What happens when you have the state’s best square off against each other with no worries on a team score?
Exactly what was witnessed at Saturday’s MIAA Meet of Champions.
Several new state-leaders were produced and nearly 20 performances earned spots on the nation’s top 25 list at the elite competition, held inside the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center.
The much-anticipated girls’ 600-meter run was everything as expected, and perhaps a little more. Top seed Macey Shriner of Plymouth North pushed the pace from the beginning and then had to hold off a gusty effort by North Reading Giuliana Ligor on the final lap to win with a PR and US #3 of 1 minute, 30.54 seconds. A fast-charging Ligor was less than a half second behind with a three-second best of 1:30.96 (US #4). Framingham’s Sasha Lamakina was third at 1:33.51.
Pre-race favorite Ben Tavares of Weston was a close winner in the boys’ 600m. Taveres led three under 1:22 with a triumphant 1:21.21. Taking the next two spots were Ayer-Shirley’s Cole New (second, 1:21.43) and Brookline’s Harry Flint (third, 1:21.67)
Want to talk about PRs? How about the one achieved by boys’ two-mile titlist Nathaniel Assa of Marblehead? Assa upset a strong field with a 19-second best and US #11 of 9:05.30. The Magicians’ senior did his damage late in the race to defeat pre-race favorite Greg McGrath of Boston College High, who finished second with a time of 9:06.54. McGrath’s teammate, John Wilson, another top contender, solidified third with a 9:08.22 clocking. Assa’s time ranks No. 2 in MA behind Phillips Academy Andover’s Tamrat Gavenas’ season best of 9:04.03 from the Beantown Winter Classic in late December.
Division 1 cross-country champion and Nike Cross Nationals’ finalist Greta Hammer turned an expected duel between Belmont’s Dana Lehr in the girls’ 2 Mile into a convincing victory. The Needham senior broke away from Lehr and the rest of pack with about a half mile remaining en route to an 18-second PR and US #8 of 10:21.48. Lehr held on for second in 10:33.19 (US #13).
Recent 55m hurdle state record-holders, Brockton’s Lucas Andrade and Newton North Emmanuella Edozien, won the respective boys’ and girls’ races. But it certainly didn’t come easy for the tandem. Andrade improved on his state mark by one hundredth of a second with a winning 7.29, a few strides ahead of Lowell’s Khai Yin, who was timed in 7.31. Edozien battled with the Hornets’ Ligor to the very last hurdle, claiming the gold in 8.05, just .13 ahead of her rival. The Newton North junior also grabbed gold in the long jump with a distance of 18 feet, 8.25 inches. There wasn’t too much breathing room there. Six in the field exceeded 18 feet with Oliver Ames’ Lavender Kozaka falling just four inches short of Edozien with a leap of 18-4.25.
Less than a second separated the top four in the boys’ 1,000m, won by Ludlow’s Logan Walsh out of the unseeded heat. Walsh clocked a huge PR and state No. 4 of 2:30.93, a time that was less than two tenths of a second faster than Marblehead’s Jacob Szalewicz, who won the seeded section in 2:31.12. Brookline’s Altamo Aschkenasy (third, 2:31.61) and Marshfield’s Matt McCabe (fourth, 2:31.90), also cracked 2:32.
As predicted, the girls’ 1K turned into a two-person battle between Haverhill’s Lauren Downer and Newton South’s Emily Frawley. The duo quickly separated themselves from the pack. With Downer do the pace-setting, the pair ran within strides of each other for most of the race before the Haverhill senior was able to break away with a little more than a lap remaining. She finished with a PR and state No. 2 of 2:52.63. Frawley also ran a best, crossing the line in 2:54.09 for runner-up honors.
In the boys’ long jump, Peabody’s Evan Bedard became the state’s first 23-footer this season as he soared to a winning 23-1.75. Atlantis Charter’s Thalys Silva was second at 22-8.
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