The boys' 400m was a battle between Will Ashenfelter (right) and George Papoulis (left), both of whom are known more for their 800m speed. Ashenfelter crossed first with a PR and Needham school record of 49.85, and Papoulis came in just a few milliseconds behind in 49.96. Ashenfelter also anchored Needham's winning 4x400m squad with a time 3:28.15.
The girls' mile featured Needham's distance duo of Margie Cullen (right) and Sarah Armstrong (left), coming in with seed times of 4:50 and 4:51 respectively. Cullen pulled away from her teammate and won with a MA#1 / US#17 time of 4:53.34. Armstrong took second in 5:00.82.
In the girls' javelin competition, sophomore Erin McMeniman of Dracut was the clear winner with a throw of 125-1. That mark is good for MA#2, and McMeniman threw almost twelve feet further than the second place competitor, Erin Logee of Andover.
Zachary Manickas-Hill of Lexington, who won the Emerging Elite mile at New Balance Nationals Indoor last winter, showed his foot-speed by winning the 800m with a time of 1:55.95. Manickas-Hill doubled later in the day to anchor Lexington to victory in the 4x800--their time was 8:17.
The girls' two mile was another intense battle between two talented athletes: Elizabeth Hirsch of Melrose and Katherine Collins of Newton South. Collins led through the first mile in under 5:40, with Hirsch just a step behind, but the race opened up in the second half as Hirsch maintained the pace while Collins faded slightly. In the end, Hirsch took the victory with a PR of 11:18, and Collins was second in 11:32.The girls' 100m was also a phenomenal race, as Wileshka Samuel of Methuen (second from right) won in 12.22--just .13 off the MA#1 time of 12.09 by Brianna Duncan. Samuel placed third in the 100m at All-States last outdoor season, and will certainly be looking to improve that place this year.
Erik Duffy continues to soar higher than all the other Pole Vaulters in the Bay State. The North Andover Junior cleared a personal best of 15'7" to win yesterdays competition
After a full day of exciting races, jumps, and throws, the Lexington girls' team won the meet with 56 points, and the Needham boys were victorious with 64 points. With conferences, divisionals, and all-states coming up in the next few weeks, we will surely see even more amazing performances and MA#1 marks than this weekend--stay tuned for more coverage from MilesplitMass!