Oosting, Charles Double Up At All States

Besides defending his title in the 1,000-meter run at Saturday's All State Championships, Thomas Lingard wanted, more than anything, to final break 2:30 this season.

The Lexington High senior not only accomplished that goal, but did it with authority inside the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center. Lingard blasted from the start, hit his opening 800m at just under two minutes and broke the tape with a winning time and nation No. 7 of 2:27.82. 

In typical fashion, the meet produced its share of outstanding performances. Team wise, Wellesley copped the girls' team title with a 48-28 victory over second-place Newton South. Newton North made it two straight for boys, beating Milton, 38-26. 

Arlington's Ryan Oosting was a double-winner, capturing the mile with a time of 4:12.75 and the two mile with a nation No.1 of 9:08.34. In the mile, St. John's Prep's Tristan Shelgren took the pace out hard, hitting his 400m split at 62 seconds with Oosting a few strides behind. Shelgren continued to lead at the 800m, passed in 2:06. Oosting made his move for the title with three laps remaining. He covered his last 400 in 61 seconds. Coming on strong with 300m left, Plymouth North's Nick McNamee was able to blast past Shelgren with less than a lap remaining and held on for second in a PR of 4:12.75. Shelgren secured third at 4:19.06. 

Oosting did most of the pace-setting in the two mile but had to deal with a gritty Andrew Mah for most of the 16 laps. The Arlington junior was a mere second ahead of the Newton North senior at the mile mark, where he clocked 4:33.  Mah was still a few strides behind at 2,400m (7:27). It was at that point that Oosting made his most decisive move for the title. Mah took second with a PR and nation No. 2 of 9:12.27. 

Milton's Smith Charles collected all his team's 26 points in the meet by winning the 55m dash (6.45) and long jump (22-7.75) and placing third in the high jump (6 feet, 6 inches). In the short sprint, Charles edged Greater New Bedford's Dejury Amado (second, 6.48) and Oakmont's John Caouette (third, 6.49). The Wildcats' junior matched the effort of individual winner Alex Lemieux of Algonquin and runner-up John McNeil of Medfield, who all cleared 6-6. 

Hingham's Zoe Dainton leaped to a PB of 5-9 in the high jump. That height ties her for No. 10 in the country. Belmont's Anoush Krafian was second at 5-6. Wellesley's Anna Jordahl-Henry and Wachusett's Sara James also cleared 5-6 to secure second and third, respectively. 

Newton South's Lucy Jenks had a banner day. She won the mile with a time of 5:01.05 and then anchored her team's first-place 4x800m relay to a time of 9:24.31 with a fast 2:15 leg. The gifted sophomore hung behind the leaders, including early front-runner Sarah Reichheld, in the early stages of the mile race. The pack went through the opening 800 at 2:33. Jenks moved her way to the front by the 1,200m and then sizzled to a sub-67 for her final 400m to give herself a more than three-second cushion over runner-up Margaret Donahue of Wellesley, who was timed in 5:04.49. Tewksbury's Rachel Sessa was third in 5:06.70. 

The girls' 55m hurdles turned out just as expected as  Krafian and Medway's Ava Vasile battled until the final few meters. Krafian was able to out-lean her rival at the finish, clocking a state best of 8.28. Vasile was timed in 8.29. Pope Francis's Alexandra Conet was third overall in 8.52.

In the 55m dash, Springfield Central's Kyla Hill left no doubt who would win at the end.  Hill blasted to a PR of 7.14, defeating runner-up Victoria Steffon, who crossed the line in 7.24. Finishing third was Bromfield School's Chloe Alfieri, also at 7.24. 

Woburn's Elisha George captured the 55m hurdles, breaking the tape in 7.70. Andover's Alec Pascoe finished second in 7.75. Also dipping under 7.8 was Westborough's Isaiah Powers, who finished at 7.78.

Seekonk's Cameron Garabian earned the girls' shot put title in an event where the top three exceeded 40 feet. Garabian took the crown with a distance of 43-8.25. Dennis Yarmouth's Tiana Bazie (second, 40-10.25) and Brockton's Julieth Nwosu (third, 40-0.75) claimed the next two positions.  Athol's Kris Selanis established a PR in the boys' shot with a winning toss of 56-1.75. Prior to the meet, Selanis previous best was 54-10.25. 

Samantha Friborg was on a mission from the start in the girls' 1,000m. The Acton-Boxborough senior blasted to an opening 61 seconds for her first 400 and won convincingly with a time of 2:49.26. Lynfield's Kate Mitchell was second in 2:56.0. She was followed across the line by Tewksbury's Rachel Sessa, whp placed third at 2:57.82. 

Belmont's Calvin Perkins captured the boys' 600m in an exciting race with Newton North and top-seed Theo Burba. Burba led through the 400m split in about 52 seconds with Perkins a stride behind. As the duo approached the final straightaway, Perkins bolted past the Tigers' junior and won with a nation No. 2 of 1:19.97. Burba finished at 1:20.42 for second and last week's Division 1 winner Jonathan Polanco of Leominster placed third overall at 1:21.03. The top seven in the field dipped under 1:23 for the three-lapper. 

COMPLETE RESULTS