Newton North athletes entered in the New England H.S. Championships taking place tomorrow (2/29/08) at Reggie:
Girls:
Carolyn Ranti (1000m)
Boys:
Sam Arsenault (LJ)
Adam Bao (LJ)
Ivan Kostadinov (LJ)
Seb Putzeys (1000m)
4x200 Relay (Bao, Arsenault, Lamisere, Kostadinov)
Performance Lists
Other Bay Staters
Mike Burnstein, Brookline (2M)
Robert Gibson, Brookline (2M)
Alex Lippincott, Brookline (HJ)
Phil Weltman, Dedham (300m)
Hanna Muir, Wellesley (HJ)
Camille Murphy, Framingham (1000m)
Becca White, Natick (2M)
Brookline Boys 4x800 (seeded 1st)
Milton Boys 4x200
Weymouth Girls 4x800 (seeded 2nd)
Meet gets underway at 4:30. Good luck, all!
February 28, 2008
February 26, 2008
Scenes From the All-State Meet
Monday, 4:08 pm, and I was still in Burlington without a car.
But I had my running shoes, good weather, and a tailwind. With all those advantages, I covered the nearly five miles to Winchester Center in 33 minutes, arriving exactly one minute before the inbound commuter train to North Station. From there, it was a short walk to the Orange line and then I was on my way to Reggie Lewis Center -- too late to see the mile, but in time for the 600.
So my experience was like the punch line to the old joke:
"How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!"
"How do you get to the Reggie Lewis Center? Run Faster!"
Rather than describe every event, I'd like to write about a few events that really stood out as highlights for me. In some cases, the performance itself stood out; in others, it was the performer who left me impressed.
Here are five events from the state meet that struck me as particularly memorable:
Girls 1000m
As expected, the girls 1000m was the race of the night, featuring a rematch between the D1 champion (Lincoln-Sudbury's Emily Mepham) and runner-up (Newton North's Carolyn Ranti). Mepham has had a wonderful year so far, and had won last week's race with a brilliant kick.
Ranti, who had been working on her start all week, exploded off the line and had the clear lead before she was halfway around the first turn. Once in first, she didn't let it go to waste, as she covered the first 200m in 32 seconds, the first 400m in 66, and hit the 600 in 1:43. By then, both Ranti and Mepham were well clear of the field. On the fourth lap, Mepham took the lead for the first time. Considering the tempo of the race, Mepham looked wonderfully smooth -- showing a perfect balance of speed, endurance, and acceleration. As Mepham poured it on, one had to wonder if Ranti would fade, finally to be devoured by the petite piranhas in the chase pack. But in spite of her early pacemaking, Ranti continued to maintain her speed, and when she passed 800 m in 2:18.9, she was still only about 5-7m behind Mepham. Incredibly, neither one slowed down in the final lap. One expected to see a crack, a fissure, a disturbance in form, or some other obvious and telling sign of distress. But instead, these two superb runners continued to extend their lead over the rest of the field. Mepham crossed the line in 2:53.09, the US#6 time, while Ranti actually appeared to gain back 1-2m in the final straightaway, and finished in 2:54.27, A PR by five seconds, a NN school record, and the US#9 time.
Behind them, Andover's Colleen Shannon placed third in 3:00.15, leading a mass finish in which five runners crossed the line within 8/10ths of a second. Those tenths of a second and Shannon's six points would turn out to be the difference in the meet for Andover, but none of us knew that at the time. For Lincoln-Sudbury, the 1000m was a mixed result. Mepham's run was one of the highlights of the meet, but three other Lincoln-Sudbury girls were in the race and none of them scored, including defending state champion Molly Binder. (She would have another chance in the 4 x 400 relay.)
Boys 600
I had seen the performance, 1:20.93, sitting atop the state top-50 list in the boys 600, and I had wondered, "Who is this kid from Woburn?" I wasn't quite prepared for seeing Ryad Bencheikh in full stride.
Bencheikh, tall and skinny, loped through the first two laps content to follow. As every other runner in the field strained, he glided until about 150 meters to go, when he simply and without any apparent effort blew past the leaders, making the best 600 runners in the state look heavy and slow. He won going away in 1:21.93.
No Massachusetts runner has ever gone sub 1:50 for 800 in high school, but Bencheikh, only a junior, looks capable of it.
Girls 2-Mile
Normally, the unseeded heat of the 2-mile in a state level competition brings a lull in the intensity and drama of the meet. But not yesterday. Newton South's Kelsey Karys, owner of a 10:48 this season, had landed in the unseeded heat after rising out of her sickbed and running a flu-ish 11:27 at the D1 meet the week before, barely qualifying. The Newton South junior knew that, healthy, she would have a chance to score points for her team, but that she would have to run solo to do it. So she took off at the gun. Running alone most of the way, Karys split the mile in just over 5:30, and finished in 11:08. Would it be good enough?
In the seeded heat, there was no question was going to make the pace. Emily Jones, who owned the country's top two times this winter, started fast and didn't let up. In the highly competitive seeded heat, it looked to this observer as though the rest of the field went out too fast. That pack included Needham's Emily Lipman, Natick's Becca White, and a half-dozen other girls who had run close to Kelsey's time in previous meets. However, they were running more like 10:40 pace, a little dangerous. After a few laps of this, Jones was so far off the front that the rest of the pack seemed to settle down. But perhaps the damage had already been done. As Jones romped through the mile in 5:12, the pace began to take its toll on the other runners. Eventually, Jones would lap the field, responding to the cheers of the crowd. When she crossed the line in 10:30.41, it was a personal best, a meet record, and another US#1 time.
More than 40 seconds behind, Becca White was winning a tough stretch battle over Marlborough's Ally Oram (who was DQ'd for something that happened in those final meters). White's time of 11:13.30 was impressive, considering the early pace, but Karys' time had held up, earning her 8 points for Newton South.
Boys 4x800
I've been watching Gloucester's Liam Anastasia-Murphy since he was a freshman, and I always thought of him as a kid with a great kick. Maybe I was overly influenced by watching his brother, Sean, race, and in particular watching him run down George McArdle with an ungodly kick in the 2001 Mass State XC meet.
But the younger brother can do more than kick. Anastasia-Murphy ran two tremendously tough races on Monday, and he led most of the first and all of the second. In the 1000, Anastasia-Murphy took on D2 rival and uber-speedster Brett Sullivan of Woburn. The kid forom Gloucester decided that the only way he could win was by making the race fast from the first step. So he ran at the front, giving everyone else a free ride for four laps. In the end, Sullivan was too good and put the hammer down in the middle of the final backstretch, winning in 2:30.01. Anastasia-Murphy didn't falter, he just couldn't match Sullivan's speed, and finished a strong second in 2:30.55.
A couple of hours later, Anastasia-Murphy took the baton for the final leg of the 4x800 relay a step ahead of Brookline's Robert Gibson, winner of the 2-Mile earlier in the evening. Once again, Anastasia-Murphy had to contend with a superstar, and once again he never hesitated, but hammered away for four laps, finally dropping Gibson in the final 100 meters.
No flashy, exciting kicks off slow paces, but guts, guts, and more guts.
Kostadinov 3rd in Long Jump
Finally, a quick word of congratulations for Newton North's long jump team, and especially Ivan Kostadinov, who broke 22 feet in the long jump for the first time.
One of these days, Kostadinov is going to figure out how not to lose speed in his final three steps, hit the board right, jump 23 feet, and win the Outdoor State Championship -- unless of course Adam Bao or Sam Arsenault finishes ahead of him.
But I had my running shoes, good weather, and a tailwind. With all those advantages, I covered the nearly five miles to Winchester Center in 33 minutes, arriving exactly one minute before the inbound commuter train to North Station. From there, it was a short walk to the Orange line and then I was on my way to Reggie Lewis Center -- too late to see the mile, but in time for the 600.
So my experience was like the punch line to the old joke:
"How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!"
"How do you get to the Reggie Lewis Center? Run Faster!"
Rather than describe every event, I'd like to write about a few events that really stood out as highlights for me. In some cases, the performance itself stood out; in others, it was the performer who left me impressed.
Here are five events from the state meet that struck me as particularly memorable:
Girls 1000m
As expected, the girls 1000m was the race of the night, featuring a rematch between the D1 champion (Lincoln-Sudbury's Emily Mepham) and runner-up (Newton North's Carolyn Ranti). Mepham has had a wonderful year so far, and had won last week's race with a brilliant kick.
Ranti, who had been working on her start all week, exploded off the line and had the clear lead before she was halfway around the first turn. Once in first, she didn't let it go to waste, as she covered the first 200m in 32 seconds, the first 400m in 66, and hit the 600 in 1:43. By then, both Ranti and Mepham were well clear of the field. On the fourth lap, Mepham took the lead for the first time. Considering the tempo of the race, Mepham looked wonderfully smooth -- showing a perfect balance of speed, endurance, and acceleration. As Mepham poured it on, one had to wonder if Ranti would fade, finally to be devoured by the petite piranhas in the chase pack. But in spite of her early pacemaking, Ranti continued to maintain her speed, and when she passed 800 m in 2:18.9, she was still only about 5-7m behind Mepham. Incredibly, neither one slowed down in the final lap. One expected to see a crack, a fissure, a disturbance in form, or some other obvious and telling sign of distress. But instead, these two superb runners continued to extend their lead over the rest of the field. Mepham crossed the line in 2:53.09, the US#6 time, while Ranti actually appeared to gain back 1-2m in the final straightaway, and finished in 2:54.27, A PR by five seconds, a NN school record, and the US#9 time.
Behind them, Andover's Colleen Shannon placed third in 3:00.15, leading a mass finish in which five runners crossed the line within 8/10ths of a second. Those tenths of a second and Shannon's six points would turn out to be the difference in the meet for Andover, but none of us knew that at the time. For Lincoln-Sudbury, the 1000m was a mixed result. Mepham's run was one of the highlights of the meet, but three other Lincoln-Sudbury girls were in the race and none of them scored, including defending state champion Molly Binder. (She would have another chance in the 4 x 400 relay.)
Boys 600
I had seen the performance, 1:20.93, sitting atop the state top-50 list in the boys 600, and I had wondered, "Who is this kid from Woburn?" I wasn't quite prepared for seeing Ryad Bencheikh in full stride.
Bencheikh, tall and skinny, loped through the first two laps content to follow. As every other runner in the field strained, he glided until about 150 meters to go, when he simply and without any apparent effort blew past the leaders, making the best 600 runners in the state look heavy and slow. He won going away in 1:21.93.
No Massachusetts runner has ever gone sub 1:50 for 800 in high school, but Bencheikh, only a junior, looks capable of it.
Girls 2-Mile
Normally, the unseeded heat of the 2-mile in a state level competition brings a lull in the intensity and drama of the meet. But not yesterday. Newton South's Kelsey Karys, owner of a 10:48 this season, had landed in the unseeded heat after rising out of her sickbed and running a flu-ish 11:27 at the D1 meet the week before, barely qualifying. The Newton South junior knew that, healthy, she would have a chance to score points for her team, but that she would have to run solo to do it. So she took off at the gun. Running alone most of the way, Karys split the mile in just over 5:30, and finished in 11:08. Would it be good enough?
