Photo: NewtonSportsPhotography.com)
It didn't come down to the 4x400 relay this time.
By the time the final event was called to the track, Newton North already owned an insurmountable lead in the race for the Div I team title. To everyone's admiration but no one's surprise, Carla Forbes had won the 55 and LJ; Kayla Wong had taken 2nd in the hurdles and 4th in the LJ; Maddie Nadeau had placed 3rd in the 300, and Meghan Bellerose had placed 5th in the 600; North earned even more points in the Long Jump from Kayla Prior and Maeve Larkin who placed 6th and 7th in that event; a 6th in the 4x800 and 4th in the 4x200 had sealed the deal.
So all that was left to prove was... well, champions always feel like there's something to prove. So the team of Bellerose, Nadeau, Isabella Reilly, and Forbes finished the meet by winning its final event, Forbes (57.9) holding off a spirited charge from A-B's Ellen Conway. North's time of 4:00.84 was the fastest time in the Commonwealth this season, and a fitting finale to their third straight championship at this meet.
Although, incredibly, the Tigers would have won the meet without the 20 points they earned in the Long Jump, that event seemed to sum up North's strengths -- great individual efforts and great depth. There was Forbes, the consummate competitor, taking each jump as if her life depended on it. On her final attempt, having jumped two feet farther than anyone else, she still wasn't satisfied. Her final leap of 19-9 was her best of the day and surpassed Arantxa King's "untouchable" meet record of 19-6.5. Meanwhile Wong, Prior, and Larkin were taking 3 of the next 6 places. The four NN jumpers AVERAGED 17-5. Amazing.
It was, I thought, a great meet for Kayla Wong and Maddie Nadeau. Both athletes had excellent individual events and were key contributors on their respective relays. Nadeau ran the second leg of the winning 4x400, splitting a 58.2 to open up a huge lead for Reilly and Forbes.
As for Forbes, what more can you say? Still a junior, she has FIVE individual indoor DI titles to go with FOUR individual outdoor titles. She also two indoor relay titles. She has won the long jump in all five season in which she has competed. With her performance in 2012, she has become the second Newton/Newton North athlete in history (after Tanya Jones) to score more than 100 points at the Class A/Division I level, her total standing at 102.5.
On to the State Meet!
2012 Div I State Indoor Championships - Results
3 comments:
Need to update the photo -- milesplit actually took that shot themselves back at the Weymouth meet, but thought it came from nsp.
Will have some from yesterday's meet later in the day. Another storybook day for the girls.
D1 Meet Photos
Thanks for the link to the photos. Fantastic, as usual!
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