Oosting goes distance
Sophomore wins both mile, 2-mile
BRIDGEWATER — Arlington track star Ryan Oosting has approached each race differently this season.
As the sophomore took his place for the start of the 2-mile at yesterday’s AllState Meet, he had a plan.
“I was feeling good,” he said. “I was just honestly trying to work behind (Newton North’s Andrew Mah). Let him lead.”
Oosting executed his plan of attack perfectly, rallying from the back of the pack early before bursting free down the stretch to capture the event with a final time of 9 minutes, 14.85 seconds at Bridgewater State.
“He’s been working on his attack speed a little bit,” Arlington assistant coach Justin Berrasso said. “He knows that he can run. He knows that he can hang with some really incredible runners. You look at the guys in the field he’s racing, this is All-States. He’s running with the best guys.”
Using a similar strategy, the sophomore also placed first in the mile with a time of 4:14.44.
Other noteworthy performances from the day included Needham’s Davonte Burnett, who placed first in the 100-meter dash (10.63 seconds) as well as the 200 (21.36 seconds).
North Andover’s Erick Duffy also opened eyes at the meet, finishing with an impressive time of 14.10 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Duffy also set an MIAA All-State record in the pole vault with winning height of 16 feet, 7 inches, which he recorded on Thursday.
On the team side, Newton North took home the honors as the Tigers were crowned as All-State champs with 41 points. North Andover placed second with 27.33 points. Theo Burba was first in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.50.
With the state title in its back pocket, the Tigers turn their attention to next week’s New England championships.
“We’re definitely going to be focused on New Englands over the course of this next week,” Burba said. “I’m going to Nationals the weekend after. Our season, for some kids is over. But for a lot of us, it’s going to keep going.”