In the seeded heat, there was no question was going to make the pace. Emily Jones, who owned the country's top two times this winter, started fast and didn't let up. In the highly competitive seeded heat, it looked to this observer as though the rest of the field went out too fast. That pack included Needham's Emily Lipman, Natick's Becca White, and a half-dozen other girls who had run close to Kelsey's time in previous meets. However, they were running more like 10:40 pace, a little dangerous. After a few laps of this, Jones was so far off the front that the rest of the pack seemed to settle down. But perhaps the damage had already been done. As Jones romped through the mile in 5:12, the pace began to take its toll on the other runners. Eventually, Jones would lap the field, responding to the cheers of the crowd. When she crossed the line in 10:30.41, it was a personal best, a meet record, and another US#1 time.
More than 40 seconds behind, Becca White was winning a tough stretch battle over Marlborough's Ally Oram (who was DQ'd for something that happened in those final meters). White's time of 11:13.30 was impressive, considering the early pace, but Karys' time had held up, earning her 8 points for Newton South.
Boys 4x800
I've been watching Gloucester's Liam Anastasia-Murphy since he was a freshman, and I always thought of him as a kid with a great kick. Maybe I was overly influenced by watching his brother, Sean, race, and in particular watching him run down George McArdle with an ungodly kick in the 2001 Mass State XC meet.
But the younger brother can do more than kick. Anastasia-Murphy ran two tremendously tough races on Monday, and he led most of the first and all of the second. In the 1000, Anastasia-Murphy took on D2 rival and uber-speedster Brett Sullivan of Woburn. The kid forom Gloucester decided that the only way he could win was by making the race fast from the first step. So he ran at the front, giving everyone else a free ride for four laps. In the end, Sullivan was too good and put the hammer down in the middle of the final backstretch, winning in 2:30.01. Anastasia-Murphy didn't falter, he just couldn't match Sullivan's speed, and finished a strong second in 2:30.55.
A couple of hours later, Anastasia-Murphy took the baton for the final leg of the 4x800 relay a step ahead of Brookline's Robert Gibson, winner of the 2-Mile earlier in the evening. Once again, Anastasia-Murphy had to contend with a superstar, and once again he never hesitated, but hammered away for four laps, finally dropping Gibson in the final 100 meters.
No flashy, exciting kicks off slow paces, but guts, guts, and more guts.
Kostadinov 3rd in Long Jump
Finally, a quick word of congratulations for Newton North's long jump team, and especially Ivan Kostadinov, who broke 22 feet in the long jump for the first time.
One of these days, Kostadinov is going to figure out how not to lose speed in his final three steps, hit the board right, jump 23 feet, and win the Outdoor State Championship -- unless of course Adam Bao or Sam Arsenault finishes ahead of him.
February 24, 2008
Altruism and its Discontents
Last Saturday at the D1 Indoor Meet, Brookline's Robert Gibson eased up in the final 60 meters of the boys 2-mile and let his teammate Mike Burnstein cross the finish line first. It was a generous impulse from a good kid who happens to be the best two-miler in the state as well as the 2007 Mass. cross-country runner of the year.
Gibson and Burnstein had run away from the field, so perhaps they had earned the right to ease up and arrange the finish anyway they liked, giving Burnstein the win and Gibson an easier time recovering for the 4x800 relay, only 45 minutes away.
But it still left me with an odd feeling.
Letting someone else win a race is an odd piece of theater that leaves everyone involved a little bit uncertain about what just happened and what it meant. On the one hand, it seems like good sportsmanship, sharing one's own accomplishments with a deserving teammate. From that perspective, it looks a little bit like a basketball player passing up a layup on a fast break to give his teammate a shot instead. On the other hand, there's an underlying message that makes me feel uneasy: "I could have won, but I chose not to." Is a victory really earned if it is given to you by someone who could have won easily?
In my own racing career, I remember two times when I "let someone win." Both times I remember feeling afterwards that it had been the wrong thing to do. One time, I was just doing a workout at Fresh Pond, and I found myself about to pass a guy near the end of the race. I backed off instead and he won by about 10 meters. I'll always remember how awkward it felt when he came up to me afterwards, beaming because he had "held off my kick." It was agonizing listening to him, knowing that while he had been doing his best, I had been playing around. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and never see him again.
The second time, it was in a race that I had entered under somewhat false pretenses. It was a town race supposed to be for town residents only, and I had talked my way in although I was not a resident. Again, I found myself in a position to win and I backed off at the end, letting a local guy cross the line first. Again, I felt like I had cheapened the event, and I ended up wishing I hadn't entered at all.
These feelings came back to me yesterday while reading a story in the NY Times about the relationship of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, whose "Black Power" salute on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics still stands as one of the most powerful gestures in sports history.
Enduring Image Leads to Enduring Dispute
The story describes the strained relationship between the two men, the resentment over perceived slights and disrespectful things each has written about the other. I was reading along, and then this paragraph about Carlos stopped me dead in my tracks:
"[In his 2001 autobiography] he made an equally spectacular claim, saying that he 'gave' Smith the 200-meter race and the gold medal in 1968. This is a claim he has repeated, and he repeated it again Wednesday. This time, Smith had had enough. 'Gave me?' he said, his voice rising. 'I can’t believe this.'"
One of the things that is great about Track and Field is that the outcome of the contest is not a matter of interpretation. Athletes don't strive to impress judges, or (for the most part) rail against bad calls from referees. It isn't about style points, or intentions, or appearances. In the severe world of a race, the runner who crosses the line first wins. Such a sport demands that if we give anything less than our best, we forfeit the right forever to say that we "could have won."
I wish Gibson and Burnstein all the best on Monday, and whether they are in front or struggling for lower places, I look forward to seeing them race all the way to finish.
Gibson and Burnstein had run away from the field, so perhaps they had earned the right to ease up and arrange the finish anyway they liked, giving Burnstein the win and Gibson an easier time recovering for the 4x800 relay, only 45 minutes away.
But it still left me with an odd feeling.
Letting someone else win a race is an odd piece of theater that leaves everyone involved a little bit uncertain about what just happened and what it meant. On the one hand, it seems like good sportsmanship, sharing one's own accomplishments with a deserving teammate. From that perspective, it looks a little bit like a basketball player passing up a layup on a fast break to give his teammate a shot instead. On the other hand, there's an underlying message that makes me feel uneasy: "I could have won, but I chose not to." Is a victory really earned if it is given to you by someone who could have won easily?
In my own racing career, I remember two times when I "let someone win." Both times I remember feeling afterwards that it had been the wrong thing to do. One time, I was just doing a workout at Fresh Pond, and I found myself about to pass a guy near the end of the race. I backed off instead and he won by about 10 meters. I'll always remember how awkward it felt when he came up to me afterwards, beaming because he had "held off my kick." It was agonizing listening to him, knowing that while he had been doing his best, I had been playing around. I just wanted to get the hell out of there and never see him again.
The second time, it was in a race that I had entered under somewhat false pretenses. It was a town race supposed to be for town residents only, and I had talked my way in although I was not a resident. Again, I found myself in a position to win and I backed off at the end, letting a local guy cross the line first. Again, I felt like I had cheapened the event, and I ended up wishing I hadn't entered at all.
These feelings came back to me yesterday while reading a story in the NY Times about the relationship of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, whose "Black Power" salute on the medal stand at the 1968 Olympics still stands as one of the most powerful gestures in sports history.
Enduring Image Leads to Enduring Dispute
The story describes the strained relationship between the two men, the resentment over perceived slights and disrespectful things each has written about the other. I was reading along, and then this paragraph about Carlos stopped me dead in my tracks:
"[In his 2001 autobiography] he made an equally spectacular claim, saying that he 'gave' Smith the 200-meter race and the gold medal in 1968. This is a claim he has repeated, and he repeated it again Wednesday. This time, Smith had had enough. 'Gave me?' he said, his voice rising. 'I can’t believe this.'"
One of the things that is great about Track and Field is that the outcome of the contest is not a matter of interpretation. Athletes don't strive to impress judges, or (for the most part) rail against bad calls from referees. It isn't about style points, or intentions, or appearances. In the severe world of a race, the runner who crosses the line first wins. Such a sport demands that if we give anything less than our best, we forfeit the right forever to say that we "could have won."
I wish Gibson and Burnstein all the best on Monday, and whether they are in front or struggling for lower places, I look forward to seeing them race all the way to finish.
February 23, 2008
Whatever Happened to "Live From Reggie Lewis?"
It seemed almost too good to be true. At the beginning of the 2007-2008 indoor season, Global Athletics and Marketing, Inc. announced that they would be providing on-demand video of H.S. track and field events at the Reggie Lewis Center. They called the promotion "Live From Reggie Lewis," and it was great.
On their site, you can watch videos taken at Winterfest, the team pentathlon, the Auerbach meet, all four state relays, and the McIntyre Elite relays. And then they hit a wall. Their web site apologizes, saying "Due to scheduling conflicts, the MSTCA Coaches Invitational Track Meet (2/2/08) and the MSTCA Coaches Invitational Elite Track Meet (2/3/08) were not filmed."
Not only that, there is no mention of the Mass. Divisional championships, the All-State meet, or the New England championships. Somewhat ominously, the ads on the site are still promoting the Boston Indoor Games, held at the end of January.
So what happened? Was it just MSTCA meets? Do the other meets fall outside of the MSTCA's jurisdiction? Whatever the explanation, it seems a shame that the biggest meets of the year are not being covered.
It's enough to make me want to dust off the old clunky 20th century video camera and take some videos myself.
On their site, you can watch videos taken at Winterfest, the team pentathlon, the Auerbach meet, all four state relays, and the McIntyre Elite relays. And then they hit a wall. Their web site apologizes, saying "Due to scheduling conflicts, the MSTCA Coaches Invitational Track Meet (2/2/08) and the MSTCA Coaches Invitational Elite Track Meet (2/3/08) were not filmed."
Not only that, there is no mention of the Mass. Divisional championships, the All-State meet, or the New England championships. Somewhat ominously, the ads on the site are still promoting the Boston Indoor Games, held at the end of January.
So what happened? Was it just MSTCA meets? Do the other meets fall outside of the MSTCA's jurisdiction? Whatever the explanation, it seems a shame that the biggest meets of the year are not being covered.
It's enough to make me want to dust off the old clunky 20th century video camera and take some videos myself.
February 21, 2008
Your Guide to the All-State Meet
The Basics
2008 Mass. All-State Indoor Track Meet
NOW MONDAY - FEBRUARY 25, 2008
Reggie Lewis Center - Roxbury, Mass.
Field Events begin at 4:30p; Running events at 5:00p
Schedule
Who is Competing?
Here are links to the boys and girls performance lists:
Girls performance list
Boys performance list
Athletes qualified by finishing in the top five in their events at the divisional State meets (AKA "the Class meets"), or by having one of the next top four best performances.
Preview: Girls Meet
Lincoln-Sudbury had a banner day last Sunday at the D1 meet, and the team hopes to wrap up the state title on Friday. Standing in their way will be Andover and Dual-county rival Newton South, North Reading, and .
Action gets under way with the field events. L-S hopes that Maggie Fleming, who won D1 with a jump of 5-3 can equal or beat her PR 5-5, because it will take a higher jump to place in the top three here. Tewksbury's Kristin Judge has gone 5-7 this year, and Wellesley's Hanna Muir has jumped 5-6.
Newton North's Amy Ren and Vicki Marone compete in the long jump. Winchester's Krista Woodward has the top seed and the longest jump in the state in this, the first year of the post-Aranxta King era. The latest word is that Dana Jamieson WILL compete this week, although she hurt her hamstring jumping last week.
In the shot put, Holliston junior Emmaline Berg is nearly three feet better than anyone else, having thorwn 41-2 last week.
