THE MINUTEMEN OPEN SEASON AT THE TRACK AT NEW BALANCE AGAINST SPY PONDERS
Meet Information
Arlington Dual Meet
December 15, 2022
The Track at New Balance - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Officially opened in the spring, The Track at New Balance is a brand new state-of-the-art facility built in Brighton. With its wide turns, hydraulic track bank that can be raised and lowered for optimal performance in a given event, and dedicated space for all field events, The Track was built with the sole purpose of being the premier Indoor Track & Field facility in the world. A special shoutout and thank you has to go to Lexington High School's Athletic Director and Middlesex League Commissioner for Indoor Track & Field Naomi Martin. It was her vision to have all Middlesex League varsity, junior varsity, and championship meets at this world class facility, and after one night at The Track it is clear that her hard work paid off. The facility was everything it was advertised as, and the officials brought in from across the state by Martin helped to make opening night for the Middlesex League Meets the standard by which all others in Massachusetts will be measured.
As for the action in the meet, The Minutemen started off the season against the Arlington Spy Ponders. Arlington's Girls had one of the best teams in the state in Cross Country, and bested the Lex Girls three times on the trails. With that in mind, The Minutemen knew they were in for a tough meet. The meet was back-and-forth all night. After10 events the Lex Girls had a lead of 48-42 going into the relays, meaning they only need to win one of the two final races - 4x200m Relay and 4x400m Relay - to seal the victory. In the end the 4x400m team of juniors Adia Singh, Gabby Fainelli, and Maya Dubrovsky, along with sophomore Caroline Kvaal came through winning by one-second to seal the meet for LHS by a score of 53-47. On the Boys side, the meet was a different story. The Minutemen got out an early lead, sweeping the 55m High Hurdles, and going one-two in the 55m Dash. They would go on to win every event on the track, and took the "W" by a score of 79-21.
Perhaps the most clutch performance on the day for the Lex Girls came in the 2 Mile. Facing down the Spy Ponders' deep and talented distance squad, senior Jasmine Sun and freshman Meghan Caldera went toe-to-toe over 16 laps with Arlington's Elise Kempf and Ellery Klatka. Kempf took the race out hard in the first mile, gapping the field by four seconds, but Sun remained calm and slowly reeled her in over the second mile. With 800m to go, Sun had closed the gap on Kempf and sat on her shoulder for the next two laps. She would then throw down an 85-second final 400m to break Kempf, and win with a new PR of 12:14.48. Caldera was locked in a pack of four runners for 15 laps, with no one willing to blink as they cruised around the 200m oval. Finally as the group heard the bell on the final lap, Caldera went for it. She glided down the backstretch holding off Klatka and Wakefield's Charlotte O'Neil as they approached the final turn. She then found one more gear to pull away from her competitors and grabbed third place overall behind Sun and Kempf with a time of 12:40.16. For their efforts, both Sun and Caldera qualified for the MIAA Division 1 Championships in February. Another big performance was turned in by the Lex Girls in the 600m. Singh ran a beautiful race, laying off the initial blistering pace, and using a strong final lap to grab victory with the fastest time in the League (1:45.22). Next across the line was Fainelli (1:46.44) with an equally impressive debut race. Both girls qualified for Divisionals with their times. But it was freshman Pheobe Bracken who used a vicious final charge to bust out the golden broom on Arlington's Girls and grab third place in the final strides. Her time of 1:48.77 bested Arlington's Erin Moran by less than a half a second.
For the Boys it was senior captain Michael Gerfen who made a clear statement that he is the man to beat in the 55m Hurdles. His time of 8.08 seconds was tops in the League last night by near two-tenths of a second, and just off his PR that landed him on the podium at the Meet of Champions. In the 300m, junior McKenna O'Hare Gibson burst onto the scene and showed that he will be one of the top sprinters to be reckoned with in the League. His time of 37.49 won his race by over a second, and qualified him for the Division 1 Championships. Not be outdone by The Minutemen's dynamite sprint and hurdle squad, sophomore Max Zhang showed that he is poised for a great season in the middle distance events. He ran an even paced 1:27.02 to cruise to the fastest time in the League on the night. That mark qualifies him for Divisionals as well.
