Wellesley back on top
NORTH ANDOVER — After the Wellesley outdoor girls track and field team secured its fourth title in five years Sunday night at the Div. 2 state championships, head coach John Griffith was about to answer a question asking how the program is able to get so much out of its depth every year.
Raiders athletic director John Brown intervened.
"I can answer that," he said. "He's the best coach in Massachusetts."
By sweeping the three relays and receiving chunks of points across 11 of the meet's 19 events, Wellesley held off a late surge from star-studded Peabody for a first-place 84 points.
The Tanners were threatening late by winning five events in the meet and finishing fourth in the 4×100 relay, pulling dangerously close. But a couple hours after Annie Comella broke a meet record in the long jump (19-02.00), the relay teams produced wins in the 4×800 (9:42.65), 4×100 (48.49 seconds) and 4×400 (4:01.96) to produce just enough to repeat.
Add in second-place finishes in the 100-meter dash (Abigail Lothian, 12.24), 200-meter dash (Comella, 25.37) and 400-meter hurdle (Lillie Caiazzo, 1:03.73) to an impressive performance.
Peabody took second with 80.5 points and Central Catholic scored 70 points for third in a tight ending. Woburn and Reading tied for fourth with 53 points.
"To sweep the relays to close it out there was amazing," Griffith said. "(Peabody) came storming back. … I'm just so proud of all these girls. It's an amazing feeling. I've never been so excited in my life."
Savanna Vargas won the 100-meter dash (12.19) for Peabody, while Lindsey Wilson took the 100-meter hurdles (14.79), Alessandra Forgione won the javelin throw (131- 04), Aaliyah Callahan won the shot put (43- 00.50), and Jessica Richards won the discus throw (115-05).
Macy Daigle's 5- 06 mark in the high jump took gold for Central Catholic, pairing with Veralie Perrier's win in the pole vault (11-00) and her secondplace finish in the 400-meter run (58.54). Lincoln-sudbury's Gabrielle Pierre also broke the meet record in the long jump (18-01.50), but finished second.
Wellesley wasn't alone in repeating as state champions, but the North Andover boys needed far less dramatics.
After a close loss to Hopkinton in the MSTCA Div. 2 state relays in April, the Scarlet Knights got their revenge a month later. They scored in all but four of the 19 events, finishing with a whopping 124 points.
Hopkinton had 79 points for second place, Wellesley finished third with 51 points, and Peabody was fourth with 48.
"I'm speechless, I feel amazing," said North Andover head coach Steve Nugent. "For them to rebound and win our dual meet championship, our league championship, and now today. The way they responded, I couldn't be prouder of them."
North Andover led after the first day, but production followed.
Ryan Connolly doubled his win in the 800-meter run by taking the 1-mile run (4:21.37), while Camden Reiland (4:24.51) took third. The javelin throw saw second and third-place finishes from Colby Carbone (166-09) and Keenan Gosselin (161-00). Zachary Traficante and Nathan Jacques tied for fourth in the high jump (6-02), Jacques finished second in the 110-meter hurdles (14.48), and pentathlon champion Caleb Agbor took third in the long jump (22-09.50).
Sean Golembiewski led Hopkinton as a double-winner in the 110-meter hurdles (14.23) and 400-meter hurdles (54.71). The 4×800 relays saw two schools breaking the meet record, as Natick (7:56.67) edged Wellesley (7:58.11). The Raiders' Christopher Brooks was also a double-winner in the 100-meter dash (10.61) and 200-meter dash (21.69), as was Peabody's Alex Jackson in the shot put (55-06.50) and discus throw (163-00).