closely by Notre Dame’s Ellen Callahan in eighth (3:01.38).
The Hingham girls were bested by the Weymouth 4×800 squad comprised of Carolyn Connolly, Jill Corcoran, Melissa Kimball and Sam Bennett. The team, who unselfishly focused on the relay instead of individual competition, took third in 9:30.84.
All-States by the numbers
Posted on February 21, 2008 by ariglian
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State performance lists have been available at the MIAA website for a few days now and after a brief perusal your favorite (and only) track blogger has taken it upon himself to put on his Chris Berman “Swami” hat and try to predict the state championship meet, even though we are all still bemoaning the postponement.
After a quick realization that I do not have the statewide knowledge or the psychic abilities to do this, I decided to do the next best thing. Theoretically score the meet based on performance lists.
Having not done any math since my freshman year of journalism school, this was a bit daunting at first, but after a little time and a lot of Excel, I managed to format a nice clean sheet that is just begging to be torn apart by those that realize the performance lists are not necessarily indicative of how people will perform. But hey, I tried.
These numbers do not reflect how the coaches will enter runners in the meet nor do they reflect injuries, they’re just numbers. I offered ties and shared points only when jumpers/throwers were within two-inches, distance runners within .5 seconds and sprinters within .1 seconds. Check it out for yourselves here.
Surprised?
Now while the average fan says “OK, Adam, sounds good to me,” the hardcore enthusiast that strolls down Columbus Ave. to the Reggie for every big meet is probably wondering how Brookline went from scoring 57 points in the Division 1 meet and a victory over St. John’s to 24.5-point performance and a third-place state finish.
The answer: the two-mile. Gone is the free 18 points the Warriors picked up at Div. 1’s in the event. Whitman-Hanson’s Peter Gilmore and Travis Wright jump ahead of the C-train crowd, as does North Middlesex’s David Hausherr and Nashoba Regional’s Anthony Raduazo.
St. John’s did not pick up that kind of competition in any of their key events, but that does not mean they are a lock to win. Their roles could be reversed if Brookline manages a big performance in the two-mile or if St. John’s gaffes in any event.
BC High’s Corey Thomas still has a chance to win two individual state titles despite leaving the Div. 1 meet empty-handed. The Dorchester-native lost a close jump-off to St. John’s Andrew Powell and is seeded fourth in the 55 hurdles; both are within his reach if he has his best day.
Hanover’s James Wheeler may have ruled Div. 4’s in outdoor last season, but Mike has a chance to win it all. The Indians’ senior is seeded second in the dash, but will really need to burn if he’s to pass Andover sophomore Chris McConnell.
In the theoretical scoring, Whitman-Hanson junior Pat Taft was left off the board, but he is right in the mix with the rest of the mile pack. The junior ran a 4:27.6 at Div. 2’s, right on the trail of the rest with the exception of Charlestown’s Omar Aden and Chelmsford’s Chris Brown, who will probably duel alone.
Brockton senior Gregory Dean edged out Boston English’s Enoch Mills by less than an inch in the long jump at Div. 1’s, but will need a little more lift to get past Westford Academy’s Max Enos. All three jumpers are within range of the 22-10.5 meet record set by Courtney Evans of Milton in 2005.
One on One
The girl’s meet looks to be pretty straightforward, just a battle between Lincoln-Sudbury and Andover. Newton South may have taken second in the Div. 1 meet, but it is doubtful they will score any points in the shot put, losing out on the 14 they scored in the divisional.
Andover’s big points come in the relays, so it will be interesting to see if any other squads pull their individual runners to rest up for their own relay squads.
Hingham sprinters Molly O’Dea and Stephanie Boss have chances to score in the dash and the 4×200 if they improve on their Div. 3 times, which can be expected as Hingham has responded well in big meets. Notre Dame senior Joanna Timmons also has a chance to work her way up in the dash.
Predicting the two-mile is never easy, but as coach Geoff Hennessy said, don’t overlook Quincy/North Quincy’s Alyssa Mullen, who has made a tremendous surge in the event at exactly the right time.
