The concrete steps of Dickinson Stadium are crumbling into rubble. The surface of the throwback 440-yard track is worn and pockmarked. Even the finish line is faded to the point of being almost invisible until runners are right on top of it. In a few months, the old facility at Newton North will be torn up to clear space for a new high school. But for one more day, at least, the track was in its glory, hosting a terrific track meet between the Brookline and Newton North boys teams.
Boys Meet
Although the Warriors were stronger on the track, and dominant in the distance events, clutch wins by Cailean Robinson (100), Avery Mitchell (400, 200), and Sam Arsenault (300H), kept things close, giving North's throwers and jumpers the opportunity to put the meet away, sweeping the shot put (without David Smith!), discus, triple jump, and long jump.
The long jump might have been the key event of the meet, as Ivan Kostadinov (20-9), Gordon Forbes 20-6, and Adam Bao, 20-4 swept the top three places against potential event winner Michael Bennett.
The meet had started well for Brookline. Sophomore Joel Parent ran to a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the 110 hurdles over Gordon Forbes, staking Brookline to an early lead. However, in the very next event, Robinson edged Bennett in the 100, and Hymlaire Lamisere nabbed 3rd for the Tigers. It was an early indication that both teams would battle for every place in every event.
In the 1M, Seb Putzys survived a frantic sprint over the last lap to take second to All-State champion Robert Gibson, and ahead of Brookline standouts Eliot Lehane and David Wilson. In the 400, Avery Mitchell ran 50.5 to edge Matt Stewart in one of the best events of the meet. North then won the 4x100 relay, and Sam Arsenault pulled out a victory in the 300 hurdles after trailing for the first 290 meters of the race. As expected, Brookline took the top places in the 800, with Stewart doubling back, but Peter Sun managed to take third after a tooth-and-nail final stretch battle with Brookline's Ryan Hardiman. The 200 followed, and the meet was still in the balance, but Mitchell ran what was perhaps the performance of the day, stopping the watch at 22.3, a season's best for the Newton senior.
Brookline's Mike Burnstein (10:08) and Jerzy Eisenberg-Guyot (10:16) dominated the 2-mile, but when the results of the triple jump came in showing that Newton had swept the top three places, the meet was over. It was fortunate for North, as Brookline's 4x400 team was outstanding and won by 150 meters. nevertheless, the final tally was 77-59, Newton.
Congratulations to both teams, and to all the athletes of both schools who made this such an exciting meet!
Girls Meet
The girls meet didn't quite live up to the level of drama that characterized the boys meet. Brookline was missing one of their top sprints/jumps performers, and the Tigers looked like a team that was returning to full health for the first time.
In the very first event, Haleigh Smith (who missed all of indoor with a stress fracture), followed the pace of teammate Franca Godenzi for 7 and a half laps before kicking by for the win, with Godenzi taking second. Morgan Faer won the high hurdles, and Michelle Kaufman won the 100 in a close race, and North was in business.
Adina Hemley-Bronstein won the mile with a great last lap kick, with Nora Barnicle taking second. Newton won the 4x100 relay, Kat Chiong and Emma Kornetsky went 1-2 in the 400, Kaufman came back to win the 300 hurdles, and then Carolyn Ranti turned in perhaps the outstanding running performance of the day, winning the 800 in 2:21.3, defeating multiple state champion Jess Barton and Brookline league all-star Sabrina Parise in the process.
(Barton, it must be mentioned, still took home a victory, winning the javelin with a toss of 82-9'!)
The Tigers looked good on the track, but it was in the field events where their improvement really showed, as they swept the long jump, triple jump, discus, and shotput.
Both teams now look forward to competing at the State Relays Saturday in Andover.
You can also read coverage of the Brookline meet in the Daily News Tribune.
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2 comments:
Not to mention Dan Hamilton nagging 3rd in the 2-mile
In a close meet, every place in every event affects the outcome. If NN had not taken those hotly contested 3rd place spots in the 800, 2M, TJ, and Javelin, and if Irving Scott had jumped a mere 6" further, we would have had a tie. That's how close it was.
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