Massachusetts' athletes took advantage of the electrifying atmosphere of the New Balance Grand Prix with a handful of state-leading performances in the high school events on Saturday.
Newton North clocked a fast 3 minutes, 33.6 seconds to capture the boys' sprint medley relay. The Tigers held off East Orange (NJ), who was second at 3:34.19. Belmont was third at 3:35.67.
Theo Burba gave Newton North a slim lead over Amherst-Pelham with a 1:55.62 800-meter leg. Aiden Foucault Etheridge of Amherst was timed in 1:55.79 at the exchange. Newton North maintained its advantage after its next two 200m legs and then Raghav Kadami was able to secure the victory with a 51.03 final 400m leg.
The Tigers improved on their qualifying time for next month's New Balance Nationals (NBN) with their state-leading effort. Belmont's time dipped under the 3:37 qualifying time for the Championship Division of the NBN and ranks No. 6 in the state.
The Bay State also came out on top in the girls' SMR with Milton earning the crown with a state No. 1 of 4:09.68, just .02 ahead of Andover. Woburn was third in 4:10.14. The race turned into a nail-biter at the end with Jayda Dillon edging Andover's anchor leg with a 59.02 leg.
Natick's Grace Connolly clocked a PR of 4:51.28 to finish fourth overall in the girls' Junior Mile. Connolly ran even splits for the eight-lapper, passing the 800m mark in 2:25.69. Tewksbury Memorial's Rachel Sessa was ninth overall in 5:01.43. Maggie Donahue of Wellesley finished tenth in 5:02.27.
Ryan Oosting of Arlington ran a gusty race to finish third overall in the boys' Junior Mile with a PR of 4:11.78. After a 65-second opening 400m split, Oosting took over the lead in the 11-runner field and held that position until there was less than 200m remaining. His final 800m time was 2:04.41. Lexington's Thomas Lingard was seventh overall with a best of 4:17.24. Tristan Shelgren of St. John's Prep was ninth in 4:18.99.