D1: It's All Newton North !

By Joe Reardon

Eventually, one of these days it has to happen. Newton North’s Carla Forbes will come up short in a track meet.

Forbes showed yesterday at the MIAA Div. 1 Track & Field Championships that it’s not bound to happen any time soon. The Tiger standout erased the meet records in both the triple jump (41-2) and the long jump (19-3-½) on the way to leading Newton North to its second consecutive team title. Joe Tranchita’s crew was nothing short of devastating, putting up a whopping 95.5 points to leave runner-up Acton-Boxboro a distant second with 62 points.

With the medals from the Div. 1 meet collected, Forbes can now concentrate on state meet and the nationals on June 9, where she’ll be looking to add the outdoor title in the triple jump after capturing the indoor title in March.“I definitely think I’m ahead of last year experience wise,” said Forbes. “Our training has been just as consistent as last year. It’s (nationals) going to be a little scary, a little more nerve racking. I have a feeling that there are going to be a lot people who weren’t there (at indoor nationals).”

Brockton’s Vanessa Clerveaux was a strong second to Forbes in the triple jump with a leap of 38-1-¾ and was magnificent in the 100 hurdles. The Eastern Michigan University-bound Boxer tore away from the pack and broke her own meet record with a sterling 14.19. Clerveaux hopes to break the 14-second mark as she adds to what will be a brilliant legacy.“I’m glad that my regular times are in the high 14s,” said Clerveaux. “That shows me if I keep working on my mechanic and my start and speed, that I can definitely get in the 13s. I feel like my start was the reason I didn’t get the time I wanted. It’s just the push. I just need to get out in the race faster.”

Clerveaux was also part of Brockton’s record-breaking win in the 4x100. She joined Talia Halliday, Milan Neville and Nikayla Simpson in breaking Andover’s 2007 mark of 48.84 with a 48.75.

Peabody’s Catarina Rocha and Andover’s Maggie Mullins shared the pace in the 2 mile until the defending state champion surged into the lead with 1,000 meters remaining. Rocha crossed the finish line in 11:03.43, paving the way for a defense of her title come next Saturday at Fitchburgh State College.

“I just wanted to stay with Maggie because she always takes it out,” said Rocha. “With three laps to go I felt good so I took off. There’s going to be a lot of good competitors (at the state meet). I’ll go out with them. If I feel good I’ll probably make a move.”

Weymouth’s Jen Kimball also joined in rewriting the record books, pulling away from the field down the final straightaway to finish in 1:03.85. Kimball’s time erased the 1:04.03 that Rebecca Stabile ran a year ago. Kimball was primed and ready to take on the field and the record. “I was going for the win,” she said. “I felt strong. I went out hard and at the 200 mark I picked it up. I started sprinting with 100 to go. It was hot and it’s a little hotter because it’s a black track.“I think it’d be awesome to get a 62 (at the state meet). It’s going to be a tough race.”

Somerville’s Nicole Genard remained the class of the field in the javelin, setting a new personal best with her 139-10 winning throw. Brookline’s Amanda Jew was second with her 121-6 toss.

“It was a little hot, but things worked out,” said Genard. “My goal is 140. I’m still working on my throw. I keep improving every time. You always have to improve.”

Marika Crowe let the pack dictate the pace for the first 800 meters of the mile, but with two laps remaining the Lincoln-Sudbury senior surge hard and left the field behind for a 5:10.80 win. Franklin’s Alexandria Giese was second in 5:11.29 and Bryanna Allison of Lowell finished third in 5:12.84.

Crowe’s win sets up a state meet showdown against Foxboro freshman Liz Holmes, the Div. 3 winner. “At the 800 I worked to put a surge in to see what would happen and no one came with me,” said Crowe.

“Next week is the ultimate goal. I feel good. I knew it would be slow.”

Amanda Henson of Barnstable roared out at the start of the 200 and won in 25.53. Maya Jarostchuk of Acton-Boxboro clocked a 56.85 to win the 400 and Bryanna Allison won the 800 in 2:17.97. In the 100, Attleboro’s Briana Robitaille took care of a quality field, winning in 12.13. Lucy Alexander of Lincoln-Sudbury was victorious in the high jump with a solid leap of 5-5-¼.

Newton North made it 2-for-2 on the day in the team battle, coming away with 64 points for the win. Acton-Boxboro was second with 55 points and Lincoln-Sudbury took third with its 45 points.

Weymouth came up with several big performances as Khary Bailey-Smith soared over 6-11 in the high jump and took the long jump gold with a 22-½. Tyler Mulcahy ran away with the 400 hurdles in 54.78.

“On the last turn, a lot of people start to fall off,” said Mulcahy. “I try to have the mentality to attack each hurdle to the end.“Next week I want to clean up a lot of the mistakes I made today. I’ll look at the film and see what I did wrong. From the first hurdle, I felt like I was a half step behind. If I clean that up, the last hurdle will be cleaner.”

Ben Groleau used his kick to pull away from Methuen’s Mike O’Donnell to take the mile in 4:18.. Groleau was coming off a personal best of 4:16 in the Bay State Conference. O’Donnell was a strong second in 4:18.73.“The beginning of the day I was thinking of going for time,” said Groleau. “With the weather the way it is, I decided to go out and do the best I could. Besides the heat it went all right. The second lap was a little uncomfortable. If it’s nicer (at the state meet), I’ll be hoping to get closer to 4:13. That’s right where I want to be.”

There were few surprise winners in the boys’ meet. Nathan PierreLouis of Waltham was his usual supreme self over the final 100 meters as he pulled away to record a quick 48.56 to take the 400.

Somerville’s Andre Rolim’s hard early pace proved too much for the 800 field. Rolim pushed hard down the last straightaway to win in 1:55.95. Lincoln-Sudbury’s Anderson Koenig ran 22.27 to take the 200 and Nathaniel Adams of Lexington was the 2 mile winner in 9:26.96.

Newton North’s Swardick Mayanja took home a pair of gold medals after winning the shot put with a heave of 56-2 and putting out a throw of 147-8 to win the discus. Pat McHale of Lowell won the javelin with a throw of 173-0 and Brendan Page of Bridgewater-Raynham was a strong second at 171-4. Brendan Sullivan of Westford Academy was an easy winner in the pole vault, clearing 14-6.

Division 1 Meet Page