On the oval, the meet begins with the 1-mile run. Newton South junior Bridget Dahlberg is the odds-on favorite to win her third straight indoor mile state championship. L-S hopes that freshman Andrea Keklak can be in the top three. Weymouth freshman Jill Corcoran will also be competing for a medal.
In the 600, Bishop Feehan's Meg Looney is the dominant force. The only runner who might have challenged her - L-S's Dana Jamieson -- won't be running after suffering an injury last week. L-S will be looking to Jess Griffin to pick up some points from this event. Weymouth's Sam Bennett will be running in the next to last heat, but could very well finish in the top six by time.
The 1000 will be one of the best races of the day with a very deep and competitive field. Emily Mepham is the top seed and favorite, and she has both strength and a killer finishing kick. Carolyn Ranti is the master of the fast even pace, and managed 2:59.40 last week despite the flu. If she has recovered, she could push Mepham to an even faster time. if either of these two falter, there are half dozen girls waiting to take their places, including L-S' Molly Binder, Marlborough's Cathy withers, and Framingham's Camille Murphy.
The 300 will be headlined by North reading's Shannon Conway who ran 40.61 last week, the the fastest time in the state this year. Acton-Boxboro's Casey Hsiung won D1 out of the slow heat, but it looks like this week its finals only.
The 2-mile is intriguing for one reason: the second-best runner in the state will be running in the unseeded heat. Kelsey Karys was very ill last week, but still managed to qualify with a gutsy 7th-place finish in D1. if she's feeling better, she'll be WAY out in front in the unseeded heat. In the seeded heat, Emily Jones is by far the best runner in the field and should win easily.
The 55 hurdles should be fun, with Newton's Michelle Kaufman seeded 6th and owning the fourth-best time in the state this year. Michelle has really improved over the last several weeks, and ran her personal best in the trials last Saturday. Mansfield's Meghan Ferreira is the top seed.
The 55 dash is wide, wide open. North Reading's Alexis Capozzi has the top seed, but Andover's Christina Muccio has run faster. Five girls are bunched between 7.31 and 7.38 so we'll need to go to the photo to pick the winners.
In the relays, L-S is the favorite in the 4x800, with Newton South capable of making it a race. Newton North is a surprising 4th seed, but will need improvements across the board to compete with a reseted Franklin, Hingham, and Bromfield. In the 4x200,m Andover has the top seed and is just better than everyone else. In the 4x400, L-S might be the team to beat IF Jamieson runs. If not, top seed Andover gets the nod.
Preview: Boys Meet
Woburn is the team to beat for the all-state title, but it's going to be one of the most competitive team competitions in years, with St John's Shrewsbury and Brookline nipping at Woburn's heels, and Reading, Newton North, and BC High in the hunt.
The first event for the boys is the high jump and it has HUGE implications for the team title. St John's Andrew Powell beat BC High's Corey Thomas in a jump-off last week, with Brookline's Alex Lippincott third. Anything can happen in this event, though, and a good showing for Powell is essential for SJS team chances. Likewise, another great performance from Lippincott, and Brookline might leapfrog the other teams.
The shot put and long jump are also highly significant in the team competition. In the LJ, Newton North's trio of outstanding jumpers are seeded 5th, 6th, and 9th in a crowded field with no clear favorite. A few inches could make the difference between NN scoring lots of points or scoring none at all. in the SP, Mansfield's Mike McPherson threw 58 feet last week, and that's four feet better than anyone else. Newton's Steve Long is seeded 7th, and realistically could finish as high as 4th.
On the oval, the mile will be intriguing, as there is no dominating presence and everyone seemed to run slow last week. Charlestown's Omar Aden is the favorite and has the fastest time in the field (4:19). Chris Brown won D1 last week and should be in the top three. Watch out for Carlos Montrond to rebound from a sub-par race last week. Brookline's Elliot Lehane should score, and I think Seekonk's super soph Johnny Gregorek will be up there as well. There are a lot of guys I haven't mentioned who could score, which makes the race really volatile and fun.
The 600 should go to Woburn's Ryad Bencheikh who owns the state's only sub 1:21 time this year. St John's Sean Mitchell and Dennis Kott went 1-2 last week in D1, but I think Chelmsford's Ryan Buckley learned his lesson last week and will run a smarter race and beat them both on Friday, hurting SJS' team chances.
The 1000 is fairly wide open, although Woburn's Brett Sullivan and Gloucester's Liam Anastasia-Murphy has been making it their private dueling ground. Seb Putzeys is capable running with those two, but if he leads, he's going to have a tough time holding them off. Anastasia-Murphy, in particular, has a positively lethal kick. St. John's Prep's Mike Masse used Seb this way last week, and ran a season's best 2:31. I think those four will take the top four spots, but maybe in a different order.
In the 300, with finals only, I don't see Brookline's Mike Bennett duplicating his D1 win (he's seeded fourth). Westborough's Ryan Ruffing has the top seed and is a clear favorite. If I had to pick one runner who could pull a stunning upset, it would be Lexington sophomore Daishawn Beaumont who very nearly overtook Bennett last week, and seems to be learning and improving with every race he runs. He's a major talent, maybe ready to emerge.
The top five seeds in the two-mile are all closely matched, and all capable of scoring big points. But the winner will be Robert Gibson, who toyed with the pace and the field in last week's D1 race before graciously giving teammate Mike Burnstein the win. Having run in Gibson's wake for most of his HS career, Burnstein is a fine runner who is having a tremendous year. He won the State Coaches meet in 9:31, and will give Dave Hausherr and Anthony Raduazo a run for their money. If Brookline gets 14 points or more from the deuce, plus 6-12 points from the HJ, 300, and mile, they'll have a shot at the team title.
In the 55 dash, Andover's Chris McConnell is the show. Only a soph, he has run 6.42 and that's more than 1/10th of a second better than anyone else.
The hurdles looks like a duel between D1 winner Bryant Wang (L-S) and runner-up Powell (SJS), with BC High's Corey Thomas waiting in the wings to pull an upset.
Ultimately, the meet will come down to the relays. Woburn has the state's fastest 4x200 and 4x400 relays BUT they have been challenged in both events. Reading came with 0.01 of beating the tanners in the 4x200 last week, and Belmont was within a second of matching them in the 4x400. Newton North has the third seed in both relays. It's tough to imagine the Tigers moving up in the 4x200 if all three teams run cleanly, but anything can happen in the 4x2. In the 4x4, Newton always runs great at the end of the year, and it is NOT har to imagine that they will be running for the win, even against the talent of Woburn and Belmont.
Brookline has the top seed in the 4x800, but two of their runners will be competing in individual events. Peabody, running fresh, might be too much for the Warriors. If Gibson can come back from the 2-mile to anchor a victorious Brookline team, it would be an outstanding performance.
2008 Mass. All-State Indoor Track Meet
NOW MONDAY - FEBRUARY 25, 2008
Reggie Lewis Center - Roxbury, Mass.
Field Events begin at 4:30p; Running events at 5:00p
Schedule
4:30 PM LONG JUMP AND SHOT PUT: Girls followed by Boys
4:30 PM HIGH JUMP: Boys and Girls compete simultaneously.
5:00 PM ALL TRACK EVENTS: Girls followed by Boys
ONE MILE RUN FINAL
600M RUN FINAL
1000M RUN FINAL
300M RUN FINAL
TWO MILE RUN FINAL – Girls
55M HURDLES TRIALS
55M DASH TRIALS
TWO MILE RUN FINAL – Boys
55M HURDLES FINAL
55M DASH FINAL
4x800M RELAY FINAL
4x200M RELAY FINAL
4x400M RELAY FINAL
Who is Competing?
Here are links to the boys and girls performance lists:
Girls performance list
Boys performance list
Athletes qualified by finishing in the top five in their events at the divisional State meets (AKA "the Class meets"), or by having one of the next top four best performances.
Preview: Girls Meet
Lincoln-Sudbury had a banner day last Sunday at the D1 meet, and the team hopes to wrap up the state title on Friday. Standing in their way will be Andover and Dual-county rival Newton South, North Reading, and .
Action gets under way with the field events. L-S hopes that Maggie Fleming, who won D1 with a jump of 5-3 can equal or beat her PR 5-5, because it will take a higher jump to place in the top three here. Tewksbury's Kristin Judge has gone 5-7 this year, and Wellesley's Hanna Muir has jumped 5-6.
Newton North's Amy Ren and Vicki Marone compete in the long jump. Winchester's Krista Woodward has the top seed and the longest jump in the state in this, the first year of the post-Aranxta King era. The latest word is that Dana Jamieson WILL compete this week, although she hurt her hamstring jumping last week.
In the shot put, Holliston junior Emmaline Berg is nearly three feet better than anyone else, having thorwn 41-2 last week.
On the oval, the meet begins with the 1-mile run. Newton South junior Bridget Dahlberg is the odds-on favorite to win her third straight indoor mile state championship. L-S hopes that freshman Andrea Keklak can be in the top three. Weymouth freshman Jill Corcoran will also be competing for a medal.
In the 600, Bishop Feehan's Meg Looney is the dominant force. The only runner who might have challenged her - L-S's Dana Jamieson -- won't be running after suffering an injury last week. L-S will be looking to Jess Griffin to pick up some points from this event. Weymouth's Sam Bennett will be running in the next to last heat, but could very well finish in the top six by time.
The 1000 will be one of the best races of the day with a very deep and competitive field. Emily Mepham is the top seed and favorite, and she has both strength and a killer finishing kick. Carolyn Ranti is the master of the fast even pace, and managed 2:59.40 last week despite the flu. If she has recovered, she could push Mepham to an even faster time. if either of these two falter, there are half dozen girls waiting to take their places, including L-S' Molly Binder, Marlborough's Cathy withers, and Framingham's Camille Murphy.
The 300 will be headlined by North reading's Shannon Conway who ran 40.61 last week, the the fastest time in the state this year. Acton-Boxboro's Casey Hsiung won D1 out of the slow heat, but it looks like this week its finals only.
The 2-mile is intriguing for one reason: the second-best runner in the state will be running in the unseeded heat. Kelsey Karys was very ill last week, but still managed to qualify with a gutsy 7th-place finish in D1. if she's feeling better, she'll be WAY out in front in the unseeded heat. In the seeded heat, Emily Jones is by far the best runner in the field and should win easily.
The 55 hurdles should be fun, with Newton's Michelle Kaufman seeded 6th and owning the fourth-best time in the state this year. Michelle has really improved over the last several weeks, and ran her personal best in the trials last Saturday. Mansfield's Meghan Ferreira is the top seed.
The 55 dash is wide, wide open. North Reading's Alexis Capozzi has the top seed, but Andover's Christina Muccio has run faster. Five girls are bunched between 7.31 and 7.38 so we'll need to go to the photo to pick the winners.
In the relays, L-S is the favorite in the 4x800, with Newton South capable of making it a race. Newton North is a surprising 4th seed, but will need improvements across the board to compete with a reseted Franklin, Hingham, and Bromfield. In the 4x200,m Andover has the top seed and is just better than everyone else. In the 4x400, L-S might be the team to beat IF Jamieson runs. If not, top seed Andover gets the nod.
Preview: Boys Meet
Woburn is the team to beat for the all-state title, but it's going to be one of the most competitive team competitions in years, with St John's Shrewsbury and Brookline nipping at Woburn's heels, and Reading, Newton North, and BC High in the hunt.