Canton senior Alyse Rocco seems like a sure thing to get at least six points in the mile, while Weymouth freshman Jill Corcoran has a chance to solidify a fantastic rookie season if she can keep running 5:10’s against the states best.
Wildcats’ juniors Carolyn Connolly and Sam Bennett continue to impress in the 1000 and 600 respectively. Notre Dame’s Ellen Callahan and Hingham’s Shauna McNiff will give Connolly a run in the 1000, but all three might be chasing the incredible Emily Mepham.
They are the champions, again
Posted on February 19, 2008 by ariglian
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Congratulations are overdue to head coach Steve Schlicting and the Hingham girls track team for winning their second consecutive Division 3 title (’07 outdoor, ‘08 indoor).
No squad seriously threatened a very strong Hingham team for the title, who received 26 of its 53 points from relay teams, once again showing off the depth of talent that has been a staple of the program in recent years.
Sophomore Molly O’Dea was edged out by a one-thousandth of a second in the 55-dash, but had the last laugh in the 4×200 along with teammates Stephanie Boss, Julia Mirochnick and Julie Nielsen.
Shauna McNiff took home the 1000-meter crown with a time of 3:03.24, but had enough left over to lead a 4×800 team, also featuring MacKenzie Lussier, Maggie O’Connell and Caryn Miller, to victory.
“A great win for a deserving, poised team that exceeded expectations and stood up to the pressure of competition,” Schlicting said. ”I’ll never forget this team.”
Division 2 State preview
Posted on February 11, 2008 by ariglian
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The meets that matter are finally here, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The best high school runners in the state will bus down Columbus Ave. in Boston and stop off at the Reggie to find out who can run fastest and jump farthest. This season, Division 2 will start us off.
Boys
One downside of this year’s meet is that Brookline and Whitman-Hanson will not get to battle on the track after the pair dueled during cross country season, as the Warriors are Div. 1 during indoor.
The Panthers might not have the firepower all-around to compete with favorites Charlestown and Woburn, but they are certainly alive for a top 3 finish along with Mansfield, Gloucester, Reading and Central Catholic.
Races of the day
Mile or two-mile: At this point it really depends on which race coaches decide to enter their top distance runners. Whitman-Hanson’s Peter Gilmore is seeded third in the mile and a razor-close second in the two-mile. If Panthers’ runners are not doubling, Gilmore will most likely appear in the two-mile as teammate Pat Taft is closer to the pack in the mile than the two.
4×200: No locals involved, but it could very well decide the meet. Charlestown and Woburn are both seeded at 1:31.53, though Charlestown was a hair faster at the MSTCA Elite Relays.
Girls
Notre Dame Academy is in line for about 33 points if all runners perform up to their list times, adding two points apiece if Joanna Timmons or Ellen Callahan can upset the top seed in the dash and 1000 respectively.
If they break the 30-point barrier it will almost certainly put them in top 3, but squads like Franklin, Tewksbury and Mansfield all have the same capabilities. Meghan Ferreira alone could score 20 to 24 points for Mansfield.
Races of the day
55 dash: Duel between Timmons and Tewksbury’s Ashley Smith. Don’t blink.
300: Smith, Notre Dame’s Elizabeth McManus, and Westford Academy’s Karen Nallen are bunched together by less than half of a second. The one who keeps their knees up in the stretch wins.
Highlights from McIntyre’s
Posted on January 27, 2008 by ariglian
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4×800
The Hingham girls took second in the event with a time of 9:33.66, easily besting the nearest Div. 3 competitor and setting a new school record. The new time is nearly 14 seconds faster than the old mark set earlier this season.
Maggie O’Connell, Caryn Miller, MacKenzie Lussier and Shauna McNiff comprise the squad, which is ranked 25th nationally.
The Notre Dame Academy squad of Sophia Wojtasinski, Ellen Callahan, Elizabeth Arens and Deirdre Grzyninski finished eighth and knocked five seconds off the school record with a time of 9:48.55.
1600-meter Sprint Medley
Two local girls teams placed in this event, led by Weymouth in third in 4:16.57.
