Special Coverage by J. Cooney
Hockomock Championship Meet 2014
On a day that started as overcast and cool but ended as sunny and warm, both the Mansfield Boys and Girls track teams won the annual Hockomock League Track and Field Outdoor Championships. The meet was held Saturday, May 24th at Stoughton High School and brought 12 teams together from both the large school and small school divisions.
On the boys’ side, Mansfield avenged its 1.5 point 2nd place finish to North Attleboro by amassing 173.3 points on their way to its 6th title in the last7 years. The Hornets won 8 out of the 17 events and scored (top 8) in all but 2 events to win going away. Dan Romano, still only a junior but a seasoned big meet runner, opened the oval events by setting the lead-pack pace through 1 ½ miles before slowly pulling away the last couple of laps to win in 9:32.70. North’s Ian Flanagan and Dan Moverman, both seniors, both broke 9:40 to capture 2nd and 3rd places.
Next up was the 400 meter hurdles. Defending champ Jake McKinnon from North was leading with about 100 meters to go before unfortunately tripping up on a hurdle. Mansfield’s Josh Ordonez closed strongly to capture first in 59.22, with Cody Williamson and Jason Marshall both cracking the one minute barrier for 2nd and 3rd. McKinnon, a senior, came back later to win the 110 meter high hurdles in 15.55 over Kevin McDonald and Nathan Adeyemi.
The 400 meters was another closely contested contest, with Mansfield’s junior Dean Jenssen’s (50.34) long strides taking the lead in the final straightaway and beating North’s Ryan Croke and the Hornets James Cooney taking 3rd. Yet another junior won the 200 meter dash, as North’s Sean Gimler (23.06) edged Mansfield’s Aidan Friend, with Patrick Milne of Franklin taking 3rd. Always a highlight event, the mile race did not disappoint, as it was a rematch of Taunton senior Andrew Doherty and Mansfield junior Mike Duggan. Doherty had edged Duggan 2 weeks earlier in a dual meet by half a stride. It appeared Duggan was going take it, as he flew down the final straightaway with his patented kick, but Doherty’s long powerful legs did not quit and prevailed in 4:22.15, with Duggan a close 2nd and Sharon’s Adam Selsman placing 3rd in under 4:24.
A trio of runners took the 800 out in 56 seconds, but only David Lockhart, a junior from Stoughton was able to maintain the quick start to win easily in 1:56.47. Sophomore Jack Crawford nipped Oliver Ames’ Connor Donovan for 2nd place. And yet another junior won a track event, as Mansfield’s Curtis Boisvert ran s strong race to beat defending champ Malachi Baugh from Stoughton and Doulas MacDonald from OA.
In the field events, Mansfield was just as strong as the Hornets Oliver Erickson won the shot put (48’7”) and placed 2nd in the discus (134’5”). Matt Bray of Attleboro took a 2nd in the shot and a 3rd in the discus, while North’s Will Reissfelder won the discus in 135’9”. Mansfield went 1-2 in the javelin, with Matt Bukuras getting the in 162’2” over Mike Chace. In maybe the best performance of the day, Taunton’s Lherief cleared 6’8” in the high jump, impressing the throng of spectators in attendance. John Berdos of King Philip and Sharon’s Brian Mukasa both cleared 6’0” for 2nd and 3rd. OA’s Isiah Matier jumped 21’1” to win the long jump over North’s multiple point performer Jake McKinnon, while Nathan Adeyami added to his big day by taking 3rd.
With the team title decided, the relays still showcased the Hornets depth as they won the 4x400 in 3:28.77and the 4x800 in a quick 8:03.67. OA won the 4x100 in 44.89 to clinch 3rd place with 78 points, 2nd to North’s 116. Mansfield’s Boys Coach Julie Collins, a Massachusetts Track and Field Hall of Fame coach, who never takes titles for granted was ecstatic with the efforts of her team and proud of their outstanding performance
On the girls’ side, it was a similar story as Mansfield won 6 of the 17 events and scored in all but 3 of those events in racking up 151 points to defend their title from a year ago. It was a 3 team fight; however, as OA finished 2nd with 118 points outdistancing KP’s even 100 points for 3rd. Like the boys 2 mile, the girls 8 lap race saw seasoned junior Liz Holmes control the pace and outcome form start to finish winning easily in 11:25.31. KP’s Amanda McDonald edged Mansfield’s freshman phenom Julie Romano for 2nd place.
A trio of juniors took the top 3 honors in the 400 meter hurdles with Foxboro’s Katherine Tamulionis taking gold in 1:05.47 over Jessica Maki and Basia Osborne in a very close finish. KP’s Abby Seaberg and her patented high socks outkicked fellow OA junior Emily Newman in the mile with a fast winning time of 5:14.87. Another freshman standout, Franklin’s Sara Miller, took home the bronze medal.
In one of the most impressive performances of the day, Mansfield’s junior Mikaila Amerantes broke the 400 meter league meet record in 56.79 seconds. She beat Milford’s Keilan Noa and Lindsay Goulet who tool silver and bronze. Hornet teammate Maddie Oldow showed her versatility in taking gold in the 200 meters, a relatively new race for her, in 26.18 over Berlendah Dure of Foxboro and Taunton’s Leishnaly Rosado.
King Philip continued to display its strength in middle distance and above by taking 1-2 in the 800 meter run with Olivia Weir nudging teammate Gianna Bender for the title. Foxboro’s Haley Sykes too home the bronze. The Hornets’ Kelsey Ferreira continued her own family’s history of dominance in the hurdles by displaying perfect form in winning the 100 meter hurdles in 15.46 over teammate Sabrina Pray and OA’s Christina Franciosi. North’s Melissa Beaupre owned the 100 meter dash winning in a swift 12.48 over Sharon’s Mia Kamara and Mansfield’s freshman standout Kelly Crawford.
Over in the field events area, Taunton’s Melessa Malcolm held on to win the shot put with a toss of 37’1” over Andrea Olsen and Chi-Chi Akanegbu. Mansfield’s Sarah Iandoli surprised herself and the league by throwing the discus 93’11” to win by an inch over Michaela Heffernan with North’s Annika Briggs in third. The javelin was also very close with OA’s Michaela Lievi winning with a heave of 117’4” over versatile Melissa Beaupre and Nikisha Falcone.
Junior Olivia Mileika won the high jump leaping 5’2” with Ellery Lyon and Courtney Daggett taking silver and bronze. Hurdler Christina Franciosi won the long jump in 16’6” over Sabrina Pray and Canton’s Rachel Campagna. OA's Emily Flaherty bested Beth Neal of Franklin to take the triple jump in 35’5.75” with the Hornets Ferreira taking the bronze.
Again like on the boys’ side, the meet was already decided by the relays but Mansfield took home titles in the 4x100 in 50.39 and the 4x400 in 4:03.42 while Foxboro took the 4x800 in 9:51.95. Mansfield’s head coach Derek Ellis was blown away by his team’s performance praising his seniors and others who unexpectedly stepped up on championship Saturday. The day ended in glorious sunshine with 2 very happy winning teams but countless other proud coaches, athletes, and parents who saw some outstanding performances, efforts, and great sportsmanship in what is regarded as perhaps the most competitive track and field league in the state. State divisional and all state meets are left for many, but the camaraderie of the 12 tem Hockomock league members stood tall again on this great Saturday in late May.