Boston College's Samuels Elite of the Elite

 

 

The prestigious Coaches Elite Meet, which is widely regarded as the best competition of the indoor season along with the all-state meet, was once again loaded with strong performances and several records fell along the way.

BC High's Jordan Samuels used the Coaches Elite Invitational as a launching pad for the second half of the indoor season and all that was left were vapor trails by the time he was done at the Reggie Lewis Center.

The talented Samuels, was fast out of the blocks in the 55 hurdles and ran away with the event in a personal best of 7.50 that equaled the meet record. Just fifteen minutes later Samuel did his best long jumping of the season and owned the runway with a 22-0 effort.

 

"I haven't been long jumping my best, but I felt awesome on the runway today," said the personable Samuels. "Pulling that (double) off today gives me confidence heading towards divisionals.

"I wanted to work on coming out fast and running hard between the hurdles. Things are really starting to come together. I'd like to get Corey Thomas' school record. The start felt good. I really had the drive over the first hurdle." 

 

The 1000 was one of the deepest races of the day and there was a familiar face out front. Dracut's Karina Shepard tore through the opening 800 in 2:15.8 and shook Cambridge's Maya Halprin-Adams to win in a meet record of 2:51.27. Halprin-Adams held on for second in 2;54.40 as the top six all broke 3 minutes. Shepard then put up a 2:11.5 anchor leg in the 4x800 to lead Dracut to the win.

Shepard's 1000 bettered the 2:53.26 run by Framingham's Jen Perry back in 2002. 

 

 

Shepard continues to close in on the 2:50 barrier and is confident she'll get there. "I went out too fast the first 200," said Shepard. "A personal best is always good. I was hoping to run under 2:50, but I'm happy. The season's going good. I hope when I peak I run even faster. I feel like I'm right on schedule. I have some big goals."

Hopkinton's Jessica Scott was unstoppable on the infield, grabbing the 55 in 7.12 to edge out Barnstable's Amanda Henson (7.28) and then took the long jump with a stellar 18-1 effort.

 

 

Scott was looking for a strong start in the 55, particularly with the speedy Henson in the field. "I was trying to stay calm," she said. "My start was better than its been. It felt more explosive."

Michaela Smith admittedley wasn't her best in the shot put, but that didn't stop her from dominating her specialty yet again this season. The Newton North talent was an easy winner with a heave of 40-6, well ahead of second place Gaelin Farrell of Narraganett's 36-11.

 

"I was a little tired," said Smith. "It seemed like everyone was tired. My approach was good today. I was struggling getting into position though."

 

Lauren Hazzard of Hopkinton shattered her personal best in winning the mile. Hazzard bolted to the front and held off Janaya Randall of Marblehead and Coralea Geroniotis of Nauset for the 5:06.77 win. She entered the meet with a previous best of 5:13.

 

 

 

"I was going for time so I hung with the pack in the beginning," said Hazzard. "I was looking for a personal best, but didn't expect to run that fast."

Hingham's Andrew Bolze continued his phenomenal season, destroying the meet record in the 300 with a scalding 34.19, which was also the all-time state best. Ursuline's Amy Piccolo continued to dominate the 600, racing to a solo win in 1:33.86 after waiting until 200 left to take the lead.

 

 

"I felt really good," said Piccolo, who was just a second from her personal best. "I was trying to get a 1:33 so it worked out really well. I was trying to run my own race. I really gave it my all on the last lap. I'm happy I'm doing it this early."

 

Domonique Hall of Shrewsbury was her tough self in the 300 ripping a 40.31 that included a ferocious kick down the final straightaway for the win. Bishop Feehan's Abbie McNulty shook Olivia Lantz of Manchester Essex just past the mile on the way to quick 10:38.38 victory. Everest Crawford of Gloucester captured the 1000 out of the unseeded heat with a quick 2:29.57 and Ryan Kim of Newton South got off a great heave of 57-10-3/4 to take the shot put.

 

Burlington's Paul Hogan broke away from the pack with 800 left and destroyed his personal best in the 2 mile by 26 seconds with a sterling 9:11.77. Gabe Montague, who won the mile earlier in the meet in 4:18.60, pushed for a second place finish in 9:17.38. Matt Mahoney of Swampscott was third in 9:19.03.

 

 

 

Hogan felt strong from the start and knew he'd be tough to beat. "I feel like I had a real breakthrough," he said. "I didn't expect to go that fast."

Joe Luongo used his finishing speed to outlast the 600 field for the win. The St. John's Prep junior clocked a 1:21.50 to defeat Allen Vance of Amherst-Pelham who checked in with a 1:22.38. "I've been running 300s up until now and I'm getting back into the 600s," he said. "It tied my personal best and that's really good at this point in the season."