SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
BOSTON - The current crop of Mansfield High track and field athletes were in various stages of elementary school education when the boys' program began its reign of dominance in the Hockomock League.
That's 11 championships in the last 11 years.
Three first-place finishes certainly helped, but it was Mansfield's trademark depth carrying the day. The Hornets scored 99 points, 48 more than runner-up North Attleboro and more than double the others in the field as the Hornets continued their tradition of Hockomock success.
"Before I knew the performance list, where other schools had put their athletes, I tried to guess. I had us conservatively at 70 points," said Mansfield boys' coach Julie Collins, but she told her squad a slightly more positive story. "I told (the team), 'I think we can get in the 80s.' So, for them to rack up 99 points, just one point away from triple digits, is pretty amazing."
Josh Lampron defended his title in the 1,000 meters with a time of 2:31.62, four seconds ahead of second. Behind Lampron, teammates Brendan McCarthy and Kham Haleudeth picked up third- and fourth-place finishes respectively, as the Hornets totaled 20 points in the event.
Fellow senior Brian Ferreira earned first place with an 8.13 second time in the 55 hurdles and a third place 5-foot, 10-inch high jump.
The Hornets came up with six second-place finishes, contributing 48 points in those events. Andrew Kuras accounted for two of them, a 6.78 time in the 55 dash and a 19-10.5 long jump.
Experienced and inexperienced Hornets all found ways to contribute. Collins admitted to being slightly nervous about her sophomore shot put thrower Oliver Erickson heading in, but he performed one spot better than his seed, taking second with a throw of 45-11.5.
"Sophomores coming in are very nervous," said Collins. "We always try to take the pressure off of them and tell them it's on the seniors."
Still, the coach was also impressed with Miguel Parez in the hurdles. While he didn't place, he flashed potential for future years and later placed sixth in the high jump.
Where do they go from here? Well, Collins appreciates Mansfield's run of success, but after the win she was more concerned about her next challenge, rounding up her crew for the bus ride home.
"Streaks are nice but every year is different. Every team is different," she said. "I just concentrate week to week."
- The Rocketeers of NORTH ATTLEBORO had eight top six placements and had to settle for second place, 51 points behind the Hornets. "We scored points where we expected to," said Rocketeer coach Scott Holster.
Senior captain Dan Duquette (600) and Eric Beckwith (shot put) delivered championship performances, while Mike Curley re-wrote the Rocketeer indoor record in the two mile run and Wes Nicholls placed in a pair of events.
Duquette out-dueled a runner from Canton over a bumpy final stretch to claim the 600 title in 1:23.13, a second off of his personal best time. Beckwith, a junior, claimed first place with the shot put (51-11), which was some three feet shy of his personal best mark.
Nicholls, bothered by a gimpy ankle from football season, took second place in the high jump and third place in the 55 dash with a personal-best clocking.
Curley clipped nine seconds off of his own Rocketeer school record in the two mile, at 9:41.21, finishing second only to KP's All-American distance runner, Chris Allen. And junior A.J. Sarkis delivered a stirring third-place finish in the 55 hurdles, qualifying for the MIAA State Meet in 8.52 seconds.
- ATTLEBORO High senior captain Kevin Cutler, the Bombardier record holder (at 6-61/4) in the high jump, captured first place in that event by a four-inch margin at 6-4. The Bombardiers finished sixth overall with 29 points.
Brandon Jarousky delivered a personal-best performance in taking third place in the 300 (36.22), while Bombardier baseball pitcher Ryan Olmo clocked a personal-best 37.18 to finish seventh overall - both also being members of the third place 4x400 relay team.
Junior Rob Zielinski qualified for the MIAA State Meet in the shot put, claiming fourth place with a personal-best heave of 44-3. Andrew Gulino (600), Ryan Coelho (shot put) and Eric Harris (1000) each had sixth-place finishes.
- "It's been a long time since we've been in the top five," said KING PHILIP High coach J.J. Jones as the Warriors, backboned by senior distance runner Chris Allen and junior Matt Bowers claimed three individual titles and a fourth place overall among the competing teams.
Allen, slowed by the flu, gave a breathtaking performance in the two mile run, being clocked in 9:40.46, taking a two-meter margin of victory over North's Curley. Also in the distance events, sophomore Owen Gonser took third place in the mile run with a personal best time of 4:31.
Bowers exceeded all expectations and his seeding in two events, to upstage everyone in winning the 55 dash at 6.73 seconds, a personal best time, then was the No. 2 seed in the long jump and won that event as well at 20-feet, 4-inches. "We knew that he was capable of it," added Jones.
- In his first year of indoor track competition, FOXBORO junior Kiivone Howard became a Hockomock champion in the 300 meters (35.32 seconds). Senior captain Brendan Sullivan turned in a second place run in the mile, completing the course in 4:30.14.
Hockomock League Championship Track and Field Meet
At the Reggie Lewis Center, Boston
Team scores: Mansfield 99, North Attleboro 51, Franklin 40, King Philip 39, Oliver Ames 37, Attleboro 29, Foxboro 23, Stoughton 10, Canton 8, Sharon 5.
Attleboro placements: 55 7-Steve Gillard 7.08; 300 3-Brandon Jarousky 36.22, 7-Ryan Olmo 37.18; 600 6-Andrew Gulino 1:28.81, 8-Aaron Filipi 1:29.81; 1000 6-Eric Harris 2:45.05; Mile 7-Ethan Fullerton 4:40.59; Two mile 10-Elliott Kelly 10:25.18; 4x400 relay 3-Olmo, Gulino, Filipi, Jarousky 3:31.50; High jump 1-Cutler 6-4; Long jump 8-Jarousky 18-5 1/2, 9-Gillard 18-4 1/4; Shot put 4-Rob Zielinski 44-3, 6-Ryan Coelho 43-1/2, 7-Sean Thornhill 41-6.
Foxboro placements: 55 hurdles 4-Vogel 8.55; 300 1-Howard 35.32; Mile 2-Sullivan 4:30.15; 4x400 6-Foxboro 3:41.68.
King Philip placements: 55 1-Matt Bowers 6.73; Long jump 1-Bowers 20-4; Two mile 1-Chris Allen 9:40.46; High jump 6-John Piedra 5-6; 600 9-Nick Roberts 1:29.89, 10-Ben Elliott 1:29.98; 1000 5-David Machado 2:43.8; Mile 3-Owen Gonser 4:31.01; Shot put 8-Matt Cooke 40-4 1/4.
Mansfield placements: 55 dash 2-Kuras 6.78; 55 hurdles 1-Ferreira 8.13; 300 2-King 36.15; 600 2-Robertson 1:23.52, 4-Giffels 1:25.22; 1,000 1-Lampron 2:31.62, 3-McCarthy 2:41.28, 4-Haleudeth 2:41.79; Mile 6-Chotkowski 4:35.18; Two mile 4-Caughey 9:53.12, 5-Negus 9:55.03, 6-Frazier 9:56.05; High jump 3-Ferreira 5-10; Long jump 2-Kuras 19-10.5, 6-Parez 19-4; Shot put 2-Erickson 45-11.5; 4x400 1-Mansfield 3:28.94; 4x200 2-Mansfield 1:38.63..
North Attleboro placements: 55 hurdles 3-A.J. Sarkis 8.52; 55 3-Wes Nicholls 6.79; High jump 2-Nichols 6-0, 5-Nathan Adeyemi 5-6; Shot put 1-Eric Beckwith 51-11; 300 6-Alex Jette; 600 1-Dan Duquette 1:23.13; Two mile 2-Mike Curley 9:41.21.