During Day 1 of the MSTCA Sprint Classic, two state-leaders were accomplished on Saturday inside the Reggie Lewis Center.
Newburyport senior Morgan Felts captured the 600-meter run with a season best of 1 minute, 38.98 seconds. In a race that proved too close for comfort, Felt led four others under 1:40. Less than a second separated the top five with Newburyport’s Devin Stroope (second, 1:39.15), Brookline’s Anna Leschly (third, 1:39.52). Algonquin’s Tanvi Mehta (fourth, 1:39.57) and Whitinsville Christian’s Emma Wierenga (fifth, 1:39.64) taking the other key spots.
For Milford, it was the polar opposite in attaining the state’s No. 1 position in the boys’ 4x200m. The foursome of Aloiye Okhippo, Taylor Feliciano, Shawn Pierce and John Arruda combined for a winning time of 1:31.87, nearly four seconds ahead of their closest rivals, Andover (second, 1:35.58) and Abington (third, 1:35.87). Arruda also won the 300m, blasting to a PR of 36.22. Everett’s Kayshaun Eveillard was second (36.44), followed by Feliciano in third (36.79).
Jalen Wise of Newburyport moved to the top of the rankings in the 600m, albeit briefly. Wise won the event with a season-best of 1:24.44. A short time after his victory, Weston’s Ben Tavares took over the No. 1 spot by placing sixth in the 600m at the Beantown Winter Classic with a time of 1:24.27.
Masconomet Regional and Bridgewater Raynham engaged in a tight battle in the 4x400m. Masconomet edged the Trojans by just .65 with a time of 3:31.21. The winning foursome consisted of Timothy Lull, Nicco Cefalo, Arbi Halilaj and Adam Staffler. For the girls, Central Catholic’s quartet of Laura Fennessy, Alyssa Furtado, Abigail Bilodeau and Addison Brosnihan were two-plus seconds of North Andover with a combined effort of 4:20.99.
