Carla Forbes(Newton North, MA) collected another national title after soaring to a US#1 and meet record of 42’5.25” in the triple jump. Forbes entered the meet tied with two others for the best mark in the nation at 40’10”, but the fierce competitor was not to be denied. She tacked-on almost four inches to her personal best in the first jump of the competition to secure her second consecutive indoor championship. In 2011 she won the event with a jump of 40’2”.
In the unseeded sections of the morning distance races, Kevin Thomas of Marshfield (MA) posted a NE#1 time of 9:12.66 in the 2 mile and Brian Poirier of Northwest Catholic (CT) posted a NE#4 1:55.35 in the 800m. In the afternoon seeded section of the 2 mile, Connor Rog (Fairfield Prep, CT) withstood the blistering pace of Edward Cheserek to finish 8th overall with a NE#1 time of 9:08.82. Thomas ended the day 12th overall after the sections were merged.
A pair of New England 4x200m teams collected All-American honors in the finals Sunday. The Hope High School (RI) girls finished 6th in 1:42.04, and theChelmsford boys finished 5th 1:30.24.
Bethanie Brown of Waterville (ME) showed tremendous range this weekend after finishing 3rd in the Emerging Elite 800m (2:15.44) on Friday, and then 4th in the Championship 2 Mile on Sunday (10:29.04). Julie McConville (Hingham, MA) was next across the line in the 2 Mile (10:36.36) and the duo will end the season with the top two times is New England.
Olisa Obiefuna of Saugus (MA) made a podium appearance with his 6th place finish in the triple jump. His mark of 47’9.25” is the top mark in New England by over two feet.
The championship sections of the boys’ mile were packed with New England’s best, as five of the thirteen competitors hailed from the region. Joel Hubbard (Marshfield, MA) was the top finisher from the group with a 4:13.67 that earned him 5th place. Mike Marsella (Chariho, RI) was not far behind in 7th (4:13.87).
Joe Velez(Classical, RI) and Reuben Horace (Warwick, RI) continued their rivalry in the weight throw with Velez bringing home second (75’6”) and Horace fourth (71’6”). Rhode Island dominated the event with Kevin Conway (Westerly), Mahlik Handley (South Kingstown), and Ndailor Sheriff (Classical), Charles Ionata (Barrington) all placing in the top ten.
The 800m races lived-up to the hype, as Sophomore Maddy Berkson (Classical, RI) employed her usual fearless running style; pushing the field to incredible times in the seeded section of the championship division. After leading a large portion of the race, Berkson eventually finished 4th with a US#4 time of 2:08.87. Sarah Gillespie of Northwest Catholic (CT) also posted an impressive time with her 7th place finish in 2:11.16. On the boys’ side, Jonathan Vinnenberg (Bow, NH), Henry Wynne (Staples, CT), and Bryce Kelley (Chariho, CT) finished 9th, 10th, and 11th, respectively. All had 1:53.x times.
Casey Teska (Nashoba Regional, MA), Alyssa McBride (Bryan, OH), and Sydney White (Kerne, NC) all finished the pole vault competition at 12’8.75". White would get the win based on misses and Teska would finish 3rd because of a single miss at a 3.78m.
Saturday Highlights
Chariho celebrates their national record in the 4 X Mile. (Photo by Geoff Decker)
The Chariho 4 X Mile team of Dan Kilcoyne, Bryce Kelley, Jake Kilcoyne, and Mike Marsella set a new national record of 17:20.20 to win the event by a narrow margin over Shaker of New York. Kelley took the lead mid-way in the second leg and ignited a battle with Shaker that would last until the finish line. The two distance powers traded positions as Jake Kilcoyne posted a 4:28 split in the third leg. Marsella took the lead with four laps to go on the anchor leg and split 4:12 to secure the win and the record. The previous record of 17:21.58 was set by West Windsor in 2009, and Chariho is the first team from Rhode Island to ever hold a national record. Full article.
The Hillhouse team of Alethia Moore, Jaliyah White, Kellie Davis, and Precious Holmes set a US#1 time of 4:00.57 to win the Girls 1600m Sprint Medley. Holmes received the baton in 5th during her 400m leg and proceeded to hunt the field one-by-one until she handed-off to Kellie Davis in the lead. Davis took the first lap of her 800m out hard, gapping the field with 400m to go, and eventually split 2:12.5 to collect the championship. Also from New England was La Salle Academy (RI) in 4th (4:03.24) and Wachusett in 7th (4:05.52). Post-race interview.
South Coast TC (New Bedford, MA) established a New England record of 33.79 while finishing 8th overall in the girls 4x55m Shuttle Hurdles. Waltham TC (Newton North) also surpassed the old record with their 10th place finish in 34.00.
The Staples Sprint Medley team of Zach Mitchell, Max Hoberman, Jon Heil, and Henry Wynne gained All-American status after finishing 6th in 3:29.03. The time shattered their school record by 9 seconds and Wynne proved his success this season was no fluke as he took on the best middle distance runners in the country during the 800m anchor leg.
Kris Horn of Pembroke (MA) collected his second All-American award of the weekend by finishing 5th in the Pentathlon. Horn had a very strong showing in the 60h (8.74) and the long jump (21’10.75’); resulting in 804 and 736 points in each event, respectively. On Friday evening, Horn ran the 400m leg of Pembroke’s DMR that also finished 5th.
