Roffman takes Littleton to peak
DIV. 5 STATE TRACK
While many track stars begin running on their own years in advance of reaching high school, others need convincing.
Just four years ago, Sarah Roffman was taking hacks at a local softball field. Now, she is on top of a different game.
The Littleton junior yesterday clocked in at 5 minutes and 6.78 seconds to win the mile at the Division 5 indoor track state championship.
Roffman added a second place in the two-mile at 11:03.91 and her twin sister Kaitlyn anchored the Tigers to a 10:02.48 clocking in the 4x800 relay to deliver Littleton the Div. 5 girls title at Reggie Lewis Center.
“I did indoor track in eighth grade with the intent of staying in shape for other sports,” Roffman said. “And I ended up really enjoying it, enjoyed my teammates. Then I ended up dropping softball for outdoor track. Then dropping soccer for cross country. So it’s been a really cool experience, just to be part of this team, be part of this school. And all the success we’ve had at cross country, indoor, outdoor, has been awesome.”
The Tigers’ 61 points topped second-place Amesbury by 17.
Ayer Shirley won the boys title with 39 points as Ethan Matthews sparked the Panthers with a second in the two-mile (9:54.50) and a fourth in the mile (4:34.04).
Ayer Shirley picked up its lone victory at the most crucial point, taking first in the 4x800 with a meet-record time of 8:23.17, clinching the state championship for the Panthers.
Oakmont senior John Caouette set a meet record to open the day in the boys 55-meter dash at 6.48 seconds. He took first in the long jump at 21 feet, 2.5 inches. He was second in the 300 at 35.45 seconds. In the end, Oakmont finished second but Caouette accounted for 28 of his team’s 36 points.
Seekonk junior Cameron Garabian stunned the crowd during the girls shot put with a final toss of 44 feet, .5 inches, which was nearly four feet beyond the old record.
“The third (throw), I just went for it,” she said. “Because I was into the finals. I had nothing to lose. So I just did what I knew how to do, and went for it. It just worked out.”
When the final ceremonies wrapped up, Ayer Shirley’s squad celebrated the only way it knew how — by going for one last dash around the track.
Ashleigh Wyrostek of Seekonk finished second to Garabian.
“We started the indoor program seven years ago,” Ayer Shirley coach Chris Donovan said. “To get this far in just that amount of time, and some of them have been with us since the beginning, when we were showing up to meets with five kids. And they’ve been here all along. For them to run in that final race, and we told them they had to win that race to win this meet, they ran their best time of the season when it mattered most.”