Lopez goes distance for Prep in D1
Immediately after St. John Prep’s disqualifying exchange in the 1600meter sprint medley, star senior Nathan Lopez approached his coach, Zach Lankow, with a request: Though he was not scheduled to run the distance medley relay — the sprint was his primary event for the afternoon — he wanted to resolve some unfinished business. Lankow obliged.
Even as a last-minute add-on, Lopez evaporated an enormous deficit in the 1-mile anchor leg with a sparkling 4:13 split, tying his own 1-mile personal best and remarkably giving the Eagles a third-place finish in the event Saturday at Braintree High School.
For Prep, it was team-minded efforts like Lopez’s that helped the team (83 points) to its third consecutive outdoor MSTCA Division 1 state relay title, finishing well above second-place Lexington (64 points).
“My goal was to make the most of [the state relays] and really just help the team any way I could,” Lopez said. “I saw the opening in the DMR to help scratch out some points, so I told coach, ‘Let me try to help us win.’ ”
Prep received first-place finishes by Tireni Asenuga in the triple-jump (42 feet, 8 inches), Drew McStay in the high jump (6-04), the 4x1600-meter (17:57.97), and the 4x100-meter (42.73) — which also set a new school record.
The opportunity to showcase his team’s depth across many areas is why Lankow believes the relay title is arguably more important than the individual-oriented state championship meet later in the season.
“This is the true state championship to me, and I’m not just saying that because we’ve done well here,” said Lankow. “I think any coach would say the same thing. … This levels it out. Your studs are obviously helpful, but you need three other legs, and field events, and that shows depth and the meaning of team.”
On the girls’ side, Newton North earned the state crown with 63.5 points, topping Andover and Franklin, which tied for second (54 points each).
The Tigers notched top-three finishes in seven of the meet’s 15 events, and received much of their production from the field events.
They had three top-five finishes in the discus throw, highlighted by second-place finisher Poppy Williams (104-06).
“We’re really proud of our throwers today,” said coach Mike Travers. “It really had to take a full team effort.”
Division 5
The Weston boys’ track and field team secured the Division 5 relays crown at Seekonk High School after a second-place performance in the javelin relay pushed them past Middleboro, 57-49. North Reading finished third with 45.
The Wildcats won just one event, setting a meet record in the 4x100 relay (44.66 seconds). But they earned top-three finishes in the triple jump relay (second, 115 feet, 8¼ inches), 4x800 (second, 8 minutes, 21.94 seconds), 4x200 (third, 1:34.87), and pole vault relay (third, 26 feet, 6 inches).
The North Reading girls rolled to their eighth straight relays title, and second consecutive D5 crown, finishing with 108 points. Dedham finished second (43), and Norwell third (37).
Madison Vant powered the Hornets to first-place finishes in the javelin (314 feet, 11 inches), long jump (50-8), and triple jump (101-6) relays, claiming the individual title in javelin (120-8), and long jump (17-9¾). Hayden MacLellan won the pole vault (9-11¼) in North Reading’s relay win (24-10½), while the Hornets also won the discus relay (286-1).