Scituate scored points with a sixth place finish and was followed by Marshfield (7th) and Canton (8th).
BC High
The Eagles placed third and fourth respectively in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays, continuing to show their strength in the two most important relay events.
Old score settled
Whitman-Hanson finished second to Brookline at the Cross Country All-State meet, but exacted some amount of revenge by defeating its endurance rival in the distance-medley, taking the event in 10:34.47, a comfortable three second margin.
Too short to tell
The 4×50 shuttle relay is a headache according to most coaches, but if it’s any indicator on the outdoor seasons 4×100 then Hingham should have no problem repeating last year’s success.
Coach Schlicting’s squad won the event, beating out big-time sprinters from J.D. O’Bryant and Div. 1 giant Lincoln-Sudbury.
The girls from Randolph picked up fourth in the event, a great sign for a program that has had plenty of struggles in the past.
Matchups to Watch
Posted on January 23, 2008 by ariglian
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League meet season is just a few weeks away; here is a list of individual matchups to watch for at the championships before the championships.
Boys
Atlantic Coast League
Marshfield’s Sam Nota and Falmouth’s Brendan Wilson are separated by just .02 seconds in the 55-meter dash, so don’t blink.
Fellow Ram Peter Jusseaume will have his work cut out for him against Plymouth North’s Justin Bowman in the 600. Both have run well below qualifying time this season and should have a chance to score at statewide competitions, but only one will end up league champion.
Bay State Conference
Milton’s Craig Bennett, Brookline’s Michael Bennett, and Natick’s Mike Searcy have all run sub-6.9 55’s. Whoever gets the best start out of the blocks will probably win that race.
The most intriguing event in this meet is one that could end up deciding it, the 4×400 relay. Milton, Dedham, Newton North, Newton South and Brookline are all separated by just .08 seconds.
Tri-County League
BC High’s Corey Thomas should have no troubles taking the 55 hurdles, but the lone man standing between him and a league (and state) title is St. John’s Andrew Powell, who has hit a state-high six feet, nine inches this season.
St. John’s has been pesky for the Eagles in other events, including the 4×200. The boys from Shrewsbury knocked off BC High in the Class A relays and have a shot at doing it again.
Patriot League
Another 55-meter dash that is shaping up to be a tight finish is the matchup between Hanover’s Mike Wheeler and Duxbury’s Nick Beattie. Wheeler won in their first meeting, but the times were close.
Duxbury’s Tom First (really trying to restrain a pun here) took out Hingham’s Charlie Wasson by .02 seconds in their Dec. 20 55 hurdles meeting. Another one that should be too close to call.
Girls
Atlantic Coast League
Marshfield’s Molly Shanley has had plenty of success in the past but she will get a new test this year in the mile. Past rival Jill Alves of Whitman-Hanson appears to be more geared toward the 1000 and Quincy/North Quincy’s Alyssa Mullen has filled her void, running a 5:29 at an ACL meet on Jan. 16.
Bay State Conference
Braintree All-Scholastic Jacky Hull has a good shot at the 55 dash if she can get past Newton South’s Ezra Banks.
Weymouth’s Carolyn Connolly has run strong 600 times all year, but will have to turn out a strong performance to get past the Newton South 600-trust of Rachel Utstein, Bridget Dahlberg, and Diana Braver.
Dual County League
Notre Dame’s Ellen Callahan is near the top in both the 1000 and the mile, the problem is she is behind a wall of Lincoln-Sudbury runners. She will need a big performance to get past L-S in either event.
Patriot League
Hingham’s McKenzie Lussier and Karyn Miller will battle each other for the 600-meter title, with Pembroke’s Kathryn Nathan waiting in the wings.
Hingham should also sweep all three relays based on previous times.
MSTCA Top 50
Posted on January 22, 2008 by ariglian
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The Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association has graciously compiled the top 50 athletes in each event, the full list can be found here.
Some highlights from the list:
BC High’s Tim Murray is tied for seventh in the state in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.78 seconds.
