ARLINGTON’S OOSTING PULLS OFF DISTANCE DOUBLE AT D2
Even when great runners aren’t competing for a fast time, they can sometimes put on a performance that leaves spectators shaking their heads.
Arlington’s Ryan Oosting was only looking to come away with a controlled win in the mile at yesterday’s Division 2 track championships at the Reggie Lewis Center before doubling in the 2-mile later in the meet.
Oosting was patient as he stayed back early before taking command of the race with three laps left. The talented junior, who clocked a 4:11.78 in last Saturday’s New Galance Grand Prix meet, began his push from 800 yards out and clocked a scalding 2:04.3 for the final two laps for the 4:21.41 win.
“I was trying to save my energy a little bit for the 2-mile later,” Oosting said. “The last 400 was definitely a hundred percent. I’ve been working on my kick so I can finish fast at All-States.”
Oosting easily completed the double 90 minutes later when he cruised away from the pack and looked to be running almost effortlessly in winning the 2-mile by 31 seconds with a quick 9:13.41.
Somerville’s Phillips Magre knew Ricky Francois’ 34.72 record in the 300 was well within reach and he never doubted the outcome as he sped to a new mark with his 34.62. Runner-up Angel Figueroa of Fitchburg was also under the old record with his 34.98.
“I knew I could potentially run faster than that so I just went out and went for it,” said Magre. “It was good because I was close to my personal best (34.44) and still broke the meet record.”
Magre added a second gold medal in the high jump with a 6-foot-2 effort.
Mansfield’s athletes were on the victory podium all morning in the boys’ competition and took the team win with 70 points to defend its title. The 4x400 lineup of Nick Horn, who broke the school record with his thirdplace finish in the 300 (35.51), Mike Shannon, Mike Hargrove and Kevin Crawford won in 3:26.74. The 4x800 squad also picked up a win in 8:10.57 thanks to Jackson Murphy, Sean Lanzillo, Kalin Petrov and Patrick Heavey.
Wellesley’s girls squad had a big win from Margaret Donahue in the mile (5:02.28) and Abby Comella in the 600 (1:35.86), along with sweeps in the 4x400 (4:00.11) and 4x800 (9:42.71) to defend its title with 79 points.
Anoush Krafian of Belmont captured three gold medals, first demolishing the field in the 55 hurdles (8.49) and then leaping to victory in the long jump (17-6). She closed out the meet with a 5-4 win in the high jump.
Krafian, whose favorite event is the hurdles, stressed she needs to work on her starts.
“I was really slow out of the blocks,” she said. “The race was OK. It didn’t feel great and wasn’t fast. I felt really good today. My legs weren’t heavy.”
Alexina Hurley of Woburn let Beverly’s Ashley Foley set the pace in the 1,000 before sprinting past her and into the lead with 250 meters left to shatter her personal best by five seconds with a very strong 2:55.08. Foley was also under three minutes with her second-place finish in 2:58.98.
With her goal for the season reached, Hurley is looking to lower her time at All-States.
“I planned on just staying in the race and going when I felt ready,” she said. “It was nice to not be in the lead for a little bit and still feel I had a lot left in me.”