The first two days of the MSTCA Northeast Invitational are complete.
Not that we expected anything different, but so far, so good for our Bay Staters. We had a number of athletes and relay teams move up the state rankings, including nine that have taken over No. 1 spots. In addition, several have earned automatic qualifying standards for the New Balance Nationals Indoor Championships in mid March with a few obtained provisional marks. Can you say winning?
Day 3 begins on Sunday where we expected similar results of the previous two days. Here’s our recap of Friday’s and Saturday’s action.
FRIDAY
Eight varsity events were contested on Friday, including the sprint medley and distance medley relays.
With their 1-2 finish in the boys’ sprint medley, St. John’s Prep (3 minutes, 38.33 seconds) and Ayer Shirley (3:39.02) earned qualifying spots at the NBNI.
Haverhill secured the NBNI standard in the girls’ race with a triumphant and school record 4:18.39. Bridgewater Raynham was second at 4:22.14, a time that dips under the provisional standard of 4:24.
In the boys’ DMR, Brookline’s ‘B’ team captured top honors by combining for a time of 10 minutes, 52.38 seconds The Warriors were comfortably ahead of Bromfield (CT), which took second at 11:13.62. Arlington was first in the girls’ DMR with a 13:02.72 clocking. On the same day, the ‘A’ squad placed third at the Yale Track Classic with their NBNI qualifier of 10:31.12.
Seeded 12th in the field, Algonquin’s Steve White shocked the field in the mile where he ran a 17-second PR of 4:22.45. That effort earned him a narrow victory over Littleton’ Bona Bradshaw, who was timed in second at 4:23.12. The top five in the field were all under 4:25.
Megan Moran of Westfield was the top MA finisher in the girls’ mile, placing third overall in 5:15.09. MacKenzie Cook of Oyster River (ME) won the race with a time of 5:06.08.
Amherst Pelham junior Logan Alfandari attained gold in the boys’ weight throw with a heave of 56 feet, 10 inches. He was more than three feet ahead of runner-up, Theo Joseph-Seale of Chelsea, who was second with a distance of 53-5. Peabody’s Alex Jackson was right there in third with a toss of 53-4. Alfandari earned a provisional mark for NBNI and was just a foot short of the championship standard.
North Reading’s Abigail Liley (43-0) and Walpole’s Sophia Axelford (42-5) both secured a spot at the nationals with their 1-2 finish in the girls’ weight throw.
Natick’s Matt Acquash leaped a PR of 45-6.75 to capture the triple jump, improving his No. 1 ranking by nearly a foot.
SATURDAY
The Tanners’ Jackson, the state’s No. 1 shot-putter, dominated his specialty with a heave of 56-2. Marlborough’s Parker Rogers (second, 51-1), Amherst Pelham’s Logan Alfandari (third, 51-0.5) and Hopedale’s Ari Levine (fourth, 50-8.5) also exceeded 50 feet.
In the long jump, Dylan Waddle of Natick earned a provisional for NBNI with a winning leap of 22-2.25.
The high jump proved to be a competitive event with Harvey Lys earning the title over Brockton’s Lucas Andrade based on fewer misses. Both cleared 6-4.
With his victory in the 1,000m where he was timed in 2:33.53, Wachusett’s Dylan Brenn moved up to No. 3 in the state rankings. Christopher Kardos of Algonquin was second at 2:35.90.
In a race that saw five go under three minutes, it was Carmen Luisi that emerged victorious with a huge PR of 2:53.25. The Holliston’s senior edged pre-race favorite Mia Paolino of Burnt Hills-Balliston Lake (NY), who was just .13 behind Luisi. Holliston’s Maggie Kuchman (fourth, 2:58.80) and North Andover’s Erika Wojcik (fifth, 2:59.92) also went sub-3. Kuchman and Luisi also ran the final two legs of the Panthers’ first-place 4x800m squad that was timed in a state-leading 9:39.81, just a few seconds ahead of second-place Westford Academy (9:42.06)
Less than a second separated the top three finishers in the boys’ 600m with Revere’s Joao Victor-Cunha (1:24.26) holding off fellow MA rivals, Jalen Wise of Newburyport (second, 1:24.60) and NH’s Aiden Dowd of Pinkerton Academy (third, 1:24.95).
In another close affair, Weston’s Sioan Hinton was just a couple of strides ahead of Weymouth’s Isabella Galusha in the girls’ 600m with a triumphant 1:37.17 to Galusha’s 1:37.46 effort. Five in the field broke 1:40.
Mitchell Kisgen moved up to No. 5 in the state rankings in the 300m where he broke the tape in 35.49. Somerset-Berkley’s Camden Rose was also under 36 seconds, taking runner-up honors in a state No. 9 of 35.72.
Framingham’s Abby Desmarais took over the No. 1 ranking in the girls’ 300m with a PR of 40.76. Wachusett’s Nyah Santana was second at 41.29.
The 4x800m quartet of Altamo Aschkenasy, Hunter Bailey, Cameron Walter and Kailas Ciatto came mere strides away from a sub eight-minute clocking. On the bright side of their 8:00.50, their time earned them a win against a talented and was also fast enough to qualify for the Championship race at NBNI. Natick (second, 8:08.70) and Wakefield (third, 8:08.85) were just on the cusp of the provisional standard of 8:08.0.
Xaverian Brothers took over the top position in the rankings in the 4x200m with a school record of 1:30.1 and a spot at the Nationals. The Hawks posted a slim victory over second-place Brockton, who were timed in 1:31.68.
Westford Academy (1:49.69) and Algonquin Regional (1:49.96) broke 1:50 in the girls’ competition with their respective 2-3 finish. Pinkerton Academy (NH) won the race at 1:48.98.
In the 4x400m relays, Haverhill (3:28.29) and Brockton (3:28.72) went 1-2 in the boys’ race. Foxboro engaged in a close race with eventual champion Pinkeron Academy in the girls’ race before settling for runner-up honors in 4:19.68 to Pinkerton’s 4:19.42 winning effort.
