AN INSTANT CLASSIC AS LEX BOYS BATTLE TO STALEMATE WITH READING
Meet Information
Reading Dual Meet
January 6, 2022
Boston University Indoor Track & Tennis Center - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Ever since the Lexington Boys were bested by Reading for the Middlesex League Championship in Burlington last Spring, The Minutemen have had this date circled on their calendars. Thursday night, The Minutemen and the Rockets faced off once again with bragging rights on the line. And, after LHS seniors Ollie DiCerbo and Noah Quadri secured six crucial points in the 2 Mile, the teams were tied 45-45. This meant that - as always great track meets do - it all came down to the relays. While the anticipation was at a fever pitch, and the tension in the air was palpable, in the end neither the 4x200m or the 4x400m provided any real drama as the Rockets blasted out and won by a solid margin in the 800m relay, while The Minutemen got a huge lead in the opening leg and won by nearly 50 meters in the 1600m relay. The final result was a 50-50 tie between the teams, who will have to wait another month to face each other again for the League Championships. The girls were back to their winning ways, cruising to a 66-34 victory.
Something about facing Reading always brings out the best in LHS's athletes. That was once again the case on Thursday night as 25 personal or season bests were turned in by The Minutemen. While it was a total team effort to earn the result, a select group came to BU and turned in championship level performances to lead the way. In the Mile, DiCerbo took control from the gun, dictating the terms of the race over all eight laps on his way to a victory and a new personal best 4:30.72. He was followed closely behind by fellow classmate and captain Evan Eberle, who sat back for much of the race before bursting past Reading senior Robert Squires on his way to a second place finish and a new PR of 4:31.62. In the 2 Mile, DiCerbo used similar tactics to calmly pace the race over the first mile. Squires would then make a move, which DiCerbo covered before retaking the lead and turning the screws over the final 800m to secure another victory for LHS with yet another PR of 10:11.97. Meanwhile Eberle doubled back in the 1000m, running in second place over the first 600 before unleashing his signature kick to take the win in 2:36.56. Between the two of them DiCerbo and Eberle scored 18 points of The Minutemen's points. Another huge performance for LHS came in the Shot Put circle. Coming in with a PR of 46'8", junior Allen Jiang made his presence known to the Middlesex League when he dropped an absolute bomb on his third and final throw that landed 49'4". That throw led the LHS "Bomb Squad" to break out the golden broom +one, sweeping the top four places in the event. Finally, LHS's long sprinters - senior captain Josh Lee and junior Brandon Uda-Thach - gave everything they had and more in their 300/4x4 doubles. In the 300m, Lee ran a massive PR of 36.95 seconds to place third for The Minutemen before coming back to anchor the relay with a 51.8 split to secure the tie for his team. Uda-Thach took a fall during the first few meters of the race but got up and still was able to run 37.40 in the 300m. However, the junior rallied in a big way by leading off the relay with a 51.3 split that gave LHS a cushion it would never relinquish. Across the board it was a tremendous night for The Minutemen, and a sign of what these boys are capable of come championship season.
While the Reading Girls did not put forth the challenge of the male counterparts, the Lex Girls came ready and had phenomenal performances across the board, including 21 personal or season bests. Star distance runner Ava Criniti dropped down to the 600m for the first time in her career, and do so in style by running an MA #9 time of 1:42.38 to win the event. She then doubled back to run her first 2 Mile of the year. Her time of 11:28.24 was the top time run in Massachusetts so far this season. Along with Criniti in the 600m, sophomore Maya Dubrovsky (1:49.90), junior Serena Caira (1:50.18), and senior Annie O'Brien (1:50.45) all PRed with Division 1 qualifying times. Three more girls qualified for Divisionals in the 1000m as junior Uma Sanker (3:14.08), senior Claire Pak (3:22.86), and sophomore Samara McVey (3:23.11) all did so by running PRs. A special shoutout also goes to junior Ashley Taylor who volunteered for the vaunted Mile/2 Mile double, and rose to the occasion with a pair of season best times of 6:04.26 in the Mile, and 13:03.80 in the deuce (the latter being a League Championship qualifying mark.
Other Highlights for the Boys
Other Highlights for the Girls
Up Next
The underclassmen will now take center stage for The Minutemen, as they will compete at the annual MSTCA Auerbach Freshmen/Sophomore Meet. This meet offers a glimpse into the future of programs, as the entire state will be sending their best underclassmen to compete in either the small or large school meet. The Minutemen will compete with the large schools on Sunday, January 9th at 10am at Reggie Lewis in Boston.
Reading Dual Meet
January 6, 2022
Boston University Indoor Track & Tennis Center - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Ever since the Lexington Boys were bested by Reading for the Middlesex League Championship in Burlington last Spring, The Minutemen have had this date circled on their calendars. Thursday night, The Minutemen and the Rockets faced off once again with bragging rights on the line. And, after LHS seniors Ollie DiCerbo and Noah Quadri secured six crucial points in the 2 Mile, the teams were tied 45-45. This meant that - as always great track meets do - it all came down to the relays. While the anticipation was at a fever pitch, and the tension in the air was palpable, in the end neither the 4x200m or the 4x400m provided any real drama as the Rockets blasted out and won by a solid margin in the 800m relay, while The Minutemen got a huge lead in the opening leg and won by nearly 50 meters in the 1600m relay. The final result was a 50-50 tie between the teams, who will have to wait another month to face each other again for the League Championships. The girls were back to their winning ways, cruising to a 66-34 victory.
