An individual title for Gabrielle Pierre in the triple jump and another stellar performance from Marcus Reilly against the nation’s best milers were among the top highlights for MA track & field athletes during Day 3 of the New Balance Nationals at the University of Pennsylvania’s Franklin Field.
Just a few weeks ago at the MIAA Division 1 Championships, Pierre made some noise by winning the triple jump with a state and New England record that was just 3.5 inches from earning a berth to the U.S. Olympic Trials next weekend. On Saturday, the Lincoln-Sudbury senior was able to solidify her first national crown with a leap of 42 feet, 2.25 inches. Pierre, who has a best of 43-0 from the divisionals, won her title in dramatic fashion. She trailed eventual runner-up Destini Smith of Souderton (DE) after four attempts. She saved her best for last with two straight 42-footers, taking the lead with a 42-0.75 effort on her fifth jump before sealing the deal on her final attempt. Smith was just three inches behind her rival with a best of 41-11.25.
In one of the more exciting races of the day, Reilly earned the bronze medal in the Championship Mile where he raced to a state record of 4:01.16. The race was an historic one, indeed, with 1-2 finishers Drew Griffith of Bulter (PA) and Zachary Hillhouse of Pleasant Grove (UT) both breaking the four-minute barrier with times of 3:59.00 (MR) and 3:59.62, respectively.
Reilly was among the leaders from the gun, trailing the front-running Griffith for the first few laps of the race. He dropped to third by the third lap and maintained his position until the finish. The Michigan commit ran his last 800m in 1:58, including a split of 57.67 for his final 400m.
Reilly broke the existing state mark of 4:01.39, set Belmont Hill’s James Donahue at the Brooks PR Invitational in 2022.
“I was very happy with the results in the mile,” said Reilly, who was second at the Brooks PR Invite on Wednesday with a previous best of 4:02.36. “Although I didn’t dip under four (minutes), I couldn’t be happier to have run that time for my last high school mile. Getting to race against the best guys in the country is a privilege and I couldn’t be more thankful to have been in the field battling it out against some great runners.”
In the Championship 2 Mile, held in the morning, Westford Academy’s Jack Graffeo finished second overall to multiple national record-holder Daniel Simmons of American Fork (UT).. Graffeo, a junion, was just under his PR from his second-place finish at the Meet of Champions two weeks ago with a time of 8:52.76. Tamrat Gavenas of Phillips Academy in Andover was third overall in 8:54.75. Simmons, who a week earlier smashed the national 5K outdoor mark, was timed in a meet record of 8:38.49.
Boston College High’s Shamus Larnard had a five-second best to finish sixth overall in the unseeded second of the two mile. He was timed in 9:02.53. Billerica’s Ryan Leslie was 19th in the race at 9:12.96.
In the girls’ Championship Mile, Westford Academy sophomore Abby Hennessey raced to a nearly three-second best of 4:45.70, an effort that placed her ninth overall. Junior Charlotte Tuxbury of Wellesley was 26th overall with a PR of 4:50.43.
It was all about consistency for Matthew Acquah in the triple jump where the Natick senior was seventh overall with a leap of 47-10.25. In four of his five jumps, Acquah went 46-4.5 or further.