The first event for the boys is the high jump and it has HUGE implications for the team title. St John's Andrew Powell beat BC High's Corey Thomas in a jump-off last week, with Brookline's Alex Lippincott third. Anything can happen in this event, though, and a good showing for Powell is essential for SJS team chances. Likewise, another great performance from Lippincott, and Brookline might leapfrog the other teams.
The shot put and long jump are also highly significant in the team competition. In the LJ, Newton North's trio of outstanding jumpers are seeded 5th, 6th, and 9th in a crowded field with no clear favorite. A few inches could make the difference between NN scoring lots of points or scoring none at all. in the SP, Mansfield's Mike McPherson threw 58 feet last week, and that's four feet better than anyone else. Newton's Steve Long is seeded 7th, and realistically could finish as high as 4th.
On the oval, the mile will be intriguing, as there is no dominating presence and everyone seemed to run slow last week. Charlestown's Omar Aden is the favorite and has the fastest time in the field (4:19). Chris Brown won D1 last week and should be in the top three. Watch out for Carlos Montrond to rebound from a sub-par race last week. Brookline's Elliot Lehane should score, and I think Seekonk's super soph Johnny Gregorek will be up there as well. There are a lot of guys I haven't mentioned who could score, which makes the race really volatile and fun.
The 600 should go to Woburn's Ryad Bencheikh who owns the state's only sub 1:21 time this year. St John's Sean Mitchell and Dennis Kott went 1-2 last week in D1, but I think Chelmsford's Ryan Buckley learned his lesson last week and will run a smarter race and beat them both on Friday, hurting SJS' team chances.
The 1000 is fairly wide open, although Woburn's Brett Sullivan and Gloucester's Liam Anastasia-Murphy has been making it their private dueling ground. Seb Putzeys is capable running with those two, but if he leads, he's going to have a tough time holding them off. Anastasia-Murphy, in particular, has a positively lethal kick. St. John's Prep's Mike Masse used Seb this way last week, and ran a season's best 2:31. I think those four will take the top four spots, but maybe in a different order.
In the 300, with finals only, I don't see Brookline's Mike Bennett duplicating his D1 win (he's seeded fourth). Westborough's Ryan Ruffing has the top seed and is a clear favorite. If I had to pick one runner who could pull a stunning upset, it would be Lexington sophomore Daishawn Beaumont who very nearly overtook Bennett last week, and seems to be learning and improving with every race he runs. He's a major talent, maybe ready to emerge.
The top five seeds in the two-mile are all closely matched, and all capable of scoring big points. But the winner will be Robert Gibson, who toyed with the pace and the field in last week's D1 race before graciously giving teammate Mike Burnstein the win. Having run in Gibson's wake for most of his HS career, Burnstein is a fine runner who is having a tremendous year. He won the State Coaches meet in 9:31, and will give Dave Hausherr and Anthony Raduazo a run for their money. If Brookline gets 14 points or more from the deuce, plus 6-12 points from the HJ, 300, and mile, they'll have a shot at the team title.
In the 55 dash, Andover's Chris McConnell is the show. Only a soph, he has run 6.42 and that's more than 1/10th of a second better than anyone else.
The hurdles looks like a duel between D1 winner Bryant Wang (L-S) and runner-up Powell (SJS), with BC High's Corey Thomas waiting in the wings to pull an upset.
Ultimately, the meet will come down to the relays. Woburn has the state's fastest 4x200 and 4x400 relays BUT they have been challenged in both events. Reading came with 0.01 of beating the tanners in the 4x200 last week, and Belmont was within a second of matching them in the 4x400. Newton North has the third seed in both relays. It's tough to imagine the Tigers moving up in the 4x200 if all three teams run cleanly, but anything can happen in the 4x2. In the 4x4, Newton always runs great at the end of the year, and it is NOT har to imagine that they will be running for the win, even against the talent of Woburn and Belmont.
Brookline has the top seed in the 4x800, but two of their runners will be competing in individual events. Peabody, running fresh, might be too much for the Warriors. If Gibson can come back from the 2-mile to anchor a victorious Brookline team, it would be an outstanding performance.
February 18, 2008
2008 D1 Indoor Championship Results
Boys: Brookline Wins; Newton North 3rd
The Brookline boys submitted an all-around championship performance to win the D1 State Meet, amassing 57 points to 51 for St John's of Shrewsbury, and 47 for Newton North. The Warriors got early points from Alex Lippincott (3rd in the HJ) and Elliot Lehane and Ryan Hardiman (2nd and 5th in the mile). But the meet really turned in their favor when Michael Bennett, only the 7th fastest qualifier for the 300 finals, ran the race of his life to win out of the "slow" heat. Those 10 points were huge, as the final scores indicate. Later, Mike Burnstein and Robert Gibson went 1-2 in the 2-Mile, and Gibson anchored the victorious 4x800 team. A couple of points from Joel Parent in the 55 hurdles and a point in the 4x400 were icing on the trophy for Brookline.
St John's was a worthy foe, as Andrew Powell took a first in the high jump and second in the 55 hurdles, and Sean Mitchell and Dennis Kott went 1-2 in the 600. SJS also got a 6th in the mile and a 4th in the 2-mile (sophomore Ben Perron - 9:42), plus 5th in the 4x800 and 2nd in the 4x400 (3:26). Basically, they got most of the points they could -- and it wasn't enough to top Brookline.
Newton North was the other team in the hunt for the team title. Seb Putzeys took second in the 1000m, Steve Long 3rd in the shot put, and the trio of Sam Arsenault, Ivan Kostadinov, and Adam Bao went 3-4-5 in the long jump. Hymlaire Lamisere picked up an unexpected point when he eked out 6th place in the 55 dash. Although he didn't score, Dan Hamilton performed above expectations running a personal best 9:56 to place 2nd in the unseeded heat and 9th overall in the 2-mile.
The Tigers saved their best for the relays. The quartet of Arsenault, Bao, Lamisere, and Kostadinov won the 4x200 going away, recording a new school record 1:32.23, nearly a second a head of Brockton. Arsenault, Bao, and Kostadinov didn't rest long, as the three of them plus Seb Putzeys came back 40 minutes later to win the 4x400 in 3:25.72.
Boys Results
Girls: L-S Prevails; Ranti, Kaufman, 4x800 are Going to States
There were moments early in the meet when it looked like Newton South might be able to overcome the Lincoln-Sudbury juggernaut. The Lions scored 15 point in the mile, a race dominated by younger runners. Junior Bridget Dahlberg won easily, ahead of freshmen Andrea Keklak (L-S), freshman Jill Corcoran (Weymouth), junior Juliet Ryan-Davis (NS), sophomore Christine McNaughton (Haverhill), and freshman Kathy O'Keefe (NS). It was the only event all day in which underclassmen took all six top spots.
Newton South then scored another 14 points in the shot put, as Mbianda Nalis threw 33-2.75 to win. Meanwhile, L-S had taken 8 points in the long jump. The long jump points were costly, though, because Dana Jamieson was injured jumping 16-9, and was out of the 600 and the 4x400 relay.
Nobody ever likes to see a meet decided by injury or illness. Unfortunately, both were at play. Injury had forced Jamieson out of the meet, but illness hampered South's Kelsey Karys in the 2-mile. Karys had run 10:48 -- 25 seconds better than anyone else in the field -- but after battling the flu all week, Karys was far from herself. She led the race through a 5:36 opening mile, and then struggled to run 89-second quarters. Although she ran bravely, in the end, she managed only seventh in 11:28. Not only did South only come away with Melanie Fineman's two points for 5th, they had to watch L-S grab 9 points, as Holly Clark took second and Rachel Potter got 6th.
L-S also got a first place from Maggie Fleming in the high jump, and a fourth from Jess Griffin in the 600, a 1-5-6 finish for Emily Mepham, Ellie Hylton, and Molly Binder in the 1000.
Carolyn Ranti was also battling flu symptoms, but after a bad night, the Newton North junior ran a perfect race in the 1000, dictating the pace for most of the race and holding on for second in a school record 2:59.40.
Remarkably, after lying on the infield for five minutes, Ranti found enough energy to run a 2:19 opening leg in the 4x800 relay, giving the Newton North girls a big lead. Emma Kornetsky then split 2:24, Nora Barnicle 2:31, and Adina Hemley-Bronstein 2:30, as the Tigers took third in 9:44 behind L-S and Newton South.
Michelle Kaufman ran the day's fastest time in the girls 55 hurdles, recording a personal best 8.60 in the prelims, and then coming back to run 8.66 in the finals, placing 2nd. Kaufman also finished 10th in the long jump. Amy Ren jumped 16-5.25 to take 5th, and Vicki Marone jumped 16-3 to take 7th. Bonny Guang made the "podium," throwing 31-11.75 to take 6th in the shot put.
Final scores of the girls meet: L-S 66 points, Newton South 48. Newton North had 25 points to place 6th.
Girls Results
The Brookline boys submitted an all-around championship performance to win the D1 State Meet, amassing 57 points to 51 for St John's of Shrewsbury, and 47 for Newton North. The Warriors got early points from Alex Lippincott (3rd in the HJ) and Elliot Lehane and Ryan Hardiman (2nd and 5th in the mile). But the meet really turned in their favor when Michael Bennett, only the 7th fastest qualifier for the 300 finals, ran the race of his life to win out of the "slow" heat. Those 10 points were huge, as the final scores indicate. Later, Mike Burnstein and Robert Gibson went 1-2 in the 2-Mile, and Gibson anchored the victorious 4x800 team. A couple of points from Joel Parent in the 55 hurdles and a point in the 4x400 were icing on the trophy for Brookline.
St John's was a worthy foe, as Andrew Powell took a first in the high jump and second in the 55 hurdles, and Sean Mitchell and Dennis Kott went 1-2 in the 600. SJS also got a 6th in the mile and a 4th in the 2-mile (sophomore Ben Perron - 9:42), plus 5th in the 4x800 and 2nd in the 4x400 (3:26). Basically, they got most of the points they could -- and it wasn't enough to top Brookline.
Newton North was the other team in the hunt for the team title. Seb Putzeys took second in the 1000m, Steve Long 3rd in the shot put, and the trio of Sam Arsenault, Ivan Kostadinov, and Adam Bao went 3-4-5 in the long jump. Hymlaire Lamisere picked up an unexpected point when he eked out 6th place in the 55 dash. Although he didn't score, Dan Hamilton performed above expectations running a personal best 9:56 to place 2nd in the unseeded heat and 9th overall in the 2-mile.
The Tigers saved their best for the relays. The quartet of Arsenault, Bao, Lamisere, and Kostadinov won the 4x200 going away, recording a new school record 1:32.23, nearly a second a head of Brockton. Arsenault, Bao, and Kostadinov didn't rest long, as the three of them plus Seb Putzeys came back 40 minutes later to win the 4x400 in 3:25.72.
Boys Results
Girls: L-S Prevails; Ranti, Kaufman, 4x800 are Going to States
There were moments early in the meet when it looked like Newton South might be able to overcome the Lincoln-Sudbury juggernaut. The Lions scored 15 point in the mile, a race dominated by younger runners. Junior Bridget Dahlberg won easily, ahead of freshmen Andrea Keklak (L-S), freshman Jill Corcoran (Weymouth), junior Juliet Ryan-Davis (NS), sophomore Christine McNaughton (Haverhill), and freshman Kathy O'Keefe (NS). It was the only event all day in which underclassmen took all six top spots.