Something about facing Reading always brings out the best in LHS's athletes. That was once again the case on Thursday night as 25 personal or season bests were turned in by The Minutemen. While it was a total team effort to earn the result, a select group came to BU and turned in championship level performances to lead the way. In the Mile, DiCerbo took control from the gun, dictating the terms of the race over all eight laps on his way to a victory and a new personal best 4:30.72. He was followed closely behind by fellow classmate and captain Evan Eberle, who sat back for much of the race before bursting past Reading senior Robert Squires on his way to a second place finish and a new PR of 4:31.62. In the 2 Mile, DiCerbo used similar tactics to calmly pace the race over the first mile. Squires would then make a move, which DiCerbo covered before retaking the lead and turning the screws over the final 800m to secure another victory for LHS with yet another PR of 10:11.97. Meanwhile Eberle doubled back in the 1000m, running in second place over the first 600 before unleashing his signature kick to take the win in 2:36.56. Between the two of them DiCerbo and Eberle scored 18 points of The Minutemen's points. Another huge performance for LHS came in the Shot Put circle. Coming in with a PR of 46'8", junior Allen Jiang made his presence known to the Middlesex League when he dropped an absolute bomb on his third and final throw that landed 49'4". That throw led the LHS "Bomb Squad" to break out the golden broom +one, sweeping the top four places in the event. Finally, LHS's long sprinters - senior captain Josh Lee and junior Brandon Uda-Thach - gave everything they had and more in their 300/4x4 doubles. In the 300m, Lee ran a massive PR of 36.95 seconds to place third for The Minutemen before coming back to anchor the relay with a 51.8 split to secure the tie for his team. Uda-Thach took a fall during the first few meters of the race but got up and still was able to run 37.40 in the 300m. However, the junior rallied in a big way by leading off the relay with a 51.3 split that gave LHS a cushion it would never relinquish. Across the board it was a tremendous night for The Minutemen, and a sign of what these boys are capable of come championship season.
While the Reading Girls did not put forth the challenge of the male counterparts, the Lex Girls came ready and had phenomenal performances across the board, including 21 personal or season bests. Star distance runner Ava Criniti dropped down to the 600m for the first time in her career, and do so in style by running an MA #9 time of 1:42.38 to win the event. She then doubled back to run her first 2 Mile of the year. Her time of 11:28.24 was the top time run in Massachusetts so far this season. Along with Criniti in the 600m, sophomore Maya Dubrovsky (1:49.90), junior Serena Caira (1:50.18), and senior Annie O'Brien (1:50.45) all PRed with Division 1 qualifying times. Three more girls qualified for Divisionals in the 1000m as junior Uma Sanker (3:14.08), senior Claire Pak (3:22.86), and sophomore Samara McVey (3:23.11) all did so by running PRs. A special shoutout also goes to junior Ashley Taylor who volunteered for the vaunted Mile/2 Mile double, and rose to the occasion with a pair of season best times of 6:04.26 in the Mile, and 13:03.80 in the deuce (the latter being a League Championship qualifying mark.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- Stepping up after The Minutemen lost two of their top 600m runners this week, sophomore Glenn Burscu won the race in a PR and Divisional qualifying time of 1:28.20; senior Nick Lam made a big jump as well to run a PR of 1:29.84 to place third.
- Uda-Thach and Lee were joined by Burscu and senior Andreas Padilla to run a season best and Divisional qualifying time of 3:34.48.
- Junior Jerry Gong turned in a season best 20'3" leap in the Long Jump to secure second place.
- Along with Jiang, juniors Jack Ngo (44'11") and Kaden Cassidy (43'8.50") polished of the PR sweep of the Shot Put.
- The junior trio of Parth Kocheta (7.10), Jake Wheaton (7.14), and Miguel Jaramillo (7.18) all ran PRs in the 55m Dash.
- Noah Quadri's third place effort in 10:24.26 was a season best and good enough to qualify for the League Championships; sophomore Joey Ryan ran a 14-second PR of 10:45.35 to qualify for League.
- In the 1000m, junior Antonio Lopez ran a personal best and League qualifying time of 2:47.25.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- The Distance Squad broke out the golden broom in the Mile with senior captain Clara Fu (5:30.19), Taylor, and senior Casey Weisberg (6:17.01) doing the honors.
- Senior captain Elena Sabin turned in a huge PR of 9.81 to win the 55m High Hurdles; that was the first time Sabin has broken the elusive 10-second barrier.
- In the Shot Put, senior Raquel Batista-Vieira (30'9.50") had her best throw of the season to win the event; not to be outdone, sophomore Quin Tandeih (29'6") also had her best throw of the season.
- Sabin, Fu, Sanker, and O'Brien combined to win the 4x400m Relay with a time of 4:24.58.
- The 4x200m Relay of junior Rose O'Neill, senior captain Anna Yang, Dubrovsky, and senior captain Mari McBride ran a season best 1:52.55 to win.
- McBride once again turned in the double gold in the 300m (42.74) and the High Jump (5'2").
Up Next
The underclassmen will now take center stage for The Minutemen, as they will compete at the annual MSTCA Auerbach Freshmen/Sophomore Meet. This meet offers a glimpse into the future of programs, as the entire state will be sending their best underclassmen to compete in either the small or large school meet. The Minutemen will compete with the large schools on Sunday, January 9th at 10am at Reggie Lewis in Boston.