Five gold medals, four state-leading marks and multiple major PRs highlighted a strong afternoon for the Bay State at Saturday’s 38th annual New England Indoor Track & Field Championships
Natick’s Emmanuella Edozien kept her unbeaten streak alive in the 55-meter hurdles, coming just 0.01 seconds from her state mark with a winning 7.93. Division 1 and Meet of Champions (MOC) runner-up Arianna DiPietro of Central Catholic grabbed the bronze with a near best of 8.28. Dedham’s Amariah Montaque also made the podium, placing fourth with a PR of 8.30.
Brookline’s foursome of Tony Carballo, Ibrahim Abdel Dayem, Jonathan Traub and Harry Flint took home the title in the boys’ 4x800m, combining for a season best of 7:51.05, which ranks No. 7 nationally. The Warriors were in contention from the start and secured the triumph with a 1:53 anchor by Flint.
After finishing third last year, Brookline returned with a mission.
“I think this victory is super satisfying. This is exactly what we came here to do,” Flint said. “Last year we came here, it was not very good. All we had to do with this amazing talent that Brookline has is come back with a team that I love and win this race. To do this in front of this crazy New England crowd, and get this plaque with my teammates, it’s just really special. This is exactly what we wanted.”
In a close race where the top four teams were separated by just two seconds, top-seeded and state-leader Central Catholic emerged victorious in the girls’ 4x400m. The quartet of Kyla Breslin, Emma Finch, Leighton Hickey and Avery Strickler dipped under four minutes for the first time this season, finishing in 3:59.53. Amherst-Pelham placed fifth in the race at 4:02.14.
Oliver Ames’ Mitchell Callender continued his mastery inside the shot-put circle. Just a week after taking individual honors at the MOC, Callender added a New England crown to his resume with a heave of 62 feet, 1.75 inches. Top rival Ari Levine of Hopedale, a runner-up at the MOC, secured that spot again with a distance of 58-6.25.
Callender’s first attempt was near 15 feet short of his PR of 62-7.25. He quickly restored order with a near 60-footer on his next throw.
“The first throw came off my middle and ring finger. Forty-seven (feet) was my first throw,” he said. “It really roughed me up a little bit and I came back with a 59-footer on my second throw. I just built up from there.”
Natick’s Chloe Elder also earned a top spot on the podium by winning the 300m dash with a quick 39.26 performance. Elder was a week removed from her all-time best of 38.67 from the Meet of Champions where she finished second to Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye.
“I was definitely hoping for the win, so I’m happy about that,” she said. “It would have been great to PR, but I’m still really happy with coming out on top.”
Massachusetts athletes also claimed multiple silver medals during the six-hour meet.
Along with Levine’s performance in the shot, Carlos Quintana came within a tie-breaker of a victory in the high jump. The Central Catholic junior, who was fourth at last week’s MOC, soared to a mammoth three-inch PR with a height of 6-9. The top three finishers in the event cleared 6-9 with Ethan Rich of Lyman Hall (CT) taking the event on fewer misses.
Oliver Ames’ Lavendar Kozaka had a big day in the 55m dash. The Tiger junior, who was fifth at the MOC, was the second fastest on Saturday. She secured runner-up honors with a time of 7.13. Kozaka clocked a PR of 7.08 in the prelims, the top time in the meet and a best by 0.12 seconds! King Philip’s Alex D’Amadio was fifth at 7.19, while Holyoke’s Yasani Thompson was sixth in 7.21.
As predicted the girls’ 600m turned into a thriller. In a race that came down to the final stretch, MOC winner Penny Blumenthal nearly earned the title with a PR of 1:32,33, That time earned her runner-up honors, just 0.36 seconds behind Skyler Maxwell of Moses Brown, who was timed in 1:31.97.
In the girls’ 4x800m, Billerica also finished second with a near best of 9:19.45. The Indians captured last week’s MOC at 9:18.58.
Lexington’s Ainsley Cuthberton was second in the shot at 41-4. Auburn’s Isabel Zurowski (fourth, 40-2.25) and West Springfield’s Nahia Williams (sixth, 38-6.5) also made the podium.
PHOTOS (more to come!)
