It’s often called a light-bulb moment. As the dictionary states, “a moment of sudden realization, enlightenment or inspiration.”
For Marblehead’s Will Cerrutti, that “lightbulb moment” came in the closing stages of the mile run on Saturday, the final day of the MIAA Division 3 Championships. Locked in a tight battle with Oliver Ames’ Brendan Thomas and Billerica’s Ryan Leslie, Cerrutti unleashed a furious kick the final 200 meters to claim the victory with a seven-second PR of 4:19.65. Thomas held on for second in 4:20.52, while Leslie was third at 4:21.52. All three runners clocked sub-60 for the last lap with Cerrutti blasting the fastest split of 57.4.
“It was my time to go,” he said. “It was like dream. It was moving so fast.”
Cerrutti’s performance was among a plethora of highlights at the Div. 3 meet, held at Bridgewater State College.
Teamwise, Walpole neared the century mark, racking up 92 points to claim the school’s first outdoor crown. With a victories in the meet-ending 4x100m and 4x400m relays, Milton moved into to second with 62 points.
Walpole scored in 12 events at the two-day meet, which included wins from Austin Feener in the 100m (11.13), Sean Kerin in the 800m (1:57.78), Matt St. Cyr in the javelin (PR, 190 feet, 1 inch) and its 4x800m squad (8:07.87), a relay where Kerin ran a 1:57.02 anchor to seal the deal.
“It was a total team effort,” said Walpole coach Corey Coogan. “This has been a goal of ours all season. We never won a state title outdoors in the school’s history. For them to be able to go out there, it passed every single step the coaching staff set with flying colors. We won the relay meet earlier in the season. We were seeded as the favorites for the first time. We went in as favorites. They passed that test again with flying colors.”
On the meet’s final day, Somerset-Berkley’s Camden Rose added his name as one of the possible contenders in the 400m at the Meet of Champions this weekend. Rose looked impressive, particularly the last stretch where he was able to break from his rivals to win the one-lapper in a PR of 49.06. A total of seven broke 51 seconds, including runner-up finisher Luka Juric of Milton, who was timed in 50.21. Rose came back and snagged the bronze in the 200m (22.25), an event won by Worcester Tech’s Michael Gyimah in 22.37.
Top seed Dennis Mowatt of Greater Lowell Tech won a intense shot put competition where three athletes exceeded 50 feet. Mowatt had a toss of 56-5.25. Sebastian Grillo of Westborough was second with a best of 52-1.4. Walpole Yoan Terzy moved from fifth to third on his last throw, a PR of 50-0.5.
Here’s a rundown of the other championship meets…
DIVISION 1
Depth and high placements played a key role in Acton-Boxborough earning the team title with a 70-61 victory over second-place St. John’s Prep. Lexington was third with 56 points.
A-B collected 23 points in the pole vault during the final day of competition on Sunday with a 1-2-6-7 finish. Christopher Osselmann-Chai grabbed the gold by soaring to a PR and state lead of 14-6. Junior teammate Diego Harris was second at 13-0. A-B’s Colin Robinson and Sidharth Panchu tied for sixth with both clearing 12-6.
In a highly-competitive 4x400m, Xaverian Brothers became the state’s first team to crack 3:20 with a triumphant 3:19.51. Right behind was Newton North at 3:20.18 and Acton Boxborough in 3:21.09.
Brockton’s Lucas Andrade had a big day. The Warrior junior blazed to a state No. 1 of 10.58 in the 100m dash. Andover’s Jason DeJesus was second with a time of 10.60, which is No. 2 in the rankings. Andrade also took over the top spot in the high jump where he soared to a height of 6-8.
In the six divisional championships, six teams broke eight minutes in the 4×800. Five of them came in Div. 1. Brookline won a close race with St. John’s Prep and Cambridge Rindge & Latin with the quartet of Altamo Aschkenasy, Hunter Bailey, Theodore Butty and Kailas Ciatto combining for a time of 7:56.47. SJP was timed in 7:56.74 for second, while CB&L was third at 7:56.97.
Two days after breaking the state record in the 400m IH, McKenna O’Hare Gibson of Lexington was a victor in the 400m without hurdles, taking the crown in 49.39. Gibson led five others under 50 seconds.
Boston Latin’s Colin Fisher ran a state No. 6 of 4:14.85 to capture the mile.
