The initial disappointment of not racing in a stacked heat didn't sway Andover's 4x50-yard hurdle team at Friday evening's Div. 1 Coaches Relays. And the Warriors never let up in a packed Reggie Lewis Center.
A paperwork snafu resulted in Peter Comeau's talented squad competing in the event's slowest heat on the infield. It hardly mattered, though, as the Warrior lineup of Princeton-bound Sebastian Silveria, Sean Caveney, Andrew Mattucci and Justin Mantrana only had the clock as an opponent. The quartet's time of 25.66 broke its own state record of 26.03 from a year ago.
The team will be going after the New England mark next weekend at the East Coast Classic in Rhode Island.
Comeau is confident the squad could have sliced a little more time off in the seeded heat. "It would have been different if we were in another heat," said the legendary coach. "The main goal was to break the state record. The secondary goal was to qualify for nationals."
Andover went on to capture the team title with 30 point, edging out BC High (28) and Peabody (25). The Warriors registered a tight win over Acton-Boxboro in the 4x200, 1:32.84 to 1:33.08 and had daylight at the finish against Methuen's 3:31.53 with their 3:29.86 in the 4x400.
Cambridge was especially strong in the distant events as Scott Cody's crew tore away from the field in the distance medley for a 10-second gap over St. John's of Shrewsbury at the finish line at 10:43.39. Cambridge took the 4x800 in 8:02.48 for another easy win over St. John's (8:07.87).
In the most hotly contested event of the meet, six athletes cleared 6 feet or higher in the high jump. BC High captured the event at 5.54 meters to edge out Lexington (5.39) and St. John's of Shrewsbury (5.09). Newton North continued its dominance in the shot put with a 42.58 meters victory. The Tanners of Peabody took second (42.48) in front of third-place North Quincy (41.52). Peabody's victory came in the dash relay in 22.43 to beat out Newton South (22.53) and Lexington (22.61).
Newton North's girls took dominance to another level in the team competition. The Tigers won four events, leading to a sixth consecutive title with 52 points. Lexington was second with 41 and Wachusett put up 36 for third. Andover and Newton South tied for fourth with 34 points.
Joe Tranchita's Tigers were quick out of the blocks with victories in the 4x50 dash (24.88) and hurdles (30.27). Newton North also sprinted to the 4x200 title (1:46.43) and won the high jump (4.59 meters).
"We make this a focal point," said Tranchita." We went through about six differrent rosters coming into tonight. We knew we'd be competitive in all our events. It was just a matter of executing them. It's not something you can draw up and expect. Even though they're young the work ethic has been great."
Lexington stayed within striking distance of the Tigers with an electrifying 4:06.24 win in the 4x400 and a 9:37.67 victory in the 4x800. The Minutemen also captured the high jump on the infield with a combined effort of 4.59 meters and the shot put at 281.0. Andover was a close second at 4.49 and Wachusett clinched the bronze with a 4.33.
North Quincy's Emily Bryson clocked a personal best of 5:03.5 in the mile leg of the distance medley to lead the Red Raiders to a 12:50.32 win. The time was good for a six-second win over Newton South (12:56.38). Weymouth finished in 12:58 for third. Newton South's 14.02 mark gave the Lions the victory in the long jump over Newton North (13.97) and Wachusett (13.60).