New England Championship Highlights
Massachusetts athletes have a tough road to the New England Championships, and an even tougher road to the New Balance National Championships. The end result can be 5 weeks of all-out racing; starting with the league championships and ending in New York next weekend. Many of the athletes from other New England states are not in the same predicament, and most enjoy the luxury of a week off between their state championships and the New England Championships. Battle tested and road weary, the Massachusetts athletes represented the state extremely well.
Acton-Boxboro set a new school record (7:56.76) in the 4x800 Meter Relay.....for the second week in a row! Mansfield was second in 7:59.00, with Lowell (8:05.77) and Peabody (8:07.23) finishing 5th and 6th respectively.
Greg Boursiguot (Stoughton) continued his undefeated season by winning the 55m Hurdles in 7.45. He ran a US#4 time of 7.35 in the prelims! Josh Quinnie made the podium a Hockomock League affair by finishing second in 7.49.
Karla Ganley (Wellesley) is now ranked 6th in the state (8.55) after her 4th place finish in the 55 Meter Hurdles. Massachusetts athletes took 4 of the top 8 spots in the finals; culminated by Vanessa Clerveaux's impressive win in 8.20.
Head down and driving, Phito Gondre (New Bedford) powered his way to a 7th place finish. For the second week in a row, Brett Buskey (Blackstone-Millvile) was the top 55m runner in the state; finishing with a time 6.52 for 4th place.
Jade Paul of Stoughton put together another solid 600m performance, finishing 6th in 1:36.31. Mia Toffoli (Northampton) was the top Massachusetts finisher in 4th place (1:35.08); followed by Alex Stanton of Medfield (5th, 1:35.50).
Kieran Kinnare started the 2 Mile in last, but then executed a very patient race plan. He would move all the way up to second at the mile mark, and then eventually finish 5th in 9:30.26.
Kristen McDonagh of Mansfield made a conscience effort to clear heights on the first attempt. She was smart enough to realize that the high jump competition may come down to misses at previous heights (as it often does), but she was also athletic enough not to need the help. She was the only athlete to clear 5'7" for the win. Jess Salley (Andover) was 3rd at 5'5", followed by Emily Cahill (Uxbridge) and Haley Laird (Algonquin) both at 5'3".
The Massachusetts girls took half of the top 8 spots in the mile. Kathy O'Keefe set a new meet record of 4:45.82 for the win, but we also witnessed impressive performances from Catarina Rocha of Peabody who was 4th (5:04.18), Jillian Corcoran of Weymouth who was 6th (5:09.22), and Renee Capps of Narragansett who was 8th (5:11.16).
Newton North would let nothing stand in their way of a 4x200 Meter Relay win. They would stand atop the podium after posting a 1:31.77 time; beating in-state rival Mansfield who finished second in 1:32.13. New Bedford was 4th (1:32.95) and Chelmsford was 6th (1:33.64).
Rebecca Robinson (Arlington) set another meet record in the 300m. She does it so often that it has almost become expected. She beat the 1998 record of 39.45 set by Alison Culley of Foxboro by clocking in at 39.08 for the win. Cory Ryan (Norwood), Eve Bishop (Andover), and Maya Jarostchuk (Acton-Boxboro) all finished in the top 6.
Andre Rolim (Somerville) has some lucky socks.....and you better be fast if you are going to wear them to the podium without your shoes. Thankfully, he is! Rolim crushed the field by winning the event in a US#7 and MA#1 time of 1:20.75. Woodrick Clervil (Cambridge R&L), Patrick Brekka (Quabbin Reg.), and Jon Horstman (South Hadley) would finish 3rd, 4th, and 5th respectively.
The big story in the 4x800 Meter Relay was Lincoln-Sudbury's win in a US#2 time of 9:13.72, but the biggest performance in the race may have come from Wachusett. They would finish second in a US#4 time of 9:15.48.
Kelsey Whitaker (Notre Dame Hingham) would set another PR in the 1000m on her way to a 6th place finish. She was the top Massachusetts finisher in 3:00.04 and is now ranked 8th in the state.
Billy Looney (Bishop Feehan) and Conor Lyons (Hamilton-Wenham) had big performances in the 1000m; finishing in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Lyons' time of 2:30.46 moves him up to #3 in the state.