When three state records fall in one meet, it’s hard not to rank this year’s MIAA Meet of Champions among the best we’ve ever seen, and that includes the former All State Meet.
We’re always amazed at how our track & field athletes perform in this meet. It never disappoints and is always a hugely entertaining event. for the fans of this great sport, including fanatics like us at Bay State Running.
Here are some final thoughts on a meet that we ALWAYS look forward to covering each and every year.
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We see it all the time – the selfless behavior of our athletes who put their team’s needs ahead of their own. We saw it during the divisional state meets, and we saw it this past weekend when a team title wasn’t on the line. At the Meet of Champions, the doubling – and sometimes tripling – often comes in the form of extra relay legs for their schools.
Two of those athletes who immediately come to mind are Brookline’s Harry Flint and Newton North’s Penny Blumenthal.
Flint captured the 1,000 meters, needing every ounce of energy to secure the win over Concord-Carlisle’s Toby Martel. He edged Martel at the line in 2:30.11 — just 0.15 seconds ahead.
Flint didn’t rest on his laurels too long after the victory. Less than two hours later, the Brookline senior was back on the oval as the anchor of the Warriors’ 4x800m relay. And how did he respond? Exactly the way he did in the 1K.
With Brookline locked in a tight battle with Billerica and Xaverian Brothers, Flint delivered a 1:56.82 split to lift his squad to victory and sub-8 performance of 7:59.99.
How did Flint ensure his team came out on top? With a blistering 26.99 final 200m to hold off Billerica (second, 8:00.76) and Xaverian Brothers (third, 8:01.93).
Blumenthal was dominant in the 600m, clocking a PR of 1:33.51 to win by more than three seconds.
Like Flint, her celebration was brief.
Roughly two hours later, she was back on the track, delivering a key leg on Newton North’s victorious 4×200-meter relay, which sped to a state-leading 1:44.79.
And she wasn’t done.
Shortly after, Blumenthal returned to anchor the Tigers’ 4x400m relay, blazing a 57.83 split to help secure a runner-up finish in a state No. 2 time of 4:02.01.
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It happens to everyone that competes in sports. It doesn’t matter the level of ability. If someone tells you it hasn’t happened to them, they’re probably not being truthful.
Sometimes our top seeds – the favorites, the athletes we expect the most from – don’t perform the way they, or even we, expected.
It’s okay.
It’s part of the process. Winning, or performing at your best, doesn’t always happen exactly when you want it to. We learn from days like these, when the pieces don’t quite fall into place.
We said it a few months ago in our final thoughts after the fall Meet of Champions. We’ve been around this sport long enough to know that some days it just happens, and some days the stars simply don’t align.
Need proof?
Look at Boston College High’s Greg McGrath. After an unbeaten cross-country season and a dominant victory in the Div. 1A race the week before, he entered the Meet of Champions as the clear-cut favorite. He took the race out hard, but eventually faded to seventh overall.
Did he let that setback affect his mindset on Saturday?
Not even close.
This past weekend, McGrath returned with purpose, capturing the two mile in dominant fashion for his first individual Meet of Champions title.
To all those athletes that didn’t get the results you were looking for, you will bounce back. You’ll learn from what you experienced over the weekend, and you’ll return even stronger.
Trust us on this one.
We see it all the time.
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We’re always inspired by the para-athletes who compete at meets like the one this past weekend.
Just like their able-bodied counterparts, they put in the same work and share the same goal when they step on the track – to perform at their very best.
Kudos to West Springfield’s Colton Robinson, the lone para-athlete at Saturday’s meet. Robinson broke his own facility record in the 300m with a time of 57.39. The determined junior also clocked 12.04 in the 55m dash.
Meet director Rick Kates made the right call in having Robinson share the podium alongside the meet’s other champion. That’s exactly where he belonged.
Well done, Colton!