Whitman-Hanson’s Peter Gilmore, a star in the Panthers’ Div. 2 title run in cross country, is second in the state in the two-mile at 9:32.6, four seconds off Brookline’s Robert Gibson. Gilmore is also second in the miles with a 4:21.3.
The Panthers’ 4×800 squad, which features some other runners from that cross country team, is currently ranked third (8:16.3).
BC High’s Corey Thomas and Quincy/North Quincy’s Jeff Pereira are ranked second and sixth respectively in the 55 hurdles. Thomas is also second in the high jump, hitting 6-8 at the Dartmouth Relays.
Hingham is in position for another Div. 3 title run and has plenty of runners on the board already this season.
Sophomore Molly O’Dea is currently tied for second in the 55 dash with a 7.48, .02 off the leader from Haverhill. The 4×800 squad, which has already set a school record this season, is ranked fourth. Shauna McNiff is ranked sixth in the two-mile as well.
Elsewhere in Hingham, Notre Dame’s Elizabeth McManus is tied for seventh in the 300 with a 42.6. McManus ran a monster 400-meter time earlier in the season as well. Cougars’ 1000-meter runner Ellen Callahan sits in fourth with a 3:04.1.
Confirmed: Nationals to Boston in ‘09
Posted on January 15, 2008 by ariglian
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I have received confirmation from A.J. Holzherr of the National Scholastic Sports Foundation that the Nike Indoor National’s will be moving from Landover, Md. to the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
“A big factor was the banked track,” Holzherr said. “There is a big difference between running on a flat surface and running on a banked track.”
Having the national meet in Boston brings back memories of the old National Scholastic Indoor Championships held at the Reggie in the 90’s. That meet is now held at the Armory in New York City.
Holzherr stated that the move has nothing to do with the people at Landover, Md., who he says have been exemplary in helping the foundation in building the meet.
Bottom line: the best athletes in the country will now be in Boston next winter, between the Boston Indoor Games and this new addition, track fans should have plenty to watch.
Records set at Dartmouth Relays
Posted on January 13, 2008 by ariglian
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Two Notre Dame Academy indoor school records fell at the Dartmouth Relays at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. over the weekend.
Lauren Muise set the triple jump record with a distance of 34 feet, five inches, finishing eighth in the event, and All-Scholastic Elizabeth McManus took second in the 400 meter in 59.94 seconds. McManus’ record is likely to stand for a long time, as the 400 is not an MIAA event for league and state meets.
Notre Dame finished in a tie for 26th place overall at the elite regional meet.
A sidenote for Notre Dame, coach Rick Kates is a MSTCA 2008 Hall of Fame nominee. Kates has worked as an official, meet timer and coach in the area for many years and contributes the Ledgerland MSTCA cross country and track polls to the paper.
Elsewhere on the track:
BC High’s Corey Thomas continues to dominate in his two big events, the 55-meter hurdles and the high jump. The spring 2007 All-Scholastic choice won both events in impressive fashion, taking the hurdles in 7.60 seconds and hitting 6-8 in the high jump.
His performance gave the Eagles 16 of their 28 points en route to a sixth place finish.
Quincy/North Quincy’s Jeff Pereira was a few strides back from Thomas in the hurdles, finishing seventh in 7.97 seconds. In field events, Pereira again scored points for the Quincy coop, finishing seventh in the long jump with a distance of 20-4, picking up where he left off from last season.
Weymouth had a good all-around effort on the girls side, led by cross country All-Scholastic Carolyn Connolly and Sam Bennett.
Connolly finished seventh in the 800 meter in 2:21.84 in a tight field separated by just .6 seconds from fourth place to seventh place. Bennett finished ninth in the 400 in 1:01.52, and competed on the 4×400 relay team that came in eighth.
The Wildcats also displayed some of their younger talent at the meet. Freshman Jillian Corcoran won the morning mile with a time of 5:24.9, a time that would have placed her 15th in the championship mile race.
For more on the MSTCA relays check out the Jan. 14 edition of the Patriot Ledger.
Anyone with tips, information, questions or concerns please feel free to email me at ariglian@ledger.com.
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