BOYS DOMINATE LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS; GIRLS FALL ONE POINT SHY OF TITLE
Meet Information
Middlesex League Championships
February 2, 2022
Reggie Lewis Track & Field Center - Boston, MA.
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - The saying in track & field is that Championships are won at Championship meets. That was definitely the case on Wednesday night as The Minutemen faced off against the best the Middlesex League had to offer. On the Boys side, the meet turned into an absolute rout as LHS dominated the field, scoring 123 points to best runner-up Wakefield by nearly 60 points. The Girls meet offered significantly more drama as LHS battled the Red Devils from Burlington High School all the way down to the 4x400m Relay. Going into the race The Minutemen held a three point lead, but Burlington's dynamic sprint squad was too much to handle. The Red Devils raced to a second place finish, picking up eight points in the process. Meanwhile, despite season bests from sophomore Adia Singh, Maya Dubrovsky, senior Annie O'Brien, and sophomore Gabby Fainelli, The Minutemen only managed four points with their fifth place finish and Burlington took home the title by a score of 90-89.
The Minutemen were led on the boys side by the outstanding performance of captain Evan Eberle. The senior harrier began the night by battling to victory over Wakefield's Michael Roberto in the Mile with a time of 4:27.02. He was back shortly there after in the 1000m where he once again proved to be the top middle distance runner in the League by sealing the double gold performance with a PR of 2:34.56. That time marks the second event in which Eberle has achieved the MIAA All-State SuperMax standard this season. Along with Eberle's big day, it was the return of junior Michael Gerfen to the 55m High Hurdles that made some noise. After an early season injury nearly derailed his entire season, Gerfen debuted in style with a Divisional Championship qualifying time and PR of 8.12 seconds to place second in the event behind Winchester's Easton Tan - who set the Championship record with a time of 7.53 seconds. Continuing the LHS "Bomb Squad's" dominance of the League, Lexington's own "Sundance Kid" Kaden Cassidy took home the title in the Shot Put with a best throw of 47'2". Also making the podium was fellow junior Jack Ngo who's throw of 47'1" was a personal best.
For the Lex Girls it was same story different chapter as superstar distance runner Ava Criniti matched Eberle's performance and then some by taking home the double gold in the Mile and 1000m. Beginning with the Mile, Criniti used her signature kick to blaze around the final lap in 34 seconds to a new PR and Championship record of 5:07.19. In the 1000m, Criniti faced her first serious test in the Middlesex League this season as Woburn senior Nubia Pereira pushed her to the limit over the final 100 meters. Despite the challenge, Criniti took the tape in a 3:03.05. In the High Jump, a controversial decision was made by the officials as they gave in to the demands of a small group of coaches who wanted to lower opening height in the event from 4'10" to 4'6". Despite the officials' acquiescing in blatant violation of League rules, senior captain Mari McBride continued her unbeaten streak in the event. She took the title with a leap of 5'2". Earlier in the evening, McBride faced off against two of the best in the state in the 300m. Winchester senior Tessa Geddes took the crown in a MA #3 time of 41.42. Burlington junior Grace Hanafin took silver in 41.65, and McBride ran a huge PR of 41.70 seconds to earn the bronze medal. Continuing to show that she may be the most versatile athlete in the Middlesex League, senior captain Elena Sabin ran a big PR of her own to place fourth overall with a Division 1 qualifying time of 9.43 seconds before coming back with another two-second PR in the 600m. Her time of 1:42.01 was enough for another fourth place finish.
Point Scorers for the Boys
Final Boys Team Scores
1. Lexington - 123
2. Wakefield - 64
3. Reading - 62
4. Winchester - 51
5. Arlington - 46.50
6. Belmont - 36.50
7. Burlington - 33
8. Melrose - 18
9. Woburn - 16
10. Wilmington - 14
11. Watertown - 1
Point Scorers for the Girls
Final Girls Team Scores
1. Burlington - 90
2. Lexington - 89
3. Wilmington - 64
4. Woburn - 60
5. Reading - 36
6. Arlington - 35
7. Winchester - 30
8. Melrose - 23
9. Wakefield - 17
10. Belmont - 11
11. Stoneham - 10
12. Watertown - 3
Up Next
The Minutemen will be back home this Saturday, February 5th for the final JV Meet of the season. The meet is set to begin at 1:00pm.
Middlesex League Championships
February 2, 2022
Reggie Lewis Track & Field Center - Boston, MA.
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - The saying in track & field is that Championships are won at Championship meets. That was definitely the case on Wednesday night as The Minutemen faced off against the best the Middlesex League had to offer. On the Boys side, the meet turned into an absolute rout as LHS dominated the field, scoring 123 points to best runner-up Wakefield by nearly 60 points. The Girls meet offered significantly more drama as LHS battled the Red Devils from Burlington High School all the way down to the 4x400m Relay. Going into the race The Minutemen held a three point lead, but Burlington's dynamic sprint squad was too much to handle. The Red Devils raced to a second place finish, picking up eight points in the process. Meanwhile, despite season bests from sophomore Adia Singh, Maya Dubrovsky, senior Annie O'Brien, and sophomore Gabby Fainelli, The Minutemen only managed four points with their fifth place finish and Burlington took home the title by a score of 90-89.
