What happens when you have the state’s best square off against each other with no worries on a team score?
Exactly what was witnessed at Saturday’s MIAA Meet of Champions.
Several new state-leaders were produced and nearly 20 performances earned spots on the nation’s top 25 list at the elite competition, held inside the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center.
The much-anticipated girls’ 600-meter run was everything as expected, and perhaps a little more. Top seed Macey Shriner of Plymouth North pushed the pace from the beginning and then had to hold off a gusty effort by North Reading Giuliana Ligor on the final lap to win with a PR and US #3 of 1 minute, 30.54 seconds. A fast-charging Ligor was less than a half second behind with a three-second best of 1:30.96 (US #4). Framingham’s Sasha Lamakina was third at 1:33.51.
“It feels so amazing,” Shriner said. “I have been running all four years of track. It feels so good to finally have that win. It feels amazing.”
Shriner led throughout the race with Shriner and Lamakina right behind her. She passed through the 400m mark right out 58 seconds.
“I wanted to run even through all three laps,” she said. “I executed pretty well. I kept the times that I wanted to.”
Pre-race favorite Ben Tavares of Weston was a close winner in the boys’ 600m. Taveres led three under 1:22 with a triumphant 1:21.21. Taking the next two spots were Ayer-Shirley’s Cole New (second, 1:21.43) and Brookline’s Harry Flint (third, 1:21.67)
Want to talk about PRs? How about the one achieved by boys’ two-mile titlist Nathaniel Assa of Marblehead? Assa upset a strong field with a 19-second best and US #11 of 9:05.30. The Magicians’ senior did his damage late in the race to defeat pre-race favorite Greg McGrath of Boston College High, who finished second with a time of 9:06.54. McGrath’s teammate, John Wilson, another top contender, solidified third with a 9:08.22 clocking. Assa’s time ranks No. 2 in MA behind Phillips Academy Andover’s Tamrat Gavenas’ season best of 9:04.03 from the Beantown Winter Classic in late December.
“I was hoping for sub 9:20, but I came through the first mile in 4:32 or so,” Assa said. “I was feeling good, so I decided to push it.”
Based on all-time best, Assa ranked No. 5 in the field. The top two runners in the race were McGrath and Wilson. All three were among the top pack and shared the lead at one point during the 16-lapper. In fourth with less than 400m left, Assa was able to retake the lead for good with 250m remaining,
“I knew if I wanted it, I just had to push,” Assa said. “I am not going to lie, I didn’t think I was going to come out with the gold. But here we are.”
Division 1 cross-country champion and Nike Cross Nationals’ finalist Greta Hammer turned an expected duel between Belmont’s Dana Lehr in the girls’ 2 Mile into a convincing victory. The Needham senior broke away from Lehr and the rest of pack with a little less than a mile remaining en route to an 18-second PR and US #8 of 10:21.48. Lehr held on for second in 10:33.19 (US #13). Westford Academy’s Emily Wedlake was third (10:51.0)
Hammer admitted she was a little tense before the race facing talent like Lehr and Whitinsville Christian’s Emily Flagg (fourth, 10:51.84), who was unbeaten heading into Saturday’s race. The Needham standout ran her final mile in 5:03.
“I was really nervous coming in because there was some really good girls in this race,” she said. “I know Dana runs really fast, so does Emily Flagg. It was really a stacked field. I was really nervous coming in and when we were coming around the 800m. I was really feeling comfortable in the front pack so I decided after a mile, just make a move and see where that got me. I didn’t really look back and was able to separate from the pack at that point and just keep grinding until the finish.”
Recent 55m hurdle state record-holders, Brockton’s Lucas Andrade and Newton North Emmanuella Edozien, won the respective boys’ and girls’ races. But it certainly didn’t come easy for the tandem. Andrade improved on his state mark by one hundredth of a second with a winning 7.29, a few strides ahead of Lowell’s Khai Yin, who was timed in 7.31.
Edozien battled with the Hornets’ Ligor to the very last hurdle, claiming the gold in 8.05, just .13 ahead of her rival. The Newton North junior also grabbed gold in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet, 8.25 inches. There wasn’t too much breathing room there, too. Six in the field exceeded 18 feet with Oliver Ames’ Lavender Kozaka falling just four inches short of Edozien with a leap of 18-4.25.
Less than a second separated the top four in the boys’ 1,000m, won by Ludlow’s Logan Walsh out of the unseeded heat. Walsh clocked a huge PR and state No. 4 of 2:30.93, a time that was less than two tenths of a second faster than Marblehead’s Jacob Szalewicz, who won the seeded section in 2:31.12. Brookline’s Altamo Aschkenasy (third, 2:31.61) and Marshfield’s Matt McCabe (fourth, 2:31.90), also cracked 2:32.
As predicted, the girls’ 1K turned into a two-person battle between Haverhill’s Lauren Downer and Newton South’s Emily Frawley. The duo quickly separated themselves from the pack. With Downer doing the pace-setting, the pair ran within strides of each other for most of the race before the Haverhill senior was able to break away with a little more than a lap remaining. She finished with a PR and state No. 2 of 2:52.63. Frawley also ran a best, crossing the line in 2:54.09 for runner-up honors.
In the boys’ long jump, Peabody’s Evan Bedard became the state’s first 23-footer this season as he soared to a winning 23-1.75. Atlantis Charter’s Thalys Silva was second at 22-8.
Lowell’s quartet of Jovani Ubri, Raymond Dafe, Alex Rodgers and Abdul Jalloh won the 4x800m relay with a time of 7:56.24. The Red Raiders led two others under eight minutes with Lexington finishing second (7:59.52) and BC High pacing third (7:59.67).
In the girls’ 4x800m, Weymouth’s foursome of Gracie Richard, Jessica Harding, Emma Daley and Isabella Galusha broke their own school record with a US #12 of 9:20.97. In the other relay events, Methuen was victorious in the girls’ 4x200m (1:45.98), while Billerica took the boys’ title (1:30.95). For the 4x400m, it was the Amherst girls (4:01.49) and Newton North boys (3:24.36) that came out on top.
In the 55m dash, Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye edge defending champion Lauren Quarm by two hundredths of a second in the girls’ race with a time of 7.09. Winchester’s Daniel Killian won a close race on boys’ side, breaking the tape in 6.46. Walpole’s Austin Feener (6.47) and Weston’s Noah Lago (6.49) were second and third, respectively.
Dennis Yarmouth’s Breanna Braham moved to No. 5 on the MA all-time list for the 300m with a triumphant 38.94. Pre-race favorite Reese Connors was a winner in the boys’ race with a time of 34.36.
