(Photos by Byron Flagg)
It wasn’t one of the national meets. Those begin in two weeks.
It wasn’t the New England Championships. That takes place this weekend.
While neither of those competitions were at Merrimack College on Saturday, it certainly felt as though a top-level regional or national meet was taking place during Day 2 of the Meet of Champions.
Need a few examples before we move on?
Eight teams broke eight minutes in the 4×800-meter relay. On the girls’ side, three athletes soared beyond 19 feet in the long jump, and two sprinters dipped under 11.9 seconds in the 100m dash.
Incredible.
One thing is certain after the conclusion of this weekend’s meet – the Bay State is ready to take on whatever awaits in the upcoming postseason championships.
The two-day meet concluded with the perfect finale on Sunday, the boys’ 4×400-meter relay. Abington’s quartet of Aiden Calcano Da Silva, Nathan Calcano Da Silva, Nazir Paulding and Lucas de Oliveira put the final exclamation point on the competition with a state-record performance of 3:16.06. That time shattered the previous state mark of 3:18.50, set by Newton North in 2025. It also eclipsed the converted Massachusetts best of 3:17.8, established by Brockton’s 4×800-yard relay in 1979.
The Green Wave weren’t short on competition to push them to a five-second best this season. Finishing second in the race was Brookline with a time of 3:18.83, Newton North was third at 3:20.59.
St. John’s Prep won the boys; 4x100m with a fast 41.69. That time was just 0.167 seconds from its state mark of 41.53 from last week’s Division 1 Championships. Framingham was second at 42.21. Nine teams in the race broke 43 seconds!
Brookline cracked the top 50 nationally in the 4x800m with the foursome of Harry Flint, Jonathan Traub, Ibrahim Abdel-Dayem and Theodore Butty combining for a time of 7:44.10. Boston College High was an equally impressive 7:47.87 for second. Brookline’s time ranks No. 37 in the country. The Warriors all-time best is 7:41.98, a time they ran to place tenth overall at last year’s New Balance Nationals.
Speaking of Nationals, Westford Academy’s Abby Hennessy appears well prepared to compete against the nation’s elite. Hennessy won her third straight title in the mile on Saturday with a time of 4:42.58. Just two days before the Meet of Champions, the gifted senior traveled to St. Louis for the prestigious HOKA Festival of Miles, where she ran 4:35.14 to place third against a national-caliber field, a time that ranks third in the country.
Not to be ignored in the mile was the performance of Lexington sophomore Amelia Whorton, who was second overall in 4:49.88. Canton’s Lauren Raffetto was third with a strong 4:55.03. Newburyport’s MIchael Mohoric led 20 runners under 4:20 in the boys’ mile by taking the title with a time of 4:07.37. Natick’s John Bianchi claimed the silver at 4:10.90.
Reading’s Ryan Pulpi successfully pulled off the 200m-400m double. The Rockets senior won the 400m on Sunday with a state-leading 47.33. Blue Hills’s Jiai Gonzalez took runner-up honors in 47.77. On Thursday, Pulpi blazed to a state-leading 21.06 in the 200m.
It was deja vu for Sharon’s Nina Kyei-Aboagye at this weekend’s meet. A year after sweeping the sprint events by winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes, the Eagles’ standout did it again this year. A lean at the finish was the difference in Saturday’s 100m where Kyei-Aboagye edged Methuen’s Lauren Quarm at the line with a season best of 11.83 to Quarm’s 11.84. This comes two days after the Sharon star’s winning 23.56 in the 200m, another season best.
Natick’s Emmanuella Edozien defended her crown in the 100m hurdles with a season best of 14.09. The RedHawks also had a victory from Chloe Elder, who won the 400m in a season best of 53.96. Malden freshman Khadijah Diagne was second at 54.96
In the shot, just 1.75 inches separated the top two with Cohasset’s Nicholas Askjaer winning the crown with a heave of 61-7. Mitchell Callender of Oliver Ames was second at 61-5.25.
Lexington’s Aubrey Deadorf won a competitive long jump, cracking the 20-foot mark for the first time with a sensational leap of 20-3.25. Oliver Ames Lavender Kozaka, the previous state-leader at 20.0.75, was second at 19-10.75. Third went to Wayland’s Sazie Wrentmore at 19-0.5.
Xaverian Brothers’ Alex Todorov out-leaned Clinton Sean Blaze to capture the 100m dash, just 0.02 seconds ahead of his rival.
One Response
Girls and boys 200m and 400m races did not disappoint for sure. Congrats to the winners and everyone who competed and ran PBs. Now how about a MA freshman girl running 54.96 in the 400m, 1st year running track…Ryan Pulpi running 21.06 and 47.33, would love to see him finish the season dipping under 21s and 47s. As the saying goes, ‘trackflation’ mania has taken over the Bay state