Five teams were under 43 seconds in a very fast 4x100m relay with Needham taking the crown in 42.24. St. John’s Prep was second with a time of 42.45.
Saint John’s Antonio Wiafe came just an inch shy of his state lead in the long jump with a winning leap of 23-5.5. Acton-Boxborough’s Christopher Adamcheck also went 23-plus with a distance of 23-1 for second.
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DIVISION 2
Highlighted by a 1-2-3 sweep in the Pentathlon, North Andover captured team honors with a 111-90 triumph over Wellesley. Algonquin was third with 62 points.
Dylan Cote scored 12 points for North Andover with a pair of third-place finishes in the mile (4:20.54) and the two mile (9:35.66). The Scarlet Knights won the 4x400m with the foursome of Soham Nath, Matt Muiruri, Trevor Hunter and David Muir combining for a time of 3:26.44.
Michael McNaught (first, 2,768 points), Lucas Ratcliff (second, 2,726 points) and Nate Solivan (third, 2,614 points) scored 24 points for North Andover in the Pentathlon.
State-leader Alex Jackson of Peabody proved untouchable in the shot with a heave of 57-11, more than eight feet further than his closest rival.
Marshfield (7:59.44) and Winchester (7:59.65) both dipped under eight minutes in the 4x800m with their respective 1-2 finish.
Chelmsford’s Gable Gray unleashed the javelin a winning distance of 198-1. He currently ranks No. 1 in the state with his best of 206-3.
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DIVISION 4
In a close one, Wakefield Memorial earned the team banner by scoring 78.5 points, three more than second-place Burlington. Pembroke was third with 73 points.
Pembroke’s Joseph D’Angelo made it a sweep of the sprinting events. Two days after his victory in the 200m, D’Angelo broke the tape in the 100m with a PR of 10.88.
Ludlow’s Logan Walsh, the 800m titlist, captured the mile, too. Walsh led two more under 4:20 with his time of 4:17.63.
Mere strides separated the top two in the 110m hurdles with Longmeadow’s Nolan Moore just .04 ahead of Greater Lawrence Tech’s Elizardo Melenciano with a time of 14.80.
Wakefield’s Joseph Patt took the Pentathlon with 3,268 points. Finishing just 36 points behind was Tewksbury’s Salvatore Catanzano. Patt also struck gold in the javelin with a heave of 171-1.
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DIVISION 5
Weston’s depth prevailed in this one. The Wildcats scored in 13 of the 19 events en route to an 89.5-72 decision over Norwell. Norton was third with 40 points.
On the second day of competition, Weston collected 10 of of its points from its 4x400m relay. The quartet of Nicholas Barbieri, Austin Cranmore, Matthew Stick and Ben Tavares combined for a time of 3:24.95. Tavares, the 800m titlist on Friday, anchored the squad with a split of 49.01
Norwell’s Noah Mulligan left the meet with three gold medals wrapped around his neck. Two days after capturing the triple jump and 200m, Mulligan was the first to cross the line in the 400m with a time of 48.77.
Dedham’s Jayden Brown took the shot, tossing the metal ball a distance of 50-5.25 for the first 50-footer of his career.
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DIVISION 6
Two went home with the hardware here as Amesbury and Littleton were co-titlist, each scoring 69 points. Mount Greylock was third with 41 points.
Littleton’s Bona Bradshaw completed the sweep in the distance events, winning the mile on Sunday after capturing the two mile on Friday. Bradshaw was timed in 4:20.60 for the crown, while Monument’s Everett Pacheco secured second at 4:21.20.
Excel Academy’s Mohamed Menaya became the fifth runner under 49 seconds in the 400m, taking the one-lapper in 48.91.
Aiden Donovan was dominate in the shot, winning his specialty with a toss of 57-3.5, nearly five feet further than runner-up Ari Levin of Hopedale (second, 52-5). Donovan was also the discus champion with a heave of 170-10.
Mystic Valley’s Christian Fraser and Mohawk Trail’s Chay Mojallali tied for first place in the high jump with both clearing 6-6.
In the pole vault, Bromfield Christopher Demetros went 14-feet even for the victory.
Owen Stevens of Quaboag moved to No. 2 in the state rankings in the long jump with a PR of 23-4.
