Diebold’s scorching 600 carries Weston

Weston’s Peter Diebold was confident a sub-1:20 time in the 600 was looming in the coming weeks, perhaps at all-state or nationals.

The defending Div. 4 champion broke the elite standard earlier than expected. Running in his specialty yesterday at the Reggie Lewis Center, Diebold tore away from the field and was an easy winner with a scalding time of 1:19.82. Diebold not only defended his title but broke the meet record osf 1:20.99 set in 2017 by Rodney Ayare-May of Burncoat.

“The main goal today was a win for the team because we could win the meet,” Diebold said. “It wasn’t as much about time as it was about getting first.

“My goal this season was a sub 1:20. Now that I’m under 1:20 I’d like to go faster.”

Diebold’s win, along with with a second place in the 4x200 (1:33.57) and Tyler Morris’ third-place finish in the mile (4:30.34) helped propel the Wildcats to the team title with 50 points. Weston’s silver medal in the 4x400 (3:29.20) slammed the door on the boys competition and runner-up Northampton’s (49 points) bid for the team title.

On the girls side, North Reading’s Katelyn Gorgenyi captured a win in the 55 hurdles in 8.50 to pace the Hornets to the team title.

For Hudson ’s Michael Blake, it’s not always how you finish but how you start.

The Hawks sprinter used his preliminary race in the 55 to gauge how fast the race starter was firing the starting pistol. Blake was fast out of the blocks in his preliminary heat but even faster in the final as he bolted to a meet-record time of 6.44 seconds. He went on to capture a second gold medal in the 300 with a 34.95.

“I had a great start (in the 55) and knew I could finish out strong, but I needed that start to get the meet record,” Blake said. “The start is the most important thing and it’s kind of my weak spot.”

Burlington ’s Rishabh Prakash blasted away from the mile field for a 4:24.39 win and came back an hour later to complete his double by putting down a Miruts Yifter-esque kick on Newburyport’s Sam Aquaviva with 150 meters left to capture the 2 mile in 9:24.39.

Nauset’s Monique Malcolm collected a pair of gold medals with wins in the 55 (7.33) and 300 (40.27), and Amherst-Pelham ’s Sophia Jacobs-Townsley should be one of the favorites at next Saturday’s all-state meet after defending her title in the 2 mile at 10:50.49.

Boys basketball

Shamar Browder and Alan Nunez scored 18 points apiece as No. 8 Tech Boston (14-2) held off seventhranked Newton North, 70-64, in the first round of the Comcast Tournament. Lyron Bennett added 13 points and five rebounds for the Bears. Newton North (16-5) cut a 17-point deficit down to three in the fourth quarter behind some hot shooting from Thomas Andreae (nine of his 13 in that stretch) but couldn’t get no closer. Ezra Pemstein led the way for the Tigers with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Danny Yardemian poured in a game-high 31 points as Belmont (19-0) advanced to the Div. 2 final of the Comcast tournament with a 93-79 win against Hingham (15-5). Tim Minicozzi and Mac Annus added 21 for the Marauders, who will face Tech Boston in the final.

Jalen Samuels tallied 18 points as Franklin (15-5) knocked off New Bedford, 6049, in a nonleague tilt.

Girls basketball

Senior guard Marianna Jantzen had 10 points and four assists to help boost Needham (14-5) to a 41-28 win against Westwood in nonleague action.

Junior Kaya Fernandes drained five 3-pointers and had 24 points as Bourne (12-8) edged Dighton-Rehoboth, 48-45, in a South Coast Conference crossover.

In the Westwood Riley Winter Classic, Gianna Palli scored 25 points to drive Wellesley (16-2) to a 60-50 win against King Philip.

Girls hockey

Austin Prep has become a freight train with no breaks in a perfect season, continuing to answer the bell against tough opponents.

The Cougars continued rolling with a tightly contested 3-1 victory against non league foe Shrewsbury.

“It was definitely a good test,” AP coach Stephanie Wood said. “They have a great squad, they’re strong up front, they’re strong in net. This was a good tune-up for us getting closer to the tournament.”

Austin Prep (18-0-0) got goals from Kara Cecchini, Felicia Zuccola and Aylah Cioffi. Grace Felicio scored for the Colonials (10-4-3).