Hingham’s Julie McConville needed a whole five minutes to catch her breath after destroying both the record and field in the 2 mile at yesterday’s Div. 3 Eastern Mass Track & Field Championships. Less than an hour later, the tiny, Dartmouth College-bound distance starlet ran an impressive mile field into the ground at breezy Pembroke High.
The challenging double win opened plenty of eyes around the Titans’ track. McConville shook Bishop Feehan’s Abby McNulty 800 meters into the 2 mile and bucked the wind solo for a swift 10-minute, 33.32-second victory, slicing 13 seconds off the meet record. McConville came right back in the same hour and led wire-to-wire again, holding off Bishop Feehan’s Brynna Harum to capture gold in the mile in 5:11.86.
What made McConville’s all the more ferocious? To her, it was loads of fun. “It’s definitely fun going for two wins,” she said with a shrug, after her win in track’s glamour event. “I treated it as kind of a fun thing. I was already warmed up after the 2 mile and the nerves were definitely gone. I knew there was going to be a lot of competition in both races.”
The wind was just a nuisance she had to push through. “It wasn’t too bad,” McConville said. “I was expecting it. I treated them as races instead of going for time. I knew there would be great competition so I kind of went out to see how I felt. We’re treating today as a team day and hopefully we can go to the all states as a team. If the whole team went, that would be awesome.”
Dave Jewett’s crew stamped its ticket for Saturday’s All-State meet at Westfield State University after putting up a sterling 96 points to easily outdistance Hopkinton (74 points) and Bishop Feehan (65 points). Sierra Irvin blitzed the 400 field in 57.59, Kate Freda sprinted to victory in the 400 hurdles in 66.74 and the 4x400 team beat Pembroke (4:06.99) in 4:04.16 with Irvin clocking a 58.4 anchor leg.
Pembroke’s boys’ team captured the 4x800 in 8:10.61 to edge out Hingham, 82-80.5 on the Titans’ home track.
Jewett had every reason to believe Hingham would be in the hunt for the team title.
“We knew we were going to be in really good shape, a top-three team with Bishop Feehan and we knew Melrose had a lot of talent,” said Jewett. “Julie McConville was amazing running the one mile, 2 mile double today. There was a really short time table to win both those races. She was so tough in that mile. She wouldn’t let Harum get that break on her. It’s been a phenomenal year and I’m really happy for the kids.”
Jewett is toying with the idea of doubling McConville at the state meet, but the 2 mile is a definite. That scenario sets up a possible showdown against two-time Div. 1 state cross country champion Catarina Rocha of Peabody. The two have never gone head to head and the prospect has had high school track junkies whispering all season.
Jewett, though, is more concerned with McConville’s preparation for the 5,0000-meter run at nationals. “Everyone keeps talking about (a McConville/Rocha matchup),” said Jewett. “That never has been one thing we’ve talked about this entire season, not once. People keep bringing it up to me, ‘What’s going to happen with Rocha, what’s going to happen with Rocha.’ We’ve never talked about it. It’s totally different training than 2 mile training.”
McNulty said the hard, early pace caught up with her in the later laps. “I was trying to stay with Julie and I went out way too fast,” she said. “The first mile was quick. I wanted to run negative splits. It wasn’t really a smart race, but it was fine. Hopefully next week’s my peak for the season.”
The wind was blowing all day, but didn’t greatly faze the athletes. “The wind was really tough, but you just have to take it as it is,” said Freda. “I did winter track this year so I’ve been training since November and it has really paid off. I’ve been going out really fast. I went out a little slower today. I really have issues with my form, but it’s tough down the last stretch. It’s pretty much a general statement for all hurdlers. I’m just going to keep training like I am.”
O’Bryant freshman Juleen Lewis celebrated her 16th birthday with a 17-10 win in the long jump. “It (the wind) was pretty fair today,” she said. “When I was jumping I didn’t feel it.”
Andrew Bolze rebounded from a false start DQ in the 200 final to win both the long jump, in a season best of 23-4-1/2, and triple jump at 44-9. Randolph’s Evandro DaCosta was a solid third in the triple at 44-3.
Bolze believed he had to attack the jumps after coming up short in the 200. “It’s been a crazy day,” he said. “I was definitely nervous for all the events. I felt great (in the 200), got in the blocks and was ready for the win and then I DQed. That was heartbreaking. I was in tears, but I pulled myself together and got the win in the triple jump. I got the DQ for a reason so I attacked the long jump. I was attacking the last three jumps. I sealed the win so I was going for the big mark. I’m really excited about going to all states. Next week is going to be crazy. I’ve never been so ready for a meet.”
Duncan Burleigh let Pembroke’s Billy Stafford set the pace in the 800 before moving hard just after 600 meters. The Harbormen talent didn’t give up an inch on the final straightaway and came away with a 1:56.28 win. Stafford dropped to third, still with a swift 1:57.50.
Burleigh was confident the pace would be hard from the gun. “We all had the same times coming in,” he said. “It was anyone’s race to win. We had to get out hard. That’s what an 800 is. I was confident the last 200 I could kick it in. It just worked out.”
Medfield’s Taylor Worthy knew as well as any competitor just what sort of effort she’d need to put forth to defend her title in the 800 meters. The sinewy senior was out quick at the gun and extended her lead over the final 200 meters. Worthy captured her second consecutive Div. 3 crown with the aggressive race strategy in 2:20.06.
She was all smiles in the infield after finishing just over a second in front of runner-up Julia Noble of Hingham (2:21.73). “My first lap was pretty much where I wanted to be,” said Worthy. “I definitely felt the wind, but I was happy with the win. I felt them (the pack) the first lap and a half. I knew coming in I was the number one seed and I wanted to take the lead.
The team victory was the Titans’ first since tying Hamilton-Wenham in 2009.
“We knew it was going to be a really big battle between us and Hingham,” said Pembroke coach Greg Zopatti. “We were giving points back to each other through the whole meet. They had a tough time in a couple of events and so did we. If there was a third team involved they could have snuck in.”
Burlington’s Taylor Smith won both the shot put (39-5-1/2) and discus (131-1), while Hopkinton’s Jessica Scott was also a double winner, defending her title in the 100 (12.52) and taking the 200 with a 25.82. Toned and very fit, Scott is looking forward to racing in the expected hot weather in Westfield. “My starts were a little shaky because of the wind,” she said. “It’s not a good day for the sprints. If the weather was better, I would have gotten better times. I’m very excited for the state meet.”
Adam Bonfilio of Burlington was unstoppable in the hurdles taking the 110s in 15.23 and the 400 (55.72), a new personal best. “I was more concerned about running my own race,” said Bonfilio after taking the 400 hurdles. “I wanted to get out there and get my best time. I was a little concerned about the wind. During my warm-up I started from random places on the track and tried to adjust my steps. It ended up working out. I hit most of them in stride.”
Swampscott’s Peter Hale, fresh off a personal best at the Weston Twilight Invitational, took the lead from Pembroke’s John Valeri with 800 left and pulled away down the final backstretch for the controlled 9:26.34 win. Valeri clinched second at 9:29.26.
Hale is expecting a must faster race at the state meet and believes defending champion Colin Bennie of Wachusett has the potential of breaking the 9-minute barrier. “I feel strong,” said the Swampscott senior. “I know there’s going to be good competition. I guarantee Colin Bennie is going to go sub-nine. Having competition like that is definitely a plus. I don’t know if I can stay with him, but I’ll try.”