Liz Holmes of Foxboro (MA) took the lead with 400m to go in the Freshman Girls Mile and then put the field away with a 73 second final 400m split. Her time of 5:02.49 was a bit off her national class leading 4:55.74 from the Massachusetts All-State Championships, but she was largely unchallenged in the final stretches of the race.
Newton North (MA) teammates Carla Forbes and Swardic Mayanja continued their impressive postseasons in the field events. Forbes finished 5th in the long jump at 19’7”, while Mayanja finished 4th in the shot put at 59’6.25’. Also cracking the top ten in the shot put were Colin Hoey of Lowell in 8th (57’3.5”) and Eric Beckwith of North Attleboro in 10th (56’1.75”).
The La Salle Academy girls led the New England contingent in the 4x800m with a mind numbing 9:02.84 clocking. The time earned them 2nd place behind Stotan Racing (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY) who won the event with the 4th fastest time ever in 8:58.18. Lincoln-Sudbury (MA) also had a very nice showing in 7th (9:17.47) and Hillhouse was 9th overall after finishing 2nd in the first section.
Friday Highlights
Kevin Thomas of Marshfield leads the pack in the DMR. (Photo by Don Rich)
James Randon (Middlesex TC, MA) won the Emerging Elite 2 mile with a MA#5 and NE#10 time of 9:23.68. Garrett O’Toole (Middlesex TC, MA) finished 9th overall (9:29.70) after making a strong push for the win in section #2.
The Westwood girls’ 4x800m team of Nora Smith, Andrea Simi, Samantha Kitchen, and Celia Condrick finished second in the Emerging Elite division behind perennial national power Long Beach Poly of California. Westwood’s time of 9:39.15 is currently ranked 10th in New England.
Rayanna Relerford of Bloomfield High School (CT) finished 4th in the Emerging Elite 400m with a NE#4 time of 57.37. The event is not run often in the region, but the names ahead of her grace the national rankings; validating the impressive performance. Relerford returned later in the day to help the Bloomfield 4x200m team to a second place finish in the Emerging Elite division with a NE#4 time of 1:44.51.
Bethanie Brown (Waterville, ME) made a valiant effort to win section #5 of the Emerging Elite 800m but came-up just a fraction short. Her 2:15.44 clocking did earn her third place overall when the times from all the sections were merged.
Andre Rolim (Sommerville, MA) moved up in distance to the 800m and cruised to a third place finish in 1:55.25. Rolim was one of four athletes to run under the 1:56.20 meet record set last year by Cory McCarty of Elmira, New York.
Newton Tiger TC (Newton North, MA) almost stole the show in the boys' 4x200m relay. They finished second overall with a NE#6 and MA#4 time of 1:31.36. Not far behind in the same section was Providence Central TC (Central High School, RI) who finished third overall with a NE#7 and RI#2 time of 1:31.99.
Maddy Berkson (Classical HS, RI) took the lead at the gun and never looked back in the Emerging Elite mile. She put a 25 meter gap on the field at 800m, and then powered through the second half to win the event in a new meet record time of 4:58.43. The pack started to close in the final 100m, but Berkson looked very relaxed as she held off the late charge for the win.
Amy Collins of Wachusett (MA) improved on her 5’7” second place performance from the New England Championships by adding on another .25” to win the event by over 2 inches. The fraction gives her sole possession of second place in the New England rankings.
Robert Massey of Chelmsford (MA) was one of four athletes who ran under the 4:20.41 meet record in the Emerging Elite Boys’ Mile. Massey finished 3rd overall (4:18.88) after weathering a blistering early pace in section #3. Louis Tobias of Cromwell (CT) finished 5th overall (4:20.62) after a very nice 2nd place finish in section #2.
New England had a massive impact on the girls' Emerging Elite 4x400m with teams from the region taking four of the top ten places. Greenwich (CT) led the group in 4th at 4:01.88; followed by New Milford (CT) in 6th (4:02.47), Norwich Free (CT) in 7th (4:03.73), and East Greenwich (RI) in 9th (4:03.91).
The Danbury (CT) 4x400m team of Shane Chiaravalle, Eli Ward, Patrick DeAngelo, and Austin Winter established a new meet record with their winning performance of 3:23.71 in the Emerging Elite division. Their time currently has them ranked 2nd in New England.
It was a valiant effort for the Marshfield (MA) Distance Medley team of Kevin Thomas, Ryan Talanian, Brendan Doherty, and Joel Hubbard who led for the majority of the race; until Edward Cheserek St. Benedict’s (NJ) received the baton and went out in 25.0 for the first 200m and 55.6 for 400m. Despite the blistering pace, anchor leg Joel Hubbard (4:13 split) fought his way back to 3rd in the final 200m and helped the Rams to a US#4 time of 10:12.12. The Titans of Pembroke (MA) finished 5th (10:12.43) behind the 4:10 miles split of Wes Gallagher, and Fairfield Prep (CT) was 9th (10:17.95). Marshfield's time is also 3rd all-time in Massachusetts. Race Video.
Dakota Dailey-Harris (La Salle Academy, RI) and Madeline Morrow (Canton, OH) would both end the day at 5’9.25” in the championship high jump, but Daily-Harris would get third because of one miss at the previous height. Kendell Williams (Kell HS, GA) won the competition at 5’11.25”.
The 5,000m resulted in a pair of impressive performances. David Taranto of Burlington (MA) finished 12th in a very swift 15:08.66 and barely edged William Rooney of Greens Farms (CT) in the process by just .02.