The Minutemen were led on the boys side by the outstanding performance of captain Evan Eberle. The senior harrier began the night by battling to victory over Wakefield's Michael Roberto in the Mile with a time of 4:27.02. He was back shortly there after in the 1000m where he once again proved to be the top middle distance runner in the League by sealing the double gold performance with a PR of 2:34.56. That time marks the second event in which Eberle has achieved the MIAA All-State SuperMax standard this season. Along with Eberle's big day, it was the return of junior Michael Gerfen to the 55m High Hurdles that made some noise. After an early season injury nearly derailed his entire season, Gerfen debuted in style with a Divisional Championship qualifying time and PR of 8.12 seconds to place second in the event behind Winchester's Easton Tan - who set the Championship record with a time of 7.53 seconds. Continuing the LHS "Bomb Squad's" dominance of the League, Lexington's own "Sundance Kid" Kaden Cassidy took home the title in the Shot Put with a best throw of 47'2". Also making the podium was fellow junior Jack Ngo who's throw of 47'1" was a personal best.
For the Lex Girls it was same story different chapter as superstar distance runner Ava Criniti matched Eberle's performance and then some by taking home the double gold in the Mile and 1000m. Beginning with the Mile, Criniti used her signature kick to blaze around the final lap in 34 seconds to a new PR and Championship record of 5:07.19. In the 1000m, Criniti faced her first serious test in the Middlesex League this season as Woburn senior Nubia Pereira pushed her to the limit over the final 100 meters. Despite the challenge, Criniti took the tape in a 3:03.05. In the High Jump, a controversial decision was made by the officials as they gave in to the demands of a small group of coaches who wanted to lower opening height in the event from 4'10" to 4'6". Despite the officials' acquiescing in blatant violation of League rules, senior captain Mari McBride continued her unbeaten streak in the event. She took the title with a leap of 5'2". Earlier in the evening, McBride faced off against two of the best in the state in the 300m. Winchester senior Tessa Geddes took the crown in a MA #3 time of 41.42. Burlington junior Grace Hanafin took silver in 41.65, and McBride ran a huge PR of 41.70 seconds to earn the bronze medal. Continuing to show that she may be the most versatile athlete in the Middlesex League, senior captain Elena Sabin ran a big PR of her own to place fourth overall with a Division 1 qualifying time of 9.43 seconds before coming back with another two-second PR in the 600m. Her time of 1:42.01 was enough for another fourth place finish.
Point Scorers for the Boys
- Junior Jayden Bai, sophomore McKenna O'Hare Gibson, sophomore Khai Uda-Thach, and junior Brandon Uda-Thach grabbed the gold in 1:34.52 in the 4x200m Relays.
- The 300m Dash saw Brandon Uda-Thach (36.26) and Josh Lee (36.78) place third and fourth respectively with a pair of PRs.
- Junior Jerry Gong placed third in the Long Jump with a leap of 20'0.50".
- Lee's unofficial 50.6 opening leg led the 4x400m Relay of senior Andreas Padilla, junior Alexios Kontothanassis, and sophomore Glenn Burscu to a third place finish with a time of 3:34.47.
- In the Mile it was senior captain Ollie DiCerbo's 4:29.07 that earned him third place overall.
- Freshman Max Zhang raced his way to the bronze medal in the 1000m with a time of 2:46.43.
- DiCerbo earned another bronze in the 2 Mile with a PR of 10:05.04; senior Noah Quadri was eighth in 10:22.35.
- Allen Jiang (45'9") and Matt Jacob (44'1.50") followed Cassidy and Ngo to fourth and sixth place respectively in the Shot Put.
- Along with Gerfen, Bai ran a PR and D1 qualifying time of 8.33 in the 55m Hurdles to place fourth.
- Burscu (1:28.43), senior Nick Lam (1:29.94), and Kontothanassis (1:30.58) placed fourth, fifth, and seventh respectively in the 600m.
- In the High Jump Bai's leap of 5'8" placed sixth overall.
Final Boys Team Scores
1. Lexington - 123
2. Wakefield - 64
3. Reading - 62
4. Winchester - 51
5. Arlington - 46.50
6. Belmont - 36.50
7. Burlington - 33
8. Melrose - 18
9. Woburn - 16
10. Wilmington - 14
11. Watertown - 1
Point Scorers for the Girls
- In the Mile senior captain Clara Fu earned the bronze with a PR of 5:24.00 and earned a second bronze in the 2 Mile with a time of 11:46.12; junior Uma Sanker (12:09.26) placed fifth.
- Big PRs came in the 1000m as Sanker (3:11.81) and O'Brien (3:12.15) took fourth and sixth respectively; sophomore Samara McVey placed eighth with a time of 3:19.43.
- Senior captain Anna Yang was fifth in the Long Jump with a best jump of 15'8".
- Along with Sabin's big day, Fainelli turned in a four second PR in the 600m (1:43.46) from the third of five sections to place sixth overall.
- In the Shot Put it was senior Raquel Batiste-Vieira placing sixth in 29'10.75".
- The 4x200m Relay of Yang, junior Rose O'Neill, freshman Caroline Kvaal, and McBride placed seventh in 1:54.53.
- Sophomore Adeline Favazzo placed eighth in the 300m with a PR of 44.38.
Final Girls Team Scores
1. Burlington - 90
2. Lexington - 89
3. Wilmington - 64
4. Woburn - 60
5. Reading - 36
6. Arlington - 35
7. Winchester - 30
8. Melrose - 23
9. Wakefield - 17
10. Belmont - 11
11. Stoneham - 10
12. Watertown - 3
Up Next
The Minutemen will be back home this Saturday, February 5th for the final JV Meet of the season. The meet is set to begin at 1:00pm.