Newton South then scored another 14 points in the shot put, as Mbianda Nalis threw 33-2.75 to win. Meanwhile, L-S had taken 8 points in the long jump. The long jump points were costly, though, because Dana Jamieson was injured jumping 16-9, and was out of the 600 and the 4x400 relay.
Nobody ever likes to see a meet decided by injury or illness. Unfortunately, both were at play. Injury had forced Jamieson out of the meet, but illness hampered South's Kelsey Karys in the 2-mile. Karys had run 10:48 -- 25 seconds better than anyone else in the field -- but after battling the flu all week, Karys was far from herself. She led the race through a 5:36 opening mile, and then struggled to run 89-second quarters. Although she ran bravely, in the end, she managed only seventh in 11:28. Not only did South only come away with Melanie Fineman's two points for 5th, they had to watch L-S grab 9 points, as Holly Clark took second and Rachel Potter got 6th.
L-S also got a first place from Maggie Fleming in the high jump, and a fourth from Jess Griffin in the 600, a 1-5-6 finish for Emily Mepham, Ellie Hylton, and Molly Binder in the 1000.
Carolyn Ranti was also battling flu symptoms, but after a bad night, the Newton North junior ran a perfect race in the 1000, dictating the pace for most of the race and holding on for second in a school record 2:59.40.
Remarkably, after lying on the infield for five minutes, Ranti found enough energy to run a 2:19 opening leg in the 4x800 relay, giving the Newton North girls a big lead. Emma Kornetsky then split 2:24, Nora Barnicle 2:31, and Adina Hemley-Bronstein 2:30, as the Tigers took third in 9:44 behind L-S and Newton South.
Michelle Kaufman ran the day's fastest time in the girls 55 hurdles, recording a personal best 8.60 in the prelims, and then coming back to run 8.66 in the finals, placing 2nd. Kaufman also finished 10th in the long jump. Amy Ren jumped 16-5.25 to take 5th, and Vicki Marone jumped 16-3 to take 7th. Bonny Guang made the "podium," throwing 31-11.75 to take 6th in the shot put.
Final scores of the girls meet: L-S 66 points, Newton South 48. Newton North had 25 points to place 6th.
Girls Results
February 16, 2008
Div I State Championships Preview - Girls
The battle for the girls D1 title will be between the two dominant powers in the Dual County League, Lincoln-Sudbury and Newton South, with Andover clinging to third just beyond the reaches of a slew of teams, including Bay State champion Weymouth.
Last year, L-S scored 46 points at this meet, finishing tied with Acton-Boxboro and two points ahead of Newton South. This year, the Warriors project to score more points. They have the top-seeded runner in the 600 in Dana Jamieson, three of the top four seeds in the 1000 (led by Emily Mepham's 2:57), the fourth seed in the mile (freshman Andrea Keklak), a 5-5 high jumper (Maggie Fleming), Jamieson in the long jump, and two strong relays.
But Newton South is a team that steps up in big meets, and if L-S shows any weakness, South is absolutely capable of winning this meet. South brings tremendous strength in the middle distances with the top two seeds in the mile, and the first and third seeds in the 2-mile. Add the 4x800 relay, and Steve McChesney's distance crew could be putting up 40+ points. And South isn't a one-dimensional team; they also have one of the top sprinters in the state (Candace Bailey), the top-seeded shot putter (Elisabeth Jeyaraj), and a 4x800 team that has run 9:30, second only to the Warriors other-worldly 9:16.
Projecting score ONLY from the performance list, this is how it looks:
Lincoln-Sudbury 71
Newton South 57
Andover 34
Haverhill 22
Somerville 21
Acton-Boxboro 21
But I think it's going to be a lot closer than that.
As for Newton North, it will be a meet for individuals, with little thought to the team competition. Michelle Kaufman looks to score in the 55 hurdles, Carolyn Ranti will be in the middle of a phalanx of L-S runners in the 1000, and Bonny Guang is a threat to make the podium in the shot put.
Other Bay Staters to watch include Weymouth freshman Jill Corcoran in the mile, Sam Bennett (600), Carolyn Connolly (1000), Kristen Mahoney (2M), and their 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams... Braintree's Jacky Hull (300), Siobhan Flaherty (1M), and Camille Murphy (1000).
Good luck to all!
Last year, L-S scored 46 points at this meet, finishing tied with Acton-Boxboro and two points ahead of Newton South. This year, the Warriors project to score more points. They have the top-seeded runner in the 600 in Dana Jamieson, three of the top four seeds in the 1000 (led by Emily Mepham's 2:57), the fourth seed in the mile (freshman Andrea Keklak), a 5-5 high jumper (Maggie Fleming), Jamieson in the long jump, and two strong relays.
But Newton South is a team that steps up in big meets, and if L-S shows any weakness, South is absolutely capable of winning this meet. South brings tremendous strength in the middle distances with the top two seeds in the mile, and the first and third seeds in the 2-mile. Add the 4x800 relay, and Steve McChesney's distance crew could be putting up 40+ points. And South isn't a one-dimensional team; they also have one of the top sprinters in the state (Candace Bailey), the top-seeded shot putter (Elisabeth Jeyaraj), and a 4x800 team that has run 9:30, second only to the Warriors other-worldly 9:16.
Projecting score ONLY from the performance list, this is how it looks:
Lincoln-Sudbury 71
Newton South 57
Andover 34
Haverhill 22
Somerville 21
Acton-Boxboro 21
But I think it's going to be a lot closer than that.
As for Newton North, it will be a meet for individuals, with little thought to the team competition. Michelle Kaufman looks to score in the 55 hurdles, Carolyn Ranti will be in the middle of a phalanx of L-S runners in the 1000, and Bonny Guang is a threat to make the podium in the shot put.
Other Bay Staters to watch include Weymouth freshman Jill Corcoran in the mile, Sam Bennett (600), Carolyn Connolly (1000), Kristen Mahoney (2M), and their 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams... Braintree's Jacky Hull (300), Siobhan Flaherty (1M), and Camille Murphy (1000).
Good luck to all!
NNHS Alumni Results - February 16, 2008
Barton Competes in USA Junior XC
Wake Forest freshman Jess Barton competed at the Junior Women's Race (6K) at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Saturday, finishing 35th in 23:49.
Jampol: 4:26 at the Armory
At the Rider-Lafayette Invitational on Friday, Noah Jampol ran 4:26 for 1 Mile for the second week in a row. His time of 4:26.57 placed him 24th in a large field. The meet was held at the Armory in NYC.
O'Brien Runs 1:37 for 600m; Brecher Runs 2:47 for 1000m
Wesleyan senior Stephanie O'Brien has been running great times in the 500, 800, and 1000 this winter, but to my knowledge, her first attempt at 600m came on Saturday, at the Tufts Stampede in Medford. O'Brien placed second to BC's Siobhan Breagy, running 1:37.22.
At the same meet, Bates sophomore Doug Brecher dropped down to the 1K to work on his speed. The result: a 2:47.79 effort.
By the way, last Saturday (Feb 9) Doug ran a personal best 15:32.50 for 5K at the State of Maine Championships to take fifth. That's 5:00 pace for anyone keeping score at home. Nice race, Doug!
Wake Forest freshman Jess Barton competed at the Junior Women's Race (6K) at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego on Saturday, finishing 35th in 23:49.
Jampol: 4:26 at the Armory
At the Rider-Lafayette Invitational on Friday, Noah Jampol ran 4:26 for 1 Mile for the second week in a row. His time of 4:26.57 placed him 24th in a large field. The meet was held at the Armory in NYC.
O'Brien Runs 1:37 for 600m; Brecher Runs 2:47 for 1000m
Wesleyan senior Stephanie O'Brien has been running great times in the 500, 800, and 1000 this winter, but to my knowledge, her first attempt at 600m came on Saturday, at the Tufts Stampede in Medford. O'Brien placed second to BC's Siobhan Breagy, running 1:37.22.
At the same meet, Bates sophomore Doug Brecher dropped down to the 1K to work on his speed. The result: a 2:47.79 effort.
By the way, last Saturday (Feb 9) Doug ran a personal best 15:32.50 for 5K at the State of Maine Championships to take fifth. That's 5:00 pace for anyone keeping score at home. Nice race, Doug!
Div I State Championships Preview - Boys
Another big weekend of indoor track, with the Mass. State Division Championships happening all weekend at the Reggie Lewis Center. The D2 Championships were last night, D3 and D4 today, and the D1 Championships get underway at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Every year, I plug in the top performers (taken from the published performance lists), and do a mock team score. This isn't exactly a prediction, since seed times don't tell the whole story, but it does give a general idea of which teams are in the hunt for the championship.
In Boys Division I, five teams stand out. Newton North, St John's (Shrewsbury), Brookline, BC High, and Brockton are the ones to watch.
Newton North has a lot of potential points with top performers Sam Arsenault (55 hurdles, LJ), Seb Putzeys (1000m), Ivan Kostadinov and Adam Bao (LJ), and Steve Long (SP). In addition, North has two strong relays, the top-seeded 4x200, and the second-seeded 4x400. The 4x200 is a tough event to count on, though. With three potential scorers in the long jump, that will likely be the key event for the Tigers. Anything they can get in the hurdles would be a bonus.
St. John's Shrewsbury will be counting on Andrew Powell (top seed in HJ, third seed in 55 hurdles), and their outstanding long sprinters (Dennis Kott and Sean Mitchell are seeded 2nd and 3rd in the 600, and their 4x400 team could definitely finish higher than their 4th seed).
Brookline has formidable strength in the 1M (Elliot Lehane, seeded 3rd) and 2M (Robert Gibson and Michael Burnstein seeded 1st and 2nd). They need all those points, plus a good 4x800 relay and they'll be in business. The Warriors will also be hoping for points in the 300 (Michael Bennett, seeded 5th), 1000 (Chris Mercurio, seeded 5th), and high jump (Alex Lipincott, seeded 3rd). They are also seeded 4th in the 4x400 relay, but might struggle there without Gibson, who will run the 4x800.
BC High is kind of the sleeper in this group. But they are a threat because they have Corey Thomas, the top-seeded hurdler and a 6-8 high jumper. If he scores 18 points for them (and it could be 20!), they'll be looking for points from Mike Murphy (50' shot put) and their strong 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams. I don't see them getting more than 40 points, though, so unless NN, SJS, and Brookline all have bad days, I think BC High won't be the top team.
Brockton is always dangerous and this year is no exception. They have a sub 36 300 runner (Jimm Guerrier), a 4:21 miler (Carlos Montrond), a 22' long jumper (Dean Gregory), and a slew of 6.7x guys in the dash. Basically, they are going to score points with Guerrier and Montrond, and they have HUGE potential if their guys can step up in the other events. They also have a very strong 4x800 relay, and could place higher than their fifth seed in the 4x200.
Going ONLY by the performance lists, the teams score as follows:
Newton North 55
SJS 43
Brookline 41
BC High 40.5
Brockton 37.5
However, these teams are so close that there will be surprises and shake-ups, and any team could emerge on top.
Every year, I plug in the top performers (taken from the published performance lists), and do a mock team score. This isn't exactly a prediction, since seed times don't tell the whole story, but it does give a general idea of which teams are in the hunt for the championship.
In Boys Division I, five teams stand out. Newton North, St John's (Shrewsbury), Brookline, BC High, and Brockton are the ones to watch.
