Distance runners just may have to learn the hard way that Cambridge’s Sam Stubbs can never be counted out in a race. St. John’s Prep’s Josh Raposa felt the sting of the talented freshman in the mile at yesterday’s Auerbach Freshman-Sophomore Track Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Raposa looked to have the race all but wrapped up as he started the gun lap, but Stubbs put on a furious sprint to come from 30 meters behind and surged across the finish line in a personal best time 4 minutes, 41.11 seconds. Raposa was second in 4:44.51 and Chris Skelly of North Middlesex clocked a 4:46.01 for third. Stubbs, who made history in the fall by becoming the first freshman to ever win an EMass title when he captured the Div. 1 race, wasn’t sure he had enough left in the tank to catch Raposa. “I was trying to catch up to him and my coach yelled at me to get ahead of him,” said Stubbs. “Once I got there I tried to stay ahead of him.”
Cambridge’s Maya Halprin-Adams was determined to defend her title in the 600 and she did just that, tearing away from the field early for an easy 1:37.54 victory. Wachusett’s Katie Gobi was a strong second in 1:38.27 and Olivia Manickas-Hill of Lexington ran 1:39.0 for third. Halprin-Adams logs between 37-45 miles per weeks and believes the added strength gives her a huge advantage in her specialty. “I really wanted to win it because I wanted a double title,” said Halprin-Adams. “My coach told me to go out hard and I wanted to keep it. It (mileage) gives me a lot of stamina and that helps me a lot.”
Rebecca Grusby of Newton South kicked off Sunday’s large schools competition with an easy win in the mile. The Lions’ freshman cruised past 800 meters by herself in 2:33 and crossed the finish line just a second short of her personal best in 5:20.61. King Philip’s Abby Seaburg took second in 5:26.58 and Gina D’Addario of Woburn ran 5:25.59 for third. She believes her times will be bottoming out as the season continues.“I really didn’t know who my competition would be,” Grusby said. “I’m not really sure what I’ll run. I might be trying to break 5 (minutes).”)
Melissa Solomon of Lexington used her long strides to chew up real estate on the track as she bolted to an easy win in the 300 in 42.35. She was well ahead of runner-up Christa Wagner (42.82) and Bailey Knous of Franklin (42.95). As fast as she’s been running, Solomon knows she hasn’t scratched the surface of what she can run. “I got a good start and tried to end strong,” Solomon said. “I got out fast and got to the (break in) cone. I tried to stay strong to the end.”
Quinn Cooney of Chelmsford bided his time in the 1000 before moving hard with 400 to go and crossing the finish line with a new meet record of 2:35.56. Cooney’s time bettered the 2:35.75 Newton North’s David Polagar ran in 2004. Cooney was looking for a wire-to-wire consistent effort. “I wanted to run an even race,” he said. “I wanted to stay consistent. With a quarter to go I could see I was pulling away so I threw in a surge to get away.”
More Small School Coverage
Ursuline Academy’s Amy Piccolo put on a clinic for the knowledgeable track crowd Saturday on just what a thoroughly dominating performance looks like close up. And the strong-running sophomore made it look scary.
Piccolo put on a truly elite show as she bolted away from the start and powered her way to a time of 1 minute, 35.11 seconds to win the 600 at the Small Schools competition of the Auerbach Freshman-Sophomore Champions at the Reggie Lewis Center. The time was not only a four-second personal best and lowered the meet record of 1:36.57 run last year by Danielle Griffin of Norwell, but also moved her to No. 1 in the country. Piccolo felt so good in fact, she abandoned her pre-race plan almost immediately. “I didn’t follow the plan. I was supposed to stay with the leaders for a lap and a half, but I felt really good. I’ve been doing nothing but speed work. The 600 is great because it’s not too short and it’s not too long.”
