Newton South’s Everett puts on show in the mile
ROXBURY >> A bout with anemia slowed Amelia Everett for much of this winter, but judging by her domination of the mile field at Friday night’s Division 1 state championships, she’s on the mend.
The Newton South senior bided her time in third place through a slowish opening 2:38 800 meters before surging to the front and defending her title with a satisfying 5:03.63 on the Reggie Lewis Center track. Everett demonstrated once again that in a negative split race, no one in the state is better.
“I was planning on going out a little faster, but the way the race was playing out it was the right move to hold back,” said Everett, who ran the second 800 in 2:25. “It’s a fun meet and it means a lot to win it two years in a row.”
The meet claimed two records among a slew of strong performances. The 300 was an absolute burner as Alex Landry of Acton-Boxboro broke the previous standard in 34.44. Newton North’s Myles Scott (34.50) and Natanael Vigo Catala of Haverhill (34.73) were also under the previous mark. Framingham’s Sam Burgess broke the long-standing meet record in the two mile with a scintillating 9:06.34.
The boys mile had the crowd on its feet as Newton North’s Tyler Tubman and Christopher Larnard of BC High battled down the final straightaway with Tubman winning by a step in 4:16.61. Larnard finished in 4:16.99.
Larnard looked to have the race won with 200 to go, but Tubman had plenty of spring left in his legs and caught him on the last backstraight.
“I’m more of a middle distance runner so I try to stay patient,” said Tubman, who added a sixth 4:16 mile to his resume.
The win by Tubman helped pace was also part of Newton North’s winning 4×800 team (8:05.14) and the Tigers easily defended their team title with 78 points. Everton Muir bolted away from the 55 field for a 6.48 and another win for Newton North early in the competition.
Donnell Harvey picked up a third in the 55 and the Tigers came away with 14 points in the 600 with a second-place from Matthew Paquette and a Quincy Scott third. Alex Hrycyszyn and Reeve Derby finished in fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 1,000. Newton North closed out the meet with third in the 4×400.
No one in the 1,000 could match the strength and sheer leg speed of Brookline’s Camille Jordan. By the time the senior Warrior hit the 600 she was clear of the field and pushed hard to break the tape in a personal best of 2:53.26. The fast early speed suited Jordan and it showed as she left behind runner-up Ashlynn Witt of Wachusett and her 2:58.85.
“I knew the girl in second was strong and I went a little faster than I wanted at the start,” said Jordan, who was second in the 1,000 last winter to Everett.
Jordan’s win, combined with fourth and seventh places from Audrey Seeger and Dasha LeFaivre gave Brookline a lift on the way to capturing the team title with 63 points. Brooklyn Huggins and Chole Barnes captured third and fourth, respectively, in the 55 hurdles while Anna Leschly was fourth in the 600. The Warriors also had big finishes in the relays with a scintillating 9:46.04 win in the 4×800 along with a third in the 4×400 and sixth in the 4×200.