Amy Piccolo did what she does best Wednesday night at the Div. 5 Track & Field Championships and it was more than enough to power Ursuline to the team title at the Reggie Lewis Center.
The junior starlet from Ursuline Academy bolted away from the field on the last lap of the 600 for the 1-minute, 34.18-second victory and then came back all the way from fourth with a terrific sprint on the final straightaway to take the 300 in 41.87 a half hour later to ensure herself a pair of gold medals. She also was a strong fifth in the long jump.
Piccolo's victories came after winning both events in last year's Div. 4. She'll be the overwhelming favorite to defend her 600 crown at next Saturday's all-state meet. Piccolo's teammate Merissa Wright was a strong second in the 600 in 1:36.05.
Piccolo was especially proud of her 300 win and the effort that went into making it to the top step of the victory stand. "I went out a little slow and all the girls passed me," said Piccolo. "I was like oh boy. Then I started getting closer at the end of the race and I said ok time to sprint. I realized on the corner I had a lot more in me than I thought. Once I got to the last straightaway I knew I was going to catch them."
The Ursuline girls defended their title from a year ago with 51 points to edge out Chuck Martin's Norwell squad that took second with 43.
"Amy was big and Merissa Wright had a great meet," said Ursuline coach Dave Swanson. "It was a team effort. These kids worked hard. When you cross talent with character, work ethic, dedication and tenactiy that's what you get."
Norwell had a huge meet with a pair of victories. Danielle Griffin leaped to victory in the long jump with a mark of 17-3 and teamed up with Sarah DiGregorio, Brianna Wooten and Lauren Humphreys to take the 4x400 in 4:13.46. The Clippers were also fourth in the 4x800 in 10:05.65 behind the efforts of Carina DiBella, Riley Bergholtz, Lexa Grasz and Lauren Humphreys.
Narragansett's Renee Capps ended her drought in the mile by surging past Manchester Essex's Olivia Lantz 30 meters from the finish line for the 5:02.08 win. The time broke the personal best she owned since her freshman year.
"I didn't know what to expect," said an exhausted Capps. "I've been stuck at 5:10 since my freshman year. I just wanted to PR so I'm really happy. I want to get a new PR at the at the all-state meet too."
Hopedale's Rita Maurais had one of the best performances of the meet as she ran away from from the 1000 field to win by seven seconds in a swift 2:58.12. Brooke Hansel of Lunenburg led six runners under 12 minutes in the 2 mile by edging out Makenzie Cyr of Douglas in 11:18.72. Cyr was right on Hansel's heels in 11:20.17. Narragansett's Gaelin Farrell had a career day in the shot put circle as she got off a mammoth heave of 40-4-3/4 for the win.
The Newburyport boys dropped down a division after capturing three straight in Div. 4, but the result was the same as the Clippers rolled to victory with 54 points. Nick Carleo easily defended his title in the mile by 12 seconds with a 4:20.23 and Newburport also won the 4x400 in 3:32.97 and clocked 8:21.40 to take the 4x800.
"To win one is nice," said Clipper head coach Tim Foley. "To win two is surprising, to win three is extrordianary, but to win four in a row is a great thrill for everybody. It's great for the city of Newburyport and great for the Cape Ann League."
Carleo was looking for a hard, but controlled effort in the mile and is confident he can go even faster at the all-state championships. "I wanted to be right around there," Carleo said. "It felt pretty easy. I've been feeling pretty good. I ran a 1000 last week in the league meet and it felt really easy. I want to come back for the all-states."
Newburyport was especially tough in the relays, capturing the 4x400 in 3:32.97 and 4x800 with an 8:21.40. Brandon Hoghaug of Douglas won the high jump with his 6-4 effort and Darion Sadri of Pioneer Valley was victorious in the long jump at 22-1/4.
Bishop Stang's Zachary Mello made an adjustment to his starting blocks in the 55-meter dash final and explode into the lead at the gun and came away with a new personal best of 6.62. Mello's training had been limited for nearly two weeks because of a hip flexor injury and was able to work on his starts the day before the meet.
"I PRed and I'm pretty happy about it," said the personable sprinter. "I just got back from an injury so I was only doing starts yesterday. My trainer's really good and she stretched me out every day. I didn't like my start (in the preliminaries). I changed my blocks a bit and it worked out in the finals.'
For a full set of photos from the meet visit Newton Sports Photography.