Joe Loungo figured he’d have to wait a couple of more weeks before reevaluating his goals for the indoor season. Turns out the Austin Prep sophomore will be taking a hard look at his winter benchmarks earlier than planned.Loungo got off to a quick start and roared away from the 300 field to win by nearly a second and shatter the meet record in 36.69. Loungo’s time was a personal best and bettered Noah Burke’s 2012 mark of 37.25. Daniel Solano of Whitinsville-Christian was second in 37.65 and Hingham’s Aidan Ryan ran 38.73 for third. Loungo hasn’t started the sharpening stage of his training and is banking on staying consistent throughout the season. “It went really well,” he said of his win. “I’m really happy with my time. I’ve been doing lots of shorts sprints and conditioning. I have a really good finish. I’d like to stay in the 36 (second) range.”
She was completely spent as she threw herself across the finish line of the Reggie Lewis oval, but Hingham’s Julia Noble still managed to make her victory in the 1000-meter run look painfully easy by simply shredding the field.Coming off an All-Scholastic cross country season, it was obvious Noble’s distance strength played a hand in her victory. Noble assumed the lead from the gun and moved hard with 150 meters remaining to win in 3 minutes, 6.25 seconds. Her time put her well ahead of runner-up Brooke Hansel of Lunenburg who checked in with a 3:08.14. Although the time didn’t approach her personal best in the event, Noble is right where she wants to be with a month remaining until the class meet. “I definitely wanted to pick it up at the end,” she said. “I was aware of the pack but wasn’t exactly how far ahead I was. I knew I could kick it in hard at the end if I had to. We’re doing a lot of 400s in practice and a lot of mileage.”
Spectators were treated to a pair of raucous mile races with each being decided in the final 10 meters. Emily Weigand of Hamilton-Wenham had Coralea Geranotis of Nauset dogging her for 15 laps before Geranotis put on a big move and passed her with 50 meters left. Weigand responded immediately and came away with the win in 5:31.67. Geranotis was second in 5:31.76 and Mary-Paule Monks of Hopkinton clocked 5:36.82 for third.Weigand, who ran 5:15 as a freshman is looking to run much faster this winter and was pleased with her first mile race of the season. “I wanted to lead the race as best I could,” she said. “I didn’t actually realize she was there until the last straightaway. It was a tough, very close race. I want to step it up a lot from last year. I have a lot of time for improvement.”
James Connor of Weston moved to Massachusetts from London in July and found his first experience at the Reggie Lewis Center an exciting one. “I’ve never run indoors before and it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “The crowd here really helps.”Connor was at the front of a five-runner group was 400 to go and used his kick to repass a stubborn Austin Scolai to take the mile in 4:44.10. Scolia clocked 4:44.26 and Pembroke’s Isiah Savage was a strong third with his 4:47.13. “I had enough left to outkick him at the end,” said Connor.
MSTCA LARGE SCHOOLS RESULTS
MSTCA SMALL SCHOOLS RESULTS
Distance runners just may have to learn the hard way that Cambridge’s Sam Stubbs can never be counted out in a race. St. John’s Prep’s Josh Raposa felt the sting of the talented freshman in the mile at yesterday’s Auerbach Freshman-Sophomore Track Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Raposa looked to have the race all but wrapped up as he started the gun lap, but Stubbs put on a furious sprint to come from 30 meters behind and surged across the finish line in a personal best time 4 minutes, 41.11 seconds. Raposa was second in 4:44.51 and Chris Skelly of North Middlesex clocked a 4:46.01 for third. Stubbs, who made history in the fall by becoming the first freshman to ever win an EMass title when he captured the Div. 1 race, wasn’t sure he had enough left in the tank to catch Raposa. “I was trying to catch up to him and my coach yelled at me to get ahead of him,” said Stubbs. “Once I got there I tried to stay ahead of him.”
Cambridge’s Maya Halprin-Adams was determined to defend her title in the 600 and she did just that, tearing away from the field early for an easy 1:37.54 victory. Wachusett’s Katie Gobi was a strong second in 1:38.27 and Olivia Manickas-Hill of Lexington ran 1:39.0 for third. Halprin-Adams logs between 37-45 miles per weeks and believes the added strength gives her a huge advantage in her specialty. “I really wanted to win it because I wanted a double title,” said Halprin-Adams. “My coach told me to go out hard and I wanted to keep it. It (mileage) gives me a lot of stamina and that helps me a lot.”