.01 in the 200 meters. .01 in the 100 hurdles. .03 in the 800. 1 centimeter in the long jump or shot put. 3 centimeters in the javelin. Even one of those marks would have given Seekonk's Vanessa Noelte her first heptathlon title, but instead, that belongs to Weymouth's Jen Kimball. Thanks to a blistering 800
The two-day event kicked off with a bang, in the only event where the top two athletes would face off, the 100 meter hurdles. Kimball edged Noelte at the line, 16.27 to 16.29, for a minuscule 3 point lead. Of course, every point would matter. The Yale-bound Noelte has a rare strength for a heptathlete, as she threw 30'11" in the shot put, a season best and better than Kimball's 3-foot personal best (28'4"). Pembroke sophomore Jess Gratzer would dominate the shot at 33'8", helping her to a 14th place finish. Kimball's 4'10" high jump clearance gave her the slightest edge over Noelte after three events (4'8"), but Noelte regained her lead in the 200, going 27.12, better than Kimball's 27.59. NDA's Kaleigh Erickson would be the lone athlete under 27.00 (26.98), using the hometown track to her advantage.
Each athlete had an advantage event on paper going into day 2, as Kimball holds a 99 foot best in the javelin, well ahead of Noelte (who would step up and throw 70'10"). But Noelte was an All State long jumper in the event Kimball is least experienced in. Kimball would survive the pit, going 14'10.5", but Noelte would bust out the best jump on the day of 16'2.5" (only 7 other athletes were even over 15 feet). Unless Kimball could uncork a big javelin throw, Noelte would command a lead going to the 800. Unfortunately, the skies opened up, and the rains came. Kimball mustered only a 76'3' toss, giving Noelte a seemingly insurmountable 109 point lead. Gratzer again took the javelin title (109'1"), just a notch better than All-New England performer Michaela Lievi (107'8"), who would carry that performance to 8th overall (3463).
The 800 provided some unrealized drama, as Noelte hustled to a 2:32.41 time, highly respectable for a The team race was a two-way battle, in tight fashion, eventually going to the home Cougars of Notre Dame. With three of the top 12 athletes, Kalieigh Erickson (6th, 3570 points), Marypat Henry (7th, 3517 points), and Shauna Owen (12th, 3351 points) combined for 10,438 points, edging out Seekonk (10,396) and Weymouth (9884). Seekonk used another top 10 performance from sophomore Lucy Belt (10th, 3397) and another 3000 point effort from freshman Latroya Pina to take the silver, and Kimball joined with May Perriello and Kristin Leone to take 3rd.
|