Newton North has a lot of potential points with top performers Sam Arsenault (55 hurdles, LJ), Seb Putzeys (1000m), Ivan Kostadinov and Adam Bao (LJ), and Steve Long (SP). In addition, North has two strong relays, the top-seeded 4x200, and the second-seeded 4x400. The 4x200 is a tough event to count on, though. With three potential scorers in the long jump, that will likely be the key event for the Tigers. Anything they can get in the hurdles would be a bonus.
St. John's Shrewsbury will be counting on Andrew Powell (top seed in HJ, third seed in 55 hurdles), and their outstanding long sprinters (Dennis Kott and Sean Mitchell are seeded 2nd and 3rd in the 600, and their 4x400 team could definitely finish higher than their 4th seed).
Brookline has formidable strength in the 1M (Elliot Lehane, seeded 3rd) and 2M (Robert Gibson and Michael Burnstein seeded 1st and 2nd). They need all those points, plus a good 4x800 relay and they'll be in business. The Warriors will also be hoping for points in the 300 (Michael Bennett, seeded 5th), 1000 (Chris Mercurio, seeded 5th), and high jump (Alex Lipincott, seeded 3rd). They are also seeded 4th in the 4x400 relay, but might struggle there without Gibson, who will run the 4x800.
BC High is kind of the sleeper in this group. But they are a threat because they have Corey Thomas, the top-seeded hurdler and a 6-8 high jumper. If he scores 18 points for them (and it could be 20!), they'll be looking for points from Mike Murphy (50' shot put) and their strong 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams. I don't see them getting more than 40 points, though, so unless NN, SJS, and Brookline all have bad days, I think BC High won't be the top team.
Brockton is always dangerous and this year is no exception. They have a sub 36 300 runner (Jimm Guerrier), a 4:21 miler (Carlos Montrond), a 22' long jumper (Dean Gregory), and a slew of 6.7x guys in the dash. Basically, they are going to score points with Guerrier and Montrond, and they have HUGE potential if their guys can step up in the other events. They also have a very strong 4x800 relay, and could place higher than their fifth seed in the 4x200.
Going ONLY by the performance lists, the teams score as follows:
Newton North 55
SJS 43
Brookline 41
BC High 40.5
Brockton 37.5
However, these teams are so close that there will be surprises and shake-ups, and any team could emerge on top.
February 15, 2008
USA Cross Country Championships Saturday
Indoor track is big -- really big -- this time of year, especially in the Northeast, but this weekend also has the USA Cross Country Championships, which serve as the trials for the World Championships to be held at the end of March.
According to the USATF web site, over 700 athletes will converge on Mission bay Park in San Diego for the open, junior, and masters races. The open races typically feature many of the very best U.S. distance runners. This year, for example, both Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenheim (1-2 in last Fall's Olympic Trial Marathon) will be competing in the men's race. In the women's open race, Shalane Flanagan headlines the field.
Here are some video highlights from last year's race.
By the way, the 2007 men's race was the subject of one of the better running videos out there. "Showdown" follows five athletes preparing for the Men's 12K Championship race.
I have been unable to find any information about TV coverage of this year's event, but if I do find something, I'll re-post with the information.
Ok, back to the boards.
According to the USATF web site, over 700 athletes will converge on Mission bay Park in San Diego for the open, junior, and masters races. The open races typically feature many of the very best U.S. distance runners. This year, for example, both Ryan Hall and Dathan Ritzenheim (1-2 in last Fall's Olympic Trial Marathon) will be competing in the men's race. In the women's open race, Shalane Flanagan headlines the field.
Here are some video highlights from last year's race.
By the way, the 2007 men's race was the subject of one of the better running videos out there. "Showdown" follows five athletes preparing for the Men's 12K Championship race.
I have been unable to find any information about TV coverage of this year's event, but if I do find something, I'll re-post with the information.
Ok, back to the boards.
February 12, 2008
Why Muscles Get Tired
Today's NY Times has an article describing research into the causes of muscle fatigue, a phenomenon that is well-known but still poorly understood. The research suggests that "calcium leaks" play a major role in weakening muscle contractions, hastening the physiological and psychological changes we experience as progressive fatigue.
Finding May Solve Riddle of Fatigue in Muscles
The article also suggests that it is possible to design "anti-fatigue" therapies that block calcium leaks. Experimental results on mice seem to prove that its possible to increase the time to exhaustion. Could an anti-fatigue drug be that far off?
And would that be a good thing? The article concludes with these rather ominous paragraphs:
"That idea, 'is sort of amazing,' said Dr. Steven Liggett, a heart-failure researcher at the University of Maryland. Yet, Dr. Liggett said, for athletes 'we have to ask whether it would be prudent to be circumventing this mechanism.'
'Maybe [fatigue] is a protective mechanism,' he said. 'Maybe fatigue is saying that you are getting ready to go into a danger zone. So it is cutting you off. If you could will yourself to run as fast and as long as you could, some people would run until they keeled over and died.'"
Finding May Solve Riddle of Fatigue in Muscles
The article also suggests that it is possible to design "anti-fatigue" therapies that block calcium leaks. Experimental results on mice seem to prove that its possible to increase the time to exhaustion. Could an anti-fatigue drug be that far off?
And would that be a good thing? The article concludes with these rather ominous paragraphs:
"That idea, 'is sort of amazing,' said Dr. Steven Liggett, a heart-failure researcher at the University of Maryland. Yet, Dr. Liggett said, for athletes 'we have to ask whether it would be prudent to be circumventing this mechanism.'
'Maybe [fatigue] is a protective mechanism,' he said. 'Maybe fatigue is saying that you are getting ready to go into a danger zone. So it is cutting you off. If you could will yourself to run as fast and as long as you could, some people would run until they keeled over and died.'"
February 10, 2008
NNHS Alumni Results - February 9, 2008
Day 2 at the BU Valentine's Meet
In the mile, Noah Jampol was on pace for a 4:24 mile through 1400m, but faded a bit in the last lap. Nevertheless, Noah notched a season's best time of 4:26.43. The mile was certainly a deep event, with 56 runners unders 4:20. One of them was Brookline's Robert Gibson, who ran a personal best 4:15.70.
Cailean Robinson, now matriculating at Phillips Exeter, ran 6.54 in the prelims of the 55 dash (10th fastest time from a field of 119) to qualify for the two-section final. In the final, he ran 6.57, placing 6th in his section. Cailean also competed in the 200, running 22.34 to place 25th out of 207 competitors!
David Cahill ran 1:05.04 to place 7th overall in the 500. In the 800, Josh Seeherman overcame a poor start in which he was elbowed, cut off, and generally abused, to run 2:02.17
In the 3000m, Dan Chebot ran a personal best and ECAC-qualifying time of 8:57.50. Congratulations, Dan!
(Watch Dan's race on Flotrack)
David Smith competed in both the shot put and the weight throw. In the shot, Smith threw 14.60 (47-11), and in the weight, he threw 13.24 (43-5.25).
Scott Cole Runs 2:04 and Finally Gets Noticed
Let's see if I can finally manage to post results for Scott Cole without being reminded... Scott ran the 800 at the Cardinal Invitational (at Wesleyan), finishing second in 2:04.82. Scott is having a great indoor season!
Another result I'm glad I didn't miss this week:
At the Virginia Tech Elite Meet, Jess Barton ran a season's best 9:57.56 for 3000m, finishing 3rd in her section, and 9th overall in a field of 33.
Barnicle Runs 4:09 at Armory
The Men's championship mile at the New Balance Invitational in NYC featured a reunion of sorts for three former Massachusetts state champions: La Salle's Sean Quigley finished 3rd overall in a personal best time of 4:01.35; Georgetown's Michael Banks finished 8th in 4:04.56; and Chris Barnicle finished 15th in 4:09.26. Also in the race was former Cushing Academy star Ayalew Taye, who placed 5th in 4:03.63.
In the mile, Noah Jampol was on pace for a 4:24 mile through 1400m, but faded a bit in the last lap. Nevertheless, Noah notched a season's best time of 4:26.43. The mile was certainly a deep event, with 56 runners unders 4:20. One of them was Brookline's Robert Gibson, who ran a personal best 4:15.70.
Cailean Robinson, now matriculating at Phillips Exeter, ran 6.54 in the prelims of the 55 dash (10th fastest time from a field of 119) to qualify for the two-section final. In the final, he ran 6.57, placing 6th in his section. Cailean also competed in the 200, running 22.34 to place 25th out of 207 competitors!
David Cahill ran 1:05.04 to place 7th overall in the 500. In the 800, Josh Seeherman overcame a poor start in which he was elbowed, cut off, and generally abused, to run 2:02.17
In the 3000m, Dan Chebot ran a personal best and ECAC-qualifying time of 8:57.50. Congratulations, Dan!
(Watch Dan's race on Flotrack)
David Smith competed in both the shot put and the weight throw. In the shot, Smith threw 14.60 (47-11), and in the weight, he threw 13.24 (43-5.25).
Scott Cole Runs 2:04 and Finally Gets Noticed
Let's see if I can finally manage to post results for Scott Cole without being reminded... Scott ran the 800 at the Cardinal Invitational (at Wesleyan), finishing second in 2:04.82. Scott is having a great indoor season!
Another result I'm glad I didn't miss this week:
At the Virginia Tech Elite Meet, Jess Barton ran a season's best 9:57.56 for 3000m, finishing 3rd in her section, and 9th overall in a field of 33.
Barnicle Runs 4:09 at Armory
The Men's championship mile at the New Balance Invitational in NYC featured a reunion of sorts for three former Massachusetts state champions: La Salle's Sean Quigley finished 3rd overall in a personal best time of 4:01.35; Georgetown's Michael Banks finished 8th in 4:04.56; and Chris Barnicle finished 15th in 4:09.26. Also in the race was former Cushing Academy star Ayalew Taye, who placed 5th in 4:03.63.
February 09, 2008
NNHS Alumni Results - February 8, 2008
NNHS alumni results from Day 1 of the BU Valentine's Invitational:
Caroline Occean continued her amazing indoor season, blazing 2:12.41 to take 7th in the women's 800m. Josh, is that a PR for Caroline? Stephanie O'Brien ran a season's best 2:16.31.
In her first-ever 5000m on the track, Wesleyan freshman Haleigh Smith ran 18:05.92. That's about 1:45 better than her fastest 5K in cross-country!
BU Valentine's Invitational - Friday Results
Missed this last week -- Jess Barton ran 10:09.89 for 3000m to place 10th in the 3k "Gold" division race at the Akron Open last Saturday (2/2/2008).
Caroline Occean continued her amazing indoor season, blazing 2:12.41 to take 7th in the women's 800m. Josh, is that a PR for Caroline? Stephanie O'Brien ran a season's best 2:16.31.
In her first-ever 5000m on the track, Wesleyan freshman Haleigh Smith ran 18:05.92. That's about 1:45 better than her fastest 5K in cross-country!
BU Valentine's Invitational - Friday Results
Missed this last week -- Jess Barton ran 10:09.89 for 3000m to place 10th in the 3k "Gold" division race at the Akron Open last Saturday (2/2/2008).
February 07, 2008
Bay State League Meet Results
Wednesday's league meet was highlighted by a handful of stunning performances and a high level of competition in almost all events.
For the girls, the event of the evening might have been the mile, which witnessed five girls run under 5:14. I remember a few years back when even the State Coaches meet wasn't that deep. Carolyn Ranti won the race with a PR 5:08.54. Jill Corcoran, Weymouth's sensational freshman, was 2nd in 5:11.20, ahead of three girls who are at the top of the league's distance elite, Rebecca White, Emily Lipman, and Camille Murphy. Heady stuff!
