For the Real Track & Field Fan, It's Good To Be Home

 
 
For the Real Track & Field Fan, It's Good To Be Home
 
Mike Miller, Special To Milesplitmass
 
I would imagine I'm like most people on this website. I love track, I love comparing my team to the best in each division, and I wish I had the time and energy to get in and watch all five divisional meets. But, I have a family I love spending time with, and whatever is left of a social life (in my mid-30's, that is slim pickins these days). So, I have to settle for the next best thing. Watching the meets unfold online.
 
Admittedly, I'm biased towards girls results, since I coach girls, and know more about the best and brightest the state has to offer. However, I've been to enough meets this season to know who most of the best guys are, and have a guess at which teams will come closest to earning the coveted "Massie" (I think I'm really going to try to make that happen now... calling the MIAA trophy the Massie... who's with me?) But settling in each night to my iPhone to scour over Milesplit's Live Results has been as good as it gets for me. Thursday night, I watched closely as my good friend's Norwell team came ever so close to knocking off the un-knock-off-able Ursuline girls, who just had too much Amy Piccolo to be beaten that night. Then, along with anyone else paying attention, I guessed whether or not Newburyport boys would need the dreaded mile-2 mile double from superstar Nick Carleo to pull off the win. They didn't, and they didn't, but they pulled off the win anyways.
 
Refreshing live results can be a lesson in patience in many ways. You know that the race simply must be over, as tweets are coming in all over, broadcasting big performances. You feel like you would have already computed the team scores in your brain if you were there, but "these people, whoever they are" just aren't getting them up fast enough!!! Then, you remember that "these people" are often volunteers, working for Charlie Butterfield or Chuck Martin, doing everything they can to import results as fast as possible to the viewers... or are we readers?... at home. My only real complaint, as I follow the @milesplitmass Twitter account, is that I'm not getting team scores, so I make a little spreadsheet and I do it myself.
 
On Friday night, I watched an incredible back and forth battle between Mansfield and Needham on the boys side. I knew that, once Hantzly Murat had won the 55 and 300, Needham would be a tough out. But then when Mansfield took 1st and 3rd in the mile with Mike Duggan and Jimmy Murphy (and, according to the Globe article, Marshfield's Mike Tautiva's points went to Mansfield as well... imagine that super team?) they seemed in the driver's seat. Back and forth it went, all the way to the 4x400, when Needham's 1/2 point lead meant Mansfield only needed to place. I know a few things about Julie Collins' teams watching them over the years, and not placing in the 4x400 simply wasn't an option.
 
The girls meet was even more unbelievable. I was watching with some skin in the game, hoping my friends from Needham could pull out a program first. Needham used its distance quartet of Margie Cullen, Sarah Armstrong, Sammy Lerner, and Kaleigh Hughes, to score 39 points form the 800 up, but they couldn't find the podium, as King Philip's Olivia Weir, mile champion Abby Seaburg, a pair of 36 foot shot putters, and a monster 4x400 effort to put a scare into Hockomock champ Mansfield, a program that just finds a way to win. My refresh button found out that the way was to carry 16 points in the long jump, and a 1-2 finish in the 600 right into the final event, once that they would put away in meet record time.
 
However, the DIII girls saved the best for Saturday morning, just ahead of a massive Nor'easter climbing up the coast. Everyone knew how good Hopkinton, Hingham, Bishop Feehan, and Notre Dame (Hingham) could be, but to watch these girls duke it out was amazing. I was refreshing all morning, also waiting to see which events Andrew Bolze would compete in (long jump, 300, and 4x400 ended up being the ones) and win (the former two were easy wins, the 4x400 featured an Amherst-Pelham upset win at the tape). Again, not knowing as much about boys teams, I assumed Hingham and Feehan would take the "Massies", but Amherst-Pelham used Taj-Amir Torres and a bunch of guys I hadn't heard of until today to a great TEAM win. The girls went back and forth all day. Isabella Dimare of NDA won the 55 hurdles, ahead of teammate Julia Marshall in 4th (Marshall also placed in the long jump). Amanda Reilly was 3rd in the 55 and 2nd in the long jump, once injured Elizabeth Tevanan peaked at the right time for 4th in the shot put, Taylor Kennedy and Elizabeth Constantino scored valuable points in the distance events, and the 4x200 relay took 2nd. NDA scored in 11 of the 13 events, including multiple placers in some, closed in on 70 team points, and walked away with no trophy. The Cougars score has to be the highest in Mass. history for a team to walk away with no trophy. I would argue, after watching this effort, reminiscent of the 2008 Haverhill girls cross country squad that placed 3rd behind the Newton South/ Lincoln-Sudbury nationally ranked tandem, that the MIAA might think about carving a 3rd "Massie" to be distributed to the bronze medalist teams.
 
The battle that NDA put up was epic, but Hingham and Bishop Feehan had just enough and just a little more. Feehan looked out of it early, despite heroic efforts from 55 runners, hurdlers, and shot putters to piece together enough points to stay within a fighting chance. Abbie McNulty's sub-5:00 clocking, the first in Mass. this year, set the tone for the comeback, but Hingham had already received 18 points form Sierra Irvin (winning the 300, 2nd in the 55), as well as a 2-3 finish in the 600. Feehan methodically climbed its way back, scoring multiple places in several events, including the 1000 and 2 mile, where McNulty would resurface for yet another victory. Coming down to the relays, we were tied at 60, but Feehan had three scoring teams set up. Taking a key 3rd behind Hingham and NDA in the 4x200, Feehan weathered Hingham's last storm. Shepherd Hill would perpetrate a mild upset in the 4x800, but Feehan would take the eight points a runner-up earns, and enter the 4x400 up 4. A mile relay team without Sierra Irvin, was able to pass Feehan on the last leg. The victory put Hingham into the winning position, and an incredible 80 points, but Feehan's 2nd place finish there was good enough to total 82. Feehan wins. and an incredible 80 points, but Feehan's 2nd place finish there was good enough to total 82. Feehan wins. You've heard that before.
 
I wasn't there. Maybe you were, and maybe you could have told it better.
 
Or, maybe not.
 
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