North Girls Rise to New Heights in Win Over Weymouth

One of the great things about watching a close track meet is that after a while, everything seems to be happening at once -- each jump, each throw, each lap resonating with increasing significance, creating a hum of escalating drama.

There was a moment in yesterday's meet between Newton North and Weymouth when I had that feeling. The high jump bar was at 4-11. Newton North's three jumpers cleared it quickly, while Weymouth's two jumpers missed. Meanwhile, the shot put was about to start, and the 600 was on the track. It felt like I was standing at the precise turning point of the meet, the fulcrum upon which the final result would depend.

Earlier races and events had gone mostly to form. The long jump had finished quickly, with North taking first (Carla Forbes, 17-11) and third (Kayla Wong, 16-2.5). Weymouth's Jillian Glover had done well to eke out 2nd for the Wildcats with a leap of 16-3.25.

Unlike last year, Jill Corcoran and Margo Gillis were in separate events, so there were no epic clashes in the distance events. Corcoran won the mile easily (with Maggie and Evie Heffernan taking a welcome 2nd and 3rd), and Gillis cruised to victory in the 1000 (3:05.40), with Weymouth taking 2nd and 3rd (Becca Trayner coming up just short in her bid to nab the third scoring spot).

Holding a slight edge, North needed the high jump to go well to neutralize Weymouth's likely sweep in the shot put. It went very well for the Tigers. When Weymouth's jumpers both went out at 4-11, North was guaranteed of the sweep. But all three -- Lucia Grigoli, Emily Hutchinson, and Maeve Larkin -- cleared the next height of 5-1. Hutchinson and Larkin had good jumps at 5-3, but only Grigoli cleared that height. Having won the competition, she chose to set the bar at 5-4, a personal best. When she cleared that, she set off a celebration right there on the foam mats.

Meanwhile in the 600, Meghan Bellerose was using a hard-charging final lap to pass Weymouth's Bridget Jaklitsch and Jenn Kimball, winning in a personal best 1:41.76. The win was huge, representing an 8-point swing in favor of the Tigers. A quick tally showed North ahead with 29 points to Weymouth's 25 heading into the sprints and the 2-mile. While nothing was certain, there was no doubt that the momentum and the edge were now North's.

In the 300, Carla Forbes and Suzi Bennett went 1-3, with Weymouth's Melissa Darling taking 2nd. In the 2-mile, Weymouth took 1st and 2nd, with Devika Banerjee getting 3rd for the Tigers. But that result was offset by the 55 hurdles, where Kayla Wong (8.75) and Amy Ren (9.15) took 1st and 2nd.

With two events left, the 55 dash and the relay, the score stood at 44-37 in favor of Newton North.

While nothing is inevitable in track and field, Weymouth's coach Mike Miller knew that his team's chances were slim. That's because the athlete settling into the blocks in the middle of the oval was not only very fast, but competitive, tough-minded, and focused, not to mention experienced far beyond her years. At the risk of burdening her with unfair expectations, I'll say that at that moment, Carla Forbes was the closest thing to a mortal lock that Joe Tranchita could have asked for. When the gun went off signaling a legal start, it only took 7.54 seconds to settle the matter. Forbes flashed across the line first, followed by Kayla Wong and Steph Brown. North's sweep in the dash clinched the victory for the Tigers, and a few minutes later, their win in the relay added emphasis to the team effort it had taken to beat a very deep Weymouth squad.



The win against Weymouth puts North's record at 4-0 and virtually guarantees them the Carey Division title. With Dartmouth and the State relays behind them, with their most dangerous rival behind them -- at least for this season -- North now begins building toward the Class and State meets.

Complete results on CoolRunning.com