Other outstanding performances included Weymouth's 1-2 finish in the 600, with Carolyn Connolly winning the league championship in 1:39.04. Wellesley's Najuana Muschetta just barely edged out Braintree's Jacky Hull in the 300, running 42.59 to Hull's 42.62. Natick's Anya Price led Weymouth's Kristin Mahoney in the 2-mile, winning in 11:29.83. Milton's Kelly Madigan won the 55 dash over a deep field, clocking 7.51. Wellesley's Hannah Muir won the high jump at 5-6, and teammate Luci Lafitte had an outstanding leap of 16-8 to take the long jump. Newton's Michelle Kaufman (PR 15-1.5) and Vicki Marone (15-4.25) took 2-3.
In the relays, Weymouth dominated the 4x400, winning by ten seconds in 4:11.34. Walpole took the 4x200 in 1:54.41 over Brookline, and Newton North won the 4x800 in 10:00.52.
Since I'm only looking at the results online, I can't tell what bad luck afflicted Newton North's hurdlers. In the girls 55 hurdles, Michelle Kaufman had the fastest qualifying time (a PR 8.81), but finished only 7th in the finals in 9.85. For the boys, Sam Arsenault also had the fastest qualifying time in the heats (7.92), but must have hit a hurdle or stumbled out of the blocks, as he finished 8th in 9.16.
Arsenault, who would be anyone's choice for league MVP based on his dual meet season, suffered bad luck in the hurdles, and equally bad luck in the long jump, where he leapt 21-2 but finished 3rd behind teammates Ivan Kostadinov (league champion with a PR 21-11.75) and Adam Bao (PR 21-5). This trio of long jumpers continues to push each each other to new records.
In the distance events, Needham's Sam Miller won a tactical mile in 4:42.30 over Brookline's Brendan Grove. Three of Brookline's top runners were entered in the 1000, but Newton Seb Putzeys ran away with the race clocking a personal best (and state best to this point?) 2:31.79, nearly a straightaway ahead of Elliot Lehane (2:37.47).
Brookline's Ian Sandler took the 600 in 1:26.85. Milton's Paul Connor ran 36.34 to just edge Brookline's Michael Bennett (36.36) in the 300. Kyle Higgins won the 2-mile 10:02.20, just ahead of Newton's Dan Hamilton who ran a PR 10:04.44.
Natick's Mike Searcy and Tommy Brandt went 1-2 in the 55. Framingham's Charles Nyamekye won the hurdles in 8.06, ahead of Brookline's Joel Parent.
Newton's Steven Long threw 50-4 to win the shot put. Milton's Craig Bennett won the high jump at 6-3.
None of the relays was close. Newton North (Bao, Kostadinov, Putzeys, Arsenault) dominated the 4x400 relay, running 3:29. Milton won the 4x200 relay by four seconds, and Brookline lapped the field in the 4x800.
All for fun: Newton North, Wellesley win (fictional) team titles
The Bay State league might not choose to score the league meet, but what the heck... Below you will find the team results of the boys and girls meets, assuming 10-8-6-4-2-1 scoring. In the girls meet, Wellesley won the team title, scoring 66 points to Weymouth's 60, with Natick a strong 3rd with 55.
What's clear from these scores is the remarkable parity among the girls teams.
Among the boys teams, Newton North eked out a narrow victory over Brookline, 90 to 84, on the strength of three strong relays and 24 points in the long jump. Milton was a distant 3rd with 44 points.
For the girls, the event of the evening might have been the mile, which witnessed five girls run under 5:14. I remember a few years back when even the State Coaches meet wasn't that deep. Carolyn Ranti won the race with a PR 5:08.54. Jill Corcoran, Weymouth's sensational freshman, was 2nd in 5:11.20, ahead of three girls who are at the top of the league's distance elite, Rebecca White, Emily Lipman, and Camille Murphy. Heady stuff!
Other outstanding performances included Weymouth's 1-2 finish in the 600, with Carolyn Connolly winning the league championship in 1:39.04. Wellesley's Najuana Muschetta just barely edged out Braintree's Jacky Hull in the 300, running 42.59 to Hull's 42.62. Natick's Anya Price led Weymouth's Kristin Mahoney in the 2-mile, winning in 11:29.83. Milton's Kelly Madigan won the 55 dash over a deep field, clocking 7.51. Wellesley's Hannah Muir won the high jump at 5-6, and teammate Luci Lafitte had an outstanding leap of 16-8 to take the long jump. Newton's Michelle Kaufman (PR 15-1.5) and Vicki Marone (15-4.25) took 2-3.
In the relays, Weymouth dominated the 4x400, winning by ten seconds in 4:11.34. Walpole took the 4x200 in 1:54.41 over Brookline, and Newton North won the 4x800 in 10:00.52.
Since I'm only looking at the results online, I can't tell what bad luck afflicted Newton North's hurdlers. In the girls 55 hurdles, Michelle Kaufman had the fastest qualifying time (a PR 8.81), but finished only 7th in the finals in 9.85. For the boys, Sam Arsenault also had the fastest qualifying time in the heats (7.92), but must have hit a hurdle or stumbled out of the blocks, as he finished 8th in 9.16.
Arsenault, who would be anyone's choice for league MVP based on his dual meet season, suffered bad luck in the hurdles, and equally bad luck in the long jump, where he leapt 21-2 but finished 3rd behind teammates Ivan Kostadinov (league champion with a PR 21-11.75) and Adam Bao (PR 21-5). This trio of long jumpers continues to push each each other to new records.
In the distance events, Needham's Sam Miller won a tactical mile in 4:42.30 over Brookline's Brendan Grove. Three of Brookline's top runners were entered in the 1000, but Newton Seb Putzeys ran away with the race clocking a personal best (and state best to this point?) 2:31.79, nearly a straightaway ahead of Elliot Lehane (2:37.47).
Brookline's Ian Sandler took the 600 in 1:26.85. Milton's Paul Connor ran 36.34 to just edge Brookline's Michael Bennett (36.36) in the 300. Kyle Higgins won the 2-mile 10:02.20, just ahead of Newton's Dan Hamilton who ran a PR 10:04.44.
Natick's Mike Searcy and Tommy Brandt went 1-2 in the 55. Framingham's Charles Nyamekye won the hurdles in 8.06, ahead of Brookline's Joel Parent.
Newton's Steven Long threw 50-4 to win the shot put. Milton's Craig Bennett won the high jump at 6-3.
None of the relays was close. Newton North (Bao, Kostadinov, Putzeys, Arsenault) dominated the 4x400 relay, running 3:29. Milton won the 4x200 relay by four seconds, and Brookline lapped the field in the 4x800.
All for fun: Newton North, Wellesley win (fictional) team titles
The Bay State league might not choose to score the league meet, but what the heck... Below you will find the team results of the boys and girls meets, assuming 10-8-6-4-2-1 scoring. In the girls meet, Wellesley won the team title, scoring 66 points to Weymouth's 60, with Natick a strong 3rd with 55.
1. Wellesley 66
2. Weymouth 60
3. Natick 55
4. Milton 43
5. Newton 42
6. Braintree 33
7. Walpole 26
8. Framingham 24
9. Brookline 21
10. Needham 13
11. Norwood 13
12. Dedham 7
What's clear from these scores is the remarkable parity among the girls teams.
Among the boys teams, Newton North eked out a narrow victory over Brookline, 90 to 84, on the strength of three strong relays and 24 points in the long jump. Milton was a distant 3rd with 44 points.
1. Newton 90
2. Brookline 84
3. Milton 44
4. Natick 38
5. Weymouth 30
6. Framingham 29
7. Wellesley 25
8. Needham 22
9. Braintree 16
10. Walpole 13
11. Norwood 3
12. Dedham 2
February 06, 2008
"Today is the only day we've got..."
You teenagers -- what I want you to understand is that the desire to be better, to compete better... survives. If it's there in the first place, it never completely goes away. When you get out of high school... or college, it might not be so important to you anymore. It might be inconvenient. Other desires might take its place. But it survives as a little voice that asks, "what could I do if I got in shape, if I trained harder, if I was fit?"
In the latest Running Times magazine, Jonathan Beverly has written a great article about his "conversion" from a doubter to a believer in age-group athletics.
Embracing Time
He writes:
"I used to think masters competitors were a bit pathetic. Not older runners keeping in shape, enjoying the outdoors — they were cool, I hoped to be like that someday — but those serious competitors wearing flashy racing flats and singlets designed for speedsters half their age, grimacing and sprinting as they finished in the middle of the pack."
He goes on to talk about his own path back to competition, and especially about competing at the 2007 National Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In trying to understand what's going, he writes the following moving passage:
"We (I can say “we” now) aren’t denying our age. We are reminded, every time we race, nearly every time we run, that we’re slower, and that it isn’t a matter of being out of shape: We’re not going to get back to those fast times ever again. We know for certain that five years from now, 10 years from now,we will be even slower.We are reminded,every day, that we’ve started down the slope that ends in death."
"No, competing isn’t denial. Hanging up our flats and believing we are the same we were a decade ago, or that we could run as fast as we used to in a fictional reality — if we had time to train more, if we weren’t injured, if the conditions were better — that would be denial. Masters are too old to believe those fantasies any more. We know clearly that all the should’ves, could’ves and would’ves are make believe. The "perfect" day when we are at the top of our form and all the stars align never has come in the past, and we don’t have time to wait for it anymore. Today is the only day we’ve got, and we’ll seize it with more passion than a teenager."
I think maybe he does a disservice to teenagers. I think that it is the SAME passion that drives all of us, but that perhaps teenagers are so giddy with the excitement of seeing their times drop, that they don't realize quite as clearly that what is true for their parents is true for them as well. Today is the only day any of us has got. The future is always uncertain. It is today that you must do your best.
In the latest Running Times magazine, Jonathan Beverly has written a great article about his "conversion" from a doubter to a believer in age-group athletics.
Embracing Time
He writes:
"I used to think masters competitors were a bit pathetic. Not older runners keeping in shape, enjoying the outdoors — they were cool, I hoped to be like that someday — but those serious competitors wearing flashy racing flats and singlets designed for speedsters half their age, grimacing and sprinting as they finished in the middle of the pack."
He goes on to talk about his own path back to competition, and especially about competing at the 2007 National Masters Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In trying to understand what's going, he writes the following moving passage:
"We (I can say “we” now) aren’t denying our age. We are reminded, every time we race, nearly every time we run, that we’re slower, and that it isn’t a matter of being out of shape: We’re not going to get back to those fast times ever again. We know for certain that five years from now, 10 years from now,we will be even slower.We are reminded,every day, that we’ve started down the slope that ends in death."
"No, competing isn’t denial. Hanging up our flats and believing we are the same we were a decade ago, or that we could run as fast as we used to in a fictional reality — if we had time to train more, if we weren’t injured, if the conditions were better — that would be denial. Masters are too old to believe those fantasies any more. We know clearly that all the should’ves, could’ves and would’ves are make believe. The "perfect" day when we are at the top of our form and all the stars align never has come in the past, and we don’t have time to wait for it anymore. Today is the only day we’ve got, and we’ll seize it with more passion than a teenager."
I think maybe he does a disservice to teenagers. I think that it is the SAME passion that drives all of us, but that perhaps teenagers are so giddy with the excitement of seeing their times drop, that they don't realize quite as clearly that what is true for their parents is true for them as well. Today is the only day any of us has got. The future is always uncertain. It is today that you must do your best.
