MIAA Boys Recap
Montague Breaks 1000 Meter Mark, Leads Team To Victory !
Newton North coach Jim Blackburn figured his squad would have some key placements in the relays events and score far more than 30 points at Saturday’s MIAA All-State Indoor Track & Field Championships.
He got neither, but his Tigers still walked away with the team plaque.
Gabe Montague established a state meet record in the 1,000-meter run and senior classmate Mike Howard tied for second in the high jump to lift Newton North to a moderately-surprising 30.5 to 28.5 victory over runner-up Boston College High.
In the final three relays of the afternoon at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, the Tigers only scoring came from an eighth-place finish in the 4x800.
“We really backed into it because we got one point out of the three relays, usually that’s where we get most of our points,” Blackburn said. “We just survived it and had points elsewhere. I’m happy about it but I usually like to score relay points.”
Montague broke a 13-year-old record in the 1,000 with a time of 2 minutes, 25.45 seconds, the fastest in the country this season. Just minutes after his gun-to-wire victory, he was congratulated by the recipient of the old mark, former Boston English star Said Ahmed, who ran 2:25.61 at the 2001 state championship. Ahmed still holds the all-time state record of 2:25.14, which he set in the New England meet that same year.
“Good job, man,” said Ahmed to Montague. “I’m proud of you.”
The Newton North runner, whose time ranks No. 2 all-time in New England, blazed to an opening 400 split of 57 seconds. He was 1:26 at the 600 and passed the 800 at 1:57. By then, the only runner within striking distance of Montague was eventual second-place finisher Everett Crawford of Gloucester. The junior crossed the line in a personal best of 2:26.42.
“I didn’t look back but I heard all the people screaming for the people behind me,” he said. “I used that to motivate myself.”
Montague admitted his intention wasn’t to break a record. But a talented field that included four runners under 2:30 made it a possibility.
“My aim for my coach was to win,” he said. “Once I went out hard, I knew I would have a good shot at getting the meet record. I decided about halfway into the race to push it, regardless who was behind me. There were a lot of people behind me.”
Howard, a first-year member, scored seven points for the Tigers by clearing 6 feet, 4 inches in the high jump. Aided by fewer misses, Nipmuc sophomore Kevin Hack won the title, also at 6-4. Howard tied Shrewsbury senior Rino Tonelli for second.
Newton North senior Nick Fofana, a No. 2 seed, was in a four-way tie for eighth in the vertical leap. Fofano also finished third in the 55 hurdles with a 7.65 clocking.
“I really thought we would score a lot more points,” Blackburn said. “A lot of things didn’t go well, but like I said, we survived it. It was not a good day for some of our guys and for others it was a good day.”
It was a very good day for Hingham senior Andrew Bolze, who broke two meet records inside the Reggie Lewis Center. Bolze won the 300 by more than a second with a time of 34.32, breaking his one-year-old mark of 34.70. He also smashed his PB in the long jump with a leap of 23-8. That was nearly three inches further than the record of 23-5.25 by Chicopee Commonwealth grad Alex Niemiec in 2013.
In the 300, Bolze got out quick, taking command by the cut-in point. Finishing second was Dartmouth senior Ethan Biron at 35.58.
“I really just want to win it,” Bolze said. “I won it last year in the unseeded heat. That was a really special moment for me so I just want to get it done my senior year. The goal, the strategy is to win it to the break and then just hold on to the end. I think I executed that pretty well today.”
Bolze indicated that he will probably compete at Saturday’s New England Championship. He also has his eyes focused on prosperity at the New Balance National Indoor Championships the weekend of March 14-16.
“I’ll probably just do the long jump and the 400,” he said. “At the nationals, I am going for the win. The 400 field is pretty weak right now so I definitely feel it’s my time right now. Forty-seven (seconds) is the goal. I split 47.5 last week so I am looking to improve on that.”
Newburyport junior Nick Carleo held off Paul Hogan of Burlington to win the mile in PB of 4:15.29. Hogan, a senior, was second at 4:15.45. For a seeded heat, the pace was slow at the beginning with Hogan leading the pack through a 400 split of 67 seconds and passing the 800 a shade over 2:12.
Carleo made his move at 1,100 meters, blasting past Hogan just before the curve on the backstretch. He never let up from there.
“I wasn’t thinking. I finally just decided to go,” he said. “I felt like everyone else was getting pretty tired and I felt pretty good. I just took off and thought maybe I could burn (Hogan) out. That’s what I did.”
In the two mile, Swampscott senior Matthew Mahoney overtook front-runner Owen Gonser of King Philip with 900-meters remaining and held on for the win, breaking the tape at 9:17.02. Gonser, who dropped to fourth late in the race, battled back to take second at 9:19.65.
Mahoney felt a surge was needed with still plenty of time left in the race.
“I don’t really have a strong kick and I know Owen Gonser has a lot of foot speed so I thought I had to make a move there and sort of bury his kick,” he said.
BC High senior Jordan Samuels lived up to his top seed in the 55 hurdles, edging Springfield Central senior Edison Perez with a time of 7.48. Perez was second at 7.57.
In the prelims, it was a reverse of the finals, with Perez sneaking by Samuels.
“After the first heat I was a little nervous, actually,” Samuels said. “I wasn’t expecting that. I got a really bad start. He got out on me. I just eased up, tried to get a decent time and just go for it in the finals.”
Taj-Amir Torres, a junior from Amherst-Pelham Regional, captured the 55 dash with a strong 6.46 clocking. Brockton junior Jonathan Derulos was second at 6.53.
In last year’s meet, Torres finished a heart-breaking third.
“I was thinking about that the whole time,” he said. “I was like ‘I am not coming in third this year, man.’ I worked too hard, my teammates pushed me too hard, I couldn’t let them down. I just did everything I could to win.”
Running strong from the opening gun, St. John Prep junior Joe Luongo copped the 600 with a fast time of 1:20.79. Allen Vance, a junior from Amherst-Pelham Regional, was second at 1:21.06.
Luongo, who passed the 400 in 51 seconds, had to hold off a spirited effort by Vance the final straightaway.
“My legs were exhausted,” he said. “I was going for a lot faster time. I was just dead. I just had to keep going through the finish line.”
Luongo is now prepping for a showdown next weekend at the New England’s with defending champion Zach Emrich of North Kingstown in R.I.
“I know his best this year is about 1:21,” he said. “I already ran three times faster than that now. He’s the returning champ but I think it will be a very good race.”
In the relay events, Weymouth took the 4x200 with the team of junior Henry McDonald, senior Tyler O’Brien, senior Elijuan Diaz and junior Adrian Radel combining for a time of 1:31.78. The Lincoln-Sudbury foursome of junior Jack Esteafan, senior Joshua Kerber, sophomore Nicholas Virkler and senior Ben Colello took the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:25.80.
The gold in the 4x800 was earned by the Cambridge Rindge & Latin quartet of sophomore Esu Alemseged, sophomore Daniel Aschale, junior Samuel Ingersoll and senior Michael Scarlett with an 8:00.62 clocking. Burlington was second at 8:00.84.
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