Ayer-Shirley’s Bresnahan shines in the rain
Isabel Bresnahan’s main focus at Saturday’s waterlogged South Shore Twilight Invitational was to maintain her form in the 400 hurdles on the slick Norwell High track.
The Ayer-Shirley freshman did that and a whole lot more as she blitzed the field with a winning time of 67.38 seconds. Bresnahan not only clinched a gold medal but she was on the extremely short list of athletes who set personal bests in the rain swept meet. Bresnahan’s time bettered her school-record mark and left the young talent with a big smile.
“I wasn’t in my head too much about it (school record),” she said. “I’ve never run in the rain before. It made my muscles tight. I expected a lot of wind but it wasn’t bad.”
Connor Johnson had a day for himself in the 400 hurdles as well. The Bridgewater-Raynham junior and Southeast Conference champion in his specialty was just off his personal best as he held off North Quincy’s Jayden Francois (58.72) for the 57.88 win. Hopkinton’s Paul Lischer clinched the bronze medal with his 59.79 effort.
“I thought I’d run slower but I worked through it,” said Johnson.
Fresh off wins in the 100 and 200 at the Southeast Conference Championships, Johnson’s teammate, Kauan Bento, added the 200 in a quick time of 22.78. Bento played it conservative out of the blocks and ran a strong straightaway to turn away Luka Juric of Milton (22.96) and Randolph’s John Morgan (23.16).
“It wasn’t the greatest but it was a decent day,” said Bento, who’ll be looking for a personal best at the division meet next weekend. “I was a little less focused on my start and more focused on holding my form. I felt a little sluggish because of the weather.”
The high jump proved to be one of the most difficult events in the rain and wind, but it was a familiar face who wound up with the gold medal. Carver’s Camren Allain, who had an electrifying indoor season that culminated with a win at the Adidas Nationals, persevered on the slick pit for a 5-8 victory.
“I was slipping and it was really wet,” said Allain. “Even with the spikes I was nervous about it. The weather hasn’t been good at all this season so it’s been rough. I want to make it as far as I did in the winter.”
Norwell’s Lily MacDonald had a big day on her home runway as she leaped to a win in the triple jump at 342-1/4 and Weymouth’s Brandon put up a 21-7 effort to take the long jump. The Wildcats’ Lucia Carvalho took the discus with a heave of 100-3 and Abington’s Ava Fisher’s 104-3 mark captured the javelin.