February 05, 2008
Training Files: Age and Intensity
According to an interesting article in the NY Times, the most effective way to slow the inevitable age-related decline in performance in sports like running is to cut back the volume, if you must, but maintain the intensity of your workouts.
Staying a Step Ahead of Aging
The key, according to the Times is to do the right kind of workouts and to do them consistently. The right kind of workouts means workouts that are intense -- interval workouts, for example. It might be difficult to maintain the high volume as you age, but you can preserve more of your ability by maintaining the discipline of including intense workouts in your regular training plan.
The other key, not mentioned in the article, is to avoid serious injury, which reduces both volume and quality. Obviously, running an intense workout and getting hurt is the worst strategy of all.
Staying a Step Ahead of Aging
The key, according to the Times is to do the right kind of workouts and to do them consistently. The right kind of workouts means workouts that are intense -- interval workouts, for example. It might be difficult to maintain the high volume as you age, but you can preserve more of your ability by maintaining the discipline of including intense workouts in your regular training plan.
The other key, not mentioned in the article, is to avoid serious injury, which reduces both volume and quality. Obviously, running an intense workout and getting hurt is the worst strategy of all.
February 04, 2008
Arsenault:(22-1), Kostadinov (21:10) are 1-2 at MSTCA Coaches Meet
(Photo: Henry Finch)
Sunday's elite action at the MSTCA Coaches meet had electrifying performances, including fast and deep fields in the distance events, blazing times in the sprints, and the best performance ever by a trio of Newton North long jumpers.
Sam Arsenault jumped 22-1 to win the long jump, less than three inches ahead of teammate Ivan Kostadinov (21:10.25). Adam Bao also bettered 20 feet (20:00.25) to take 10th. Arsenault, who continues to improve, has his choice of competing in the high jump at the D1 state meet (which could be risky business) or the long jump. After today, the long jump looks like it might be the better choice.
Seb Putzeys ran a solid PR 4:23.05 and took a hard-fought sixth place in a race won by Charleston junior Omar Aden. Brookline's Elliot Lehane ran a PR 4:24.02 to take 7th, and Seekonk sophomore Johnny Gregorek (son of Olympian John Gregorek) ran 4:25 out of the unseeded heat to take 8th. Watch out for Gregorek! It was seven years ago that a Belmont sophomore named Victor Gras won the first of three outdoor state meet miles in 4:18. Could Gregorek do the same?
Newton North also took 4th in the 4x200 relay, running 1:32.96, just 0.01 behind Milton (3rd), and 1.4s behind the 1-2 photo finish of Charleston and Woburn.
Incidentally, Woburn looks like they have an excellent chance at a state title, with the state's best 4x400 relay, one of the state's two best 4x200 relays, a 1:20 600m runner, a 2:32 1000m runner, a 21-7 long jumper, and a 6.68 sprinter. That could be 40-50 points, and I don't see any other team amassing that kind of score at this point.
For the Newton North girls, Carolyn Ranti ran 3:01.70 to take 4th in a very competitive 1000m, which was won by Lincoln-Sudbury's Molly Binder (3:00.76). For Ranti, it was the first really competitive race she's run all year, and should serve as a good learning experience heading into the D1 State meet.
By the way, Ranti's fourth-place finish was the first of four Bay State league girls in the top 10, in what was the most competitive event on the track. Weymouth's Jill Corcoran ran a stunning 3:02.94 for 7th, Framingham's Camille Murphy ram 3:03.11 for 8th, and Weymouth's Carolyn Connolly ran 3:03.77 for 10th. 3:03 = 10th? Amazing.
I should mention two other stellar performances form Newton North athletes who competed on Saturday, but would have been right at home among Sunday's elite:
Michelle Kaufman ran three brilliant races in the hurdles, clocking 9.09 in the prelims, 8.97 in the semis, and a PR 8.85 to win the finals. Her winning time on Saturday would have placed her 8th in Sunday's final.
Bonny Guang threw 10.12m (33-2.75) to place 3rd in the shot on Saturday. That throw would have placed her 9th among Sunday's elite.
February 02, 2008
NNHS Alumni Results - February 2, 2008
Wesleyan was in town for the Tufts Invitational in Medford, and NN alumnae accounted for two Wesleyan victories: Steph O'Brien won the women's 800 in 2:17.75, and Haleigh Smith won the 3000m in 10:32.87 (roughly equivalent to an 11:19 2-Mile).
For the Wesleyan men, Scott Cole continued to perform well and set PRs, running the mile in 4:38.90.
Noah Jampol, who usually runs the 1000 and mile, ran the 3000m at the Ursinus College Invite, finishing 5th in a PR 9:05.64, helping Johns Hopkins win the meet.
Doug Brecher also ran the 3K this weekend, finishing 3rd at the Univ. of Souther Maine Invite, running 9:10.85
It must have been 3K week. At the St. Lawrence Invitational, Dan Chebot ran 9:21.50 to place 10th in the 3K. Glad to hear that Dan is racing again after being badly spiked in a mile early this season.
David Smith was in action at Yale's Giegengack Invitational. Smith tossed 12.53 (41-01.5) in the weight throw, and 14.51 (47-07.5) in the shot put.
For the Wesleyan men, Scott Cole continued to perform well and set PRs, running the mile in 4:38.90.
Noah Jampol, who usually runs the 1000 and mile, ran the 3000m at the Ursinus College Invite, finishing 5th in a PR 9:05.64, helping Johns Hopkins win the meet.
Doug Brecher also ran the 3K this weekend, finishing 3rd at the Univ. of Souther Maine Invite, running 9:10.85
It must have been 3K week. At the St. Lawrence Invitational, Dan Chebot ran 9:21.50 to place 10th in the 3K. Glad to hear that Dan is racing again after being badly spiked in a mile early this season.
David Smith was in action at Yale's Giegengack Invitational. Smith tossed 12.53 (41-01.5) in the weight throw, and 14.51 (47-07.5) in the shot put.
February 01, 2008
The Jericho Mile
For many years, I've been wanting to track down an obscure running movie called "The Jericho Mile." A couple of weeks ago, I finally located and ordered a DVD of this 1979 made-for-American-TV movie. I didn't realize until it arrived that the DVD was produced in Holland and had Dutch subtitles. More about that later. Anyway, a few days ago I watched the movie and here's my report.
The movie was made in 1979 and tells the story of Larry "Rain" Murphy (Peter Strauss), a man serving a life sentence at Folsom Prison. (The movie was shot on location at the prison.) To make his captivity bearable, Murphy spends every second of his 20 minutes of daily exercise time running, or rather warming up, running very fast for a mile, and then cooling down. As other inmates play dominoes, lift weights, or hang out, Murphy flies around the rough, uneven perimeter of the exercise yard. His antics have earned him the nickname "Lickety-split." The inmate who has the cell next to him sometimes joins him for part of his run, but can't keep up for more than a few laps of the yard. Other than this small taste of company, Murphy hardly talks to anyone and makes no attempt to "fit in" to the complex hierarchical group structure of life in the prison.
Although he is considered a nut case by most of the other inmates, Murphy attracts the attention of the warden who discovers to his astonishment that Murphy is running world-class times there inside the prison walls. Seeing the opportunity of transforming Murphy into a positive example for the rest of the prison population, the warden attempts to get Murphy qualified to run in the national championships, perhaps to qualify for the Olympics. The warden's first step is to bring in a coach, and then to give Murphy freedom to train on the roads and hills outside the prison walls. At first, Murphy is skeptical. "Are you going to teach me how to run, professor?" he sneers at the coach. But the coach isn't put off, and sees in Murphy the raw talent that he (the coach) never had. Slowly, Murphy begins to buy in to the longer, harder training.
Meanwhile, Murphy's only friend at the prison becomes the unwitting pawn in a power struggle between the white inmates and black inmates. There is a violent conflict, and when Murphy takes a stand, he becomes the target of the leader of the white inmates, the vile Dr. D. (played by Brian Dannehy).
Things escalate to a crisis: the AAU refuses permission for Murphy to race outside the prison, seemingly killing his only chance to qualify for the national championships. The warden decides to build a track INSIDE the prison walls, and to enlist the prison population to build the track. Doctor D. boycotts the work, and threatens anyone who crosses his picket line. Murphy continues to train, not knowing if he'll even get a chance to run.
It would be irresponsible for me to give away the ending, or describe the final twists and turns of the plot. I will say that the best thing about the movie is the realism of the prison environment and dialog (and it's really really amusing to see how "Jive suckah" translates into Dutch). The worst thing about the movie is that for some reason, the running scenes are shot on a tiny oval, far smaller than standard 400m track. It's really disconcerting to see Murphy flying around these tight little curves on a track that could fit in your average playground. You would think that little verisimilitude in the running sequences wouldn't hurt.
And the title? Well that comes from the old spiritual "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho."
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho - Mahalia Jackson
The movie was made in 1979 and tells the story of Larry "Rain" Murphy (Peter Strauss), a man serving a life sentence at Folsom Prison. (The movie was shot on location at the prison.) To make his captivity bearable, Murphy spends every second of his 20 minutes of daily exercise time running, or rather warming up, running very fast for a mile, and then cooling down. As other inmates play dominoes, lift weights, or hang out, Murphy flies around the rough, uneven perimeter of the exercise yard. His antics have earned him the nickname "Lickety-split." The inmate who has the cell next to him sometimes joins him for part of his run, but can't keep up for more than a few laps of the yard. Other than this small taste of company, Murphy hardly talks to anyone and makes no attempt to "fit in" to the complex hierarchical group structure of life in the prison.
Although he is considered a nut case by most of the other inmates, Murphy attracts the attention of the warden who discovers to his astonishment that Murphy is running world-class times there inside the prison walls. Seeing the opportunity of transforming Murphy into a positive example for the rest of the prison population, the warden attempts to get Murphy qualified to run in the national championships, perhaps to qualify for the Olympics. The warden's first step is to bring in a coach, and then to give Murphy freedom to train on the roads and hills outside the prison walls. At first, Murphy is skeptical. "Are you going to teach me how to run, professor?" he sneers at the coach. But the coach isn't put off, and sees in Murphy the raw talent that he (the coach) never had. Slowly, Murphy begins to buy in to the longer, harder training.
Meanwhile, Murphy's only friend at the prison becomes the unwitting pawn in a power struggle between the white inmates and black inmates. There is a violent conflict, and when Murphy takes a stand, he becomes the target of the leader of the white inmates, the vile Dr. D. (played by Brian Dannehy).
Things escalate to a crisis: the AAU refuses permission for Murphy to race outside the prison, seemingly killing his only chance to qualify for the national championships. The warden decides to build a track INSIDE the prison walls, and to enlist the prison population to build the track. Doctor D. boycotts the work, and threatens anyone who crosses his picket line. Murphy continues to train, not knowing if he'll even get a chance to run.
It would be irresponsible for me to give away the ending, or describe the final twists and turns of the plot. I will say that the best thing about the movie is the realism of the prison environment and dialog (and it's really really amusing to see how "Jive suckah" translates into Dutch). The worst thing about the movie is that for some reason, the running scenes are shot on a tiny oval, far smaller than standard 400m track. It's really disconcerting to see Murphy flying around these tight little curves on a track that could fit in your average playground. You would think that little verisimilitude in the running sequences wouldn't hurt.
And the title? Well that comes from the old spiritual "Joshua fit the battle of Jericho."
Joshua fit the battle of Jericho - Mahalia Jackson
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