The young Minnechaug Regional High School boys indoor track team is growing up fast . . . real fast.
Minnechaug beat reigning Western Massachusetts champion Northampton 53-42 in a Pioneer League meet Friday at Smith College, firmly stamping the Falcons as one of the top teams in the region.
“This is huge for us,” said Dugre, in her first season. “We've been thinking about it all week and training for it. To see them come out here and work together and support each other was awesome.”
In dual meet scoring, Jack DeVine won the high jump and long jump for Minnechaug, and Josh Ouimet led the Falcons to a sweep in the 300.
Minnechaug was coming off a 50-45 win over Longmeadow, where the Lancers weren't at full strength.
“All week I said we can't be a one-hit wonder,” Dugre said. “We came out and beat Longmeadow and that was awesome for us, but we had to keep it going or lose it for the season, and we stepped up to the plate.
“I thought it would be tight, and for us to pull it out and win by that much was unbelievable.”
PASCUCCI TAKES THREE: Northampton's Adrienne Pascucci, one of the region's top all-around athletes, won three events Friday. The junior was first in the high jump (5-1), long jump (14-11 ¾) and 55-meter hurdles (9.44).
“I feel more comfortable this year with indoor,” Pascucci said. “Last year I came into it and I wasn't ready for how hectic it was, but now I can juggled the events better.”
Pascucci's performances helped Northampton beat Minnechaug 64-31. She said, “I'm happy for the team. We were treating this like it was a big deal and we wanted to come ready for the meet and I think we did.”
BLACKMAN RETURNS: Longmeadow's Camille Blackman returned after taking the first week off, breezing to a win by 26 seconds in the Pioneer League mile in 5:13. The senior is flirting with the long-time league record of 5:06, set in 2003 by Amherst's Allyson Rinderle.
“I got my goal time,” said Blackman, who won the Division I Western Massachusetts cross country title. “I was aiming for 5:15.
After qualifying for the region's Footlocker meet, Blackman's cross country season ran into the indoor season so she decided to shut down for a week and take a week off from competing.
CROTEAU WINS 2 MILE: Westfield's Blake Croteau topped a very competitive Pioneer League 2 mile field, winning by 13 seconds in 9:49. Croteau ran the mile last week for a workout, but his main event for indoor track is the 2 mile.
“It was a good field,” the junior said. “I went out a little too fast and I felt it on the last mile. I wanted to be a little faster but I messed up the splits doing the math in my head.”
The field also include Holyoke's Cody Hodgins, Amherst's James Traester and West Springfield's Tim Shea.
THREE MORE FOR NIEMIEC: For the second time in as many meets, Chicopee Comprehensive's Alex Niemiec won three events, firmly establishing the junior as one of the premier all-around athletes in the region.
Niemiec won the long jump (21-8 ¼), high jump (5-11) and 55-meter hurdles (8.55).
Boys Team
Pioneer League
Amherst 81, Agawam 13
Westfield 60, Agawam 30
Amherst 62, Chicopee 33
Chicopee 52, Comp 43
Northampton 62, Comp 33
Longmeadow 63, Holyoke 32
Minnechaug 53, Northampton 42
Westfield 58, West Side 36
Valley League
Mahar 57, Athol 38
Athol 60, Pioneer 34
Cathedral 70, East Longmeadow 24
Central 75, East Longmeadow 20
Holyoke Catholic 62, Greenfield 33
Central 66, Mohawk 29
Pioneer 64, New Leadership 19
South Hadley 88, New Leadership 7
South Hadley 56, Cathedral 39
Boys Individual
Pioneer League
Long jump: 1. Niemiec, Comp, 21-8 1/4; 2. Estrada, Holyoke, 19-5; 3. Vyce, Chicopee, 19-2 3/4
High jump: 1. Niemiec, Comp, 5-11; 2. Roy, Chicopee, 5-11; 3. DeVine, Minnechaug, 5-7
Shot put: 1. Hill, Longmeadow, 45-4; 2. Sadowski, Northampton, 40-1/2; 3. McInerney, Chicopee, 39-10
2 mile: 1. Croteau, Westfield, 9:49; 2. Hodgins, Holyoke, 10:03; 3. Traester, Amherst, 10:05
