Penn is Mightier as NNHS Tops Brookline

With Sam Arsenault and Ben Kiley still injured and out of commission, Newton North faced a big test yesterday in their meet against Brookline. However, even without two of its indoor standouts, Newton North found new stars, including Isaiah Penn, who won the 400 (54.3) and long jump (18-3) and finished 2nd to teammate Hao-Kai wu in the 200m, to help the Tigers prevail 81-54 on a cold and raw April afternoon at Downes Field.

The early sprint events went Brookline's way, as Joel Parent won the 110 hurdles (with Tony Chen and Ethan Goldman taking 2nd and 3rd), and then came right back to win the 100m (with Troy Peterson 2nd). Jared Forman (4:46.5) won a tough battle in the mile over Brookline's Christian Sampson, and North's 4x100 team of Troy Peterson, Hao-Kai Wu, Tony Chen, and Swardic Mayanja ran 46.9 to win by two seconds and even things up a bit on the track.

Meanwhile, Newton's throwers were having a field day (no pun intended), as Ryan Donovan (43-2) led a NNHS sweep in the shot put, and Neil Fulwiler (140-2) led a sweep in the javelin. Connor Ebbs won the discus, giving North 23 points in the three throws. (These points proved critical, offsetting Brookline's 1-2 in both the high jump and triple jump.)

Back on the track, Ethan Goldman ran 64.2 to finish 2nd and set his second consecutive school record in the 400 hurdles. With the outcome of the meet still in doubt, sophomore Ezra Lichtman won a thrilling victory in the 800m over Brookline senior Ryan Hardiman, 2:09.9 to 2:10.1. When Wu and Penn placed first and second in the 200m, North had clinched the meet. For good measure, Dan Hamilton (10:04.4) and Mike Goldenberg (10:07.1!) went 1-2 in the 2-mile, and the team of Fulwiler, Lichtman, Ryan Kwan, and Forman were victorious in the 4x400 relay (3:48.1).

North will face an equally tough contest next Tuesday when they are scheduled to compete against unbeaten Weymouth. The Tigers are hoping to have Kiley and Arsenault back at full strength for that meet. (Arsenault did compete yesterday, taking 3rd in the javelin with a toss of 102-7.)

The girls meet wasn't close, as Newton won all but one of the individual events and both relays to overwhelm the Warriors 112-24. I'm still seeking individual results and will post them when I find them.