Connolly hits stride in mile
North Andover miler a favorite for states
Ryan Connolly of North Andover felt no urgency to force the pace early on against a deep mile field. That all changed when he hit 800 meters and decided to make a long push for home.
Connolly surged all the way to the tape for the win in 4 minutes, 20.06 seconds at Saturday’s Div. 2 Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.
That time bettered the school record in the indoor mile and makes the Scarlet Knight talent a strong contender at All-States next Saturday.
“The first 800 was good because someone was leading but after that I tried to control the race,” said Connolly. “I think my kick has gotten better over the last year and a half and I’m confident I can kick with most anyone.”
Wellesley’s Charlotte Tuxbury lowered her personal best in the mile by four seconds with a decisive 5:02.67 victory. Tuxbury forced the pace and looked vulnerable going into the last lap, but runner-up Macey Stringer of Plymouth North (5:03.45) was unable to close ground on the sophomore.
“I definitely wanted the first 800 to be faster and I definitely pushed the last 800 harder,” said Tuxbury.
“It was good to have her (Stringer) right behind me pushing me.”
Wellesley also got a huge performance from Annie Comella, who unleashed a leap of 18-7 for the win and a new meet record. “I’ve been working on my approach a lot and was able to put it all together today,” said the sophomore.
The two victories by Tuxbury and Comella, along with a win by Abigail Lothian in the 55 (7.17), fueled Wellesley to a rout in the team competition with
78 points. Concord-Carlisle was in the mix early and wound up second with 48 points.
Delaney Dyer picked up points for the Raiders with her second-place finish in the 1000 (3:00.52) and the lineup of Lillie Caiazzo, Gaia Jacobs, Caleigh Renzella and Lothian finished a strong second in the 4×200 with a time of 1:46.99. The team of Dyer, Tuxbury, Emma Tuxbury and Lauren Caughey clinched the gold medal in the 4×800 at 9:45.76. And in the final event of the day Comella,
Caizzo, Jacobs and Kayla Bohlin took the silver medal in 4:07.82 to wrap up Wellesley’s sixth Div. 2 title in a row.
There was a cluster of teams at the top of the boys’ standings through the meet and North Andover was the last squad standing with 53 points to edge out Reading’s 50.5 points. Connolly’s mile win, coupled by second-place finishes by Camden Reiland in the 1000 (2:32.15) and Caleb Agbor in the long jump (21-6 1/2) pushed North Andover up the standings.