55 hurdles: 1. Niemiec, Comp, 8.55; 2. Ward, Minnechaug, 8.67; 3. Burnett, Amherst, 8.72
55: 1. Niemiec, Comp, 6.82; 2. Deane, Minnechaug, 7.02; 3. Weaver, Westfield, 7.10
Mile: 1. Gagne-Maynard, Longmeadow, 4:40; 2. Mathers, Amherst, 4:46; 3. Lee, Amherst, 4:47
600: 1. Sullivan, Northampton, 1;28; 2. Wells, Minnechaug, 1;31; 3. Traester, Amherst, 1:31
300: 1. Brown, Amherst, 39.08; 2. Hebbie-Presley, Amherst, 39.60; 3. Jacques, Westfield, 39.62
1,000: 1. Brunelle, Holyoke, 2:42; 2. Nilsson, Longmeadow, 2:43; 3. Coull, Amherst, 2:44
4x400: 1. Amherst 3:45.3; 2. Longmeadow 3:45.5; 3. Holyoke 3:46.1
Valley League
Long jump: 1. Grasso, Mahar, 19-3 3/4; 2. Simpson, Cathedral, 19-3 1/2; 3. O'Connor, S.H., 17-11 1/2
High jump: 1. Lewicki, H.C., 5-11; 2. Breiwick, Greenfield, 5-11; 3. Mercer, S.H., 5-7
Shot put: 1. Borey, Mahar, 41-11 1/2; 2. Lucia, S.H., 39-6; 3. Betsold, Pioneer, 37-1 1/2
2 mile: 1. Aucoin, Greenfield, 10:20; 2. Fullerton, East Longmeadow, 10:47; 3. Mueller, Central, 10:56
55 hurdles: 1. Nowell, Central, 8.07; 2. Perez, Central, 8.57; 3. Spring, South Hadley, 8.75
55: 1. George, Mahar, 6.70; 2. Simpson, Cathedral, 7.05; 3. Day, Cathedral, 7.12
Mile: 1. Abelson, Greenfield, 4:44; 2. Stack, Greenfield, 5:00; 3. Hegarty, Cathedral, 5:04
600: 1. Perez, Central, 1:33; 2. Pettengill, S.H., 1:33; 3. Varney, E.L., 1:34
300: 1. George, Mahar, 36.53; 2. Lewis, Central, 39.08; 3. Palermo, Athol, 39.27
1,000: 1. Hegarty, Cathedral, 2:43; 2. Abelson, Greenfield, 2:49; 3. Mueller, Central, 2:57
4x400: 1. South Hadley 3:53; 2. Mahar 4:04; 3. Athol 4;04
Girls Team
Pioneer League
Amherst 50, Agawam 45
Westfield 56, Agawam 39
Amherst 65, Chicopee 30
Chicopee 69, Comp 26
Northampton 85, Comp 10
Longmeadow 73, Holyoke 22
Northampton 64, Minnechaug 31
Westfield 82, West Side 13
Valley League
Mahar 61, Athol 29
Pioneer 69, Athol 24
East Longmeadow 77, Cathedral 18
East Longmeadow 81, Central 14
Holyoke Catholic 55, Greenfield 36
Mohawk 58, Central 35
Pioneer 78, New Leadership 20
Girls Individual
Pioneer League
Long jump: 1. Pascucci, Northampton, 14-11 3/4; 2. Fisher, Longmeadow, 14-8; 3. Dibrindisi, Northampton, 14-6 1/4
High jump: 1. Pascucci, Northampton, 5-1; 2. Tompkins, Northampton, 5-1; 3. Morin, Minnechaug, 4-11
Shot put: 1. Brochu, Holyoke, 31-4; 2. Greco, Northampton, 29- 7 3/4; 3. Mack, Minnechaug, 29-1 1/2
2 mile: 1. Gould, Amherst, 11:42; 2. Zimmerman, Northampton, 12:30; 3. Gonzalez, Amherst, 13:25
55 hurdles: 1. Pascucci, Northampton, 9.44; 2. Pratt, Westfield, 9.85; 3. Brochu, Holyoke, 9.88
55: 1. Smith, Amherst, 7.65; 2. Boyd, Minnechaug, 7.84; 3. Biggs, Amherst, 7.86
Mile: 1. C.Blackman, Longmeadow, 5:13; 2. Haryasz, Longmeadow, 5:40; 3. M.Blackman 5:40
600: 1. Fisher, Longmeadow, 1:43; 2. Hartnett, Westfield, 1:48; 3. Mack, Minnechaug, 1:49
300: 1. Boyd, Minnechaug, 44.95; 2. Pratt, Westfield, 45.12; 3. Smith, Amherst, 46.15
1,000: 1. Toffoli, Northampton, 3:19; 2. Monahan, Agawam, 3:20; 3. Moriarty, Longmeadow, 3:27
4x400: 1. Northampton 4;36.2; 2. Westfield 4:38.1; 3. Minnechaug 4:38.1
Valley League
Long jump: 1. J. Weithofer, E.L., 16-9 1/2; 2. Scott, N.L., 16-0; 3. Rybacki, E.L., 15-6 1/4
High jump: 1. Forton, Mohawk, 4-9; 2. G.Weithofer, E.L., 4-9; 3. Devine, Pioneer, 4-7
Shot put: 1. Silva, Mahar, 35-2 3/4; 2. Simonds, E.L., 33-2; 3. Tucker, E.L., 31-3 3/4
2 mile: 1. Rezendes, H.C., 12:08; 2. Harrington, S.H., 12:50; 3. Yezierski, Mohawk, 12:53
55 hurdles: 1. Foley, E.L., 9.69; 2. Forton, Mohawk, 9.93; 3. Junior, Central, 9.98
55: 1. Rybacki, E.L., 7.73; 2. Jones, N.L., 7.74; 3. Spencer, Central, 7.82
Mile: 1. Boraski, H.C., 5:51; 2. Sarage, S.H., 5:53; 3. Dutille, E.L., 5:59
600: 1. Olanyk, Mohawk, 1:47; 2. Cote, H.C., 1:52; 3. Kasper, E.L., 1:53
300: 1. Rybacki, E.L., 45.5; 2. Spencer, Central, 45.6; 3. Spring, S.H., 46.8
1,000: 1. Mazzi, E.L. 3:36; 2. Footit, Cathedral, 3:39; 3. Pierce, Mohawk, 3:42
4x400: 1. East Longmeadow 4:38, 2. S.H. 4:46; 3. H.C. 4:48
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