The final day of the MIAA Division State Championships proved to be just as exciting as Day 1. But really, did we expect any different? Congratulations to all our team winners, gold medalists and our other equally-deserving track & field athletes that competed in their respective meets
Here we rundown what happened in Division 1, 2 and 5 on Saturday.
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DIVISION 1
Just a few months after they won their respective boys’ and girls’ titles during the indoor season, Lowell and Lexington did it again on Saturday. In a meet that came down to the final few events, Lowell captured its first team crown since 2019 with an 87-76 win over Lexington. Brookline was third with 73 points. On the girls’ side, Lexington scored in 14 of the 19 events to earn its first-ever outdoor championship with a dominating108-67.5 decision over second-place Natick.. Westford Academy was third with 57 points.
Lexington got 20 of its points from junior Ainsley Cuthbertson, who followed her victory in the discus (130-8) on Thursday with another first-place finish in the shot (41-7.50). In her final event, she was able to outdistance indoor titlist Madeline Goncalves of Haverhill, who tossed an equally strong 41-1.75 for second.
Freshman Amelia Whorton added 14 points by placing second in the 800m (2:10.16) and third in the mile (4:58.64), the latter coming on Saturday night. Among other top performance by the Minutemen, freshmen Jane Conrad scored eight points by taking second in the two mile (10:38.62).
Westford Academy’s Abigail Hennessy successful defended her 800m and mile titles from 2024. Just two days after her PR of 2:07.18 for the two-lapper, Hennessy cruised to the mile crown on Saturday, winning by nearly 15 seconds with a time of 4:43.72. Newton North’s Ciara Evans was second in 4:58.37.
Natick’s Chloe Elder was also a double-winner by reaching the top of the podium in the 200m (24.81) and the 400m (54.29). In the 400m, Elder was far ahead of the field by the time she crossed the line of Saturday’s race, breaking the tape with a new state leader. Wachusett’s Rahma Giwa was second in a state No. 8 of 58.21.
Emmanuella Edozien also struck gold on Saturday for Natick. Edozien lived up to her favorite status in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.89. The talented junior was also third in the long jump (19-feet even) and 100m dash (12.92). Lincoln-Sudbury’s Gabrielle Pierre won her second straight long jump title at 19-8.25, while Methuen’s Lauren Quarm made it back-to-back crowns in the 100m (12.47).
In the pole vault, Acton-Boxborough’s Emerson Gould improved her state-leader by soaring to an all-time best of 12-0. Gould also finished fourth in the 100m (13.02) and ran the anchor on her team’s winning 4x100m squad (49.75).
Lowell scored in 11 events to take home its banner.
Junior Ethan Thevenin scored 24 points for the Red Raiders. After winning the triple jump (46-7) on Day 1, Thevenin captured the 400m (49.50) and was fifth in the long jump (21-10.25).
In one of the more exciting races of the day on Saturday, Westford Academy’s Ryan Kyle completed a sweep of the hurdle events by edging state record-holder Lucas Andrade at the line by a mere hundredth of a second in the 110m HH with a time of 14.17. Kyle claimed the 400m IH crown in a state record of 52.12 on Thursday.
Brookline’s Altamo Aschkenasy finished the two-day meet with two gold medals wrapped around his neck. Coming off his triumphant state-leader of 1:52.76 in the 800m, Aschkenasy took the mile with a PR of 4:17.18.
Central Catholic’s Drew Alsup had a 14-foot best in the javelin with a winning throw and state No. 2 of 195-9. He achieved his gold on his final throw to overtake eventual second-place finisher, Kye McElroy (181-4) of St. John’s Prep.
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DIVISION 2
It was North Andover and Peabody that were celebrating on the infield in this one. North Andover captured the girls’ team title with 79 points, just three more than second-place Wellesley. King Phillip secured third with 54 points. Peabody was eight points shy of the century mark with its 92-66 decision over runner-up Marshfield. Algonquin Regional was third with 65 points.
Peabody scored in 10 events during the two-day meet with victories in four of them. Senior Alex Jackson was responsible for half of those wins, taking the discus (180-5) on Thursday and the shot on Saturday (61-5.25). Fellow classmate Peyton Smith was also victorious by capturing the 110m HH in 14.96. The Tanners quartet of Henry Sawyer, Omar Mishal, Brian Stevens and Dorlyn Morel combined for a time of 3:27.1 to take the 4x400m relay.
Marshfield’s Graham Heinrich completed a sweep of the distance events by placing first in the mile with a time of 4:15.19. On Thursday, Heinrich was also the 2M winner (9:17.42) and was fourth in the 800 (1:55.20).
Nathan Looney of Marshfield proved to be the fastest in Div. 2 by taking both sprint events. Looney edged Winchester’s Daniel Killian at the line in the 100m with both timed in a state No. 1 of 10.54. The difference in the outcome was five thousandths of a second. On Thursday, Looney also beat Killian in the 200m, taking that crown in 21.74.
Chelmsford’s Gable Gray improved his state leader in the javelin with the first 200-footer of the spring campaign. Gray unleashed the metal spear a distance of 200-6.
For the girls, North Andover scored in 10 events to take its title.
The Scarlet Knights scored 18 points in the pole vault with the 1-2 finish of Eleanor Gosselin (9-6) and Kayla Coolidge (9-0). Gosselin was also a silver medalist in the 100m hurdles (15.59) and the pentathlon (2,674 points). Junior Samantha Schwartz was third in the 400m (59.14).
Plymouth North’s Macey Shriner, Belmont’s Dana Lehr and Peabody’s Alessandra Forgoine pulled off the double with victories on Saturday. Two days after her win in the 800 (2:10.88), Shriner beat the field in the 400m (56.01). Lehr was victorious in the mile (4:55.38) after her triumph in the two mile (10:36.90) on Thursday. Forgoine was first in the javelin (133-5) after her victory in the discus (130-2) on Day 1.
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DIVISION 5
In a pair of convincing victories, North Reading and Weston were the recipients of the respective girls’ and boys’ titles. North Reading defeated second-place Dennis Yarmouth, 99-61. Dedham was third with 53 points. Weston rolled past Old Rochester, 100.5-60. North Reading collected 43 points for third.
Weston scored in 12 events with victories in six of them. Earning those titles for the Wildcats were Ben Tavares in the 800m (1:55.16), Noah Lego in the 100m (10.72), Aarav Mehta in the mile (4:23.32) and the 2 Mile (9:47.60), Lucas Scully-Power in the pole vault (12-6) and their 4x100m relay (42.94).
In a race where less than a half second separated the top five finishers, Bishop Stang’s Michael Veegh claimed the 400m title with a season best of 49.54. Blue Hills’ Jiai Gonzalez was second in 49.62.
A year after placing seventh in the long jump, Cardinal Spellman’s Andrew Bertarelli won his specialty on Saturday with a leap of 22-7.5, just 1.5 inches ahead of Weston’s Oscar Torres (22-6).
North Reading scored in 12 of the 19 events in the girls’ meet. The Hornets had four victories in the two-day meet with Callie MacLellan winning the pentathlon (3,219 points), Hayden MacLellan capturing the pole vault (9-6) and Giuliana Ligor taking the 400m IH (1:00.65) and the 100m HH (14.38).
Breanna Braham of Dennis-Yarmouth made it two-for-two in her events. Two days after her 200m crown (24.29), Braham was the first to cross the line in the 400m (54.87). She also anchored her team’s first-place 4x400m squad (4:08.63).
Defending champion Zoe Santos of Norton claimed the high jump with a height of 5-4.