Other Highlights for the Girls
Other Highlights for the Boys
Up Next
The Minutemen will be back in action at The Track at New Balance next Thursday, December 22nd against the Woburn Tanners. The meet is set to begin at 4:30pm.
Arlington Dual Meet
December 15, 2022
The Track at New Balance - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Officially opened in the spring, The Track at New Balance is a brand new state-of-the-art facility built in Brighton. With its wide turns, hydraulic track bank that can be raised and lowered for optimal performance in a given event, and dedicated space for all field events, The Track was built with the sole purpose of being the premier Indoor Track & Field facility in the world. A special shoutout and thank you has to go to Lexington High School's Athletic Director and Middlesex League Commissioner for Indoor Track & Field Naomi Martin. It was her vision to have all Middlesex League varsity, junior varsity, and championship meets at this world class facility, and after one night at The Track it is clear that her hard work paid off. The facility was everything it was advertised as, and the officials brought in from across the state by Martin helped to make opening night for the Middlesex League Meets the standard by which all others in Massachusetts will be measured.
As for the action in the meet, The Minutemen started off the season against the Arlington Spy Ponders. Arlington's Girls had one of the best teams in the state in Cross Country, and bested the Lex Girls three times on the trails. With that in mind, The Minutemen knew they were in for a tough meet. The meet was back-and-forth all night. After10 events the Lex Girls had a lead of 48-42 going into the relays, meaning they only need to win one of the two final races - 4x200m Relay and 4x400m Relay - to seal the victory. In the end the 4x400m team of juniors Adia Singh, Gabby Fainelli, and Maya Dubrovsky, along with sophomore Caroline Kvaal came through winning by one-second to seal the meet for LHS by a score of 53-47. On the Boys side, the meet was a different story. The Minutemen got out an early lead, sweeping the 55m High Hurdles, and going one-two in the 55m Dash. They would go on to win every event on the track, and took the "W" by a score of 79-21.
Perhaps the most clutch performance on the day for the Lex Girls came in the 2 Mile. Facing down the Spy Ponders' deep and talented distance squad, senior Jasmine Sun and freshman Meghan Caldera went toe-to-toe over 16 laps with Arlington's Elise Kempf and Ellery Klatka. Kempf took the race out hard in the first mile, gapping the field by four seconds, but Sun remained calm and slowly reeled her in over the second mile. With 800m to go, Sun had closed the gap on Kempf and sat on her shoulder for the next two laps. She would then throw down an 85-second final 400m to break Kempf, and win with a new PR of 12:14.48. Caldera was locked in a pack of four runners for 15 laps, with no one willing to blink as they cruised around the 200m oval. Finally as the group heard the bell on the final lap, Caldera went for it. She glided down the backstretch holding off Klatka and Wakefield's Charlotte O'Neil as they approached the final turn. She then found one more gear to pull away from her competitors and grabbed third place overall behind Sun and Kempf with a time of 12:40.16. For their efforts, both Sun and Caldera qualified for the MIAA Division 1 Championships in February. Another big performance was turned in by the Lex Girls in the 600m. Singh ran a beautiful race, laying off the initial blistering pace, and using a strong final lap to grab victory with the fastest time in the League (1:45.22). Next across the line was Fainelli (1:46.44) with an equally impressive debut race. Both girls qualified for Divisionals with their times. But it was freshman Pheobe Bracken who used a vicious final charge to bust out the golden broom on Arlington's Girls and grab third place in the final strides. Her time of 1:48.77 bested Arlington's Erin Moran by less than a half a second.
For the Boys it was senior captain Michael Gerfen who made a clear statement that he is the man to beat in the 55m Hurdles. His time of 8.08 seconds was tops in the League last night by near two-tenths of a second, and just off his PR that landed him on the podium at the Meet of Champions. In the 300m, junior McKenna O'Hare Gibson burst onto the scene and showed that he will be one of the top sprinters to be reckoned with in the League. His time of 37.49 won his race by over a second, and qualified him for the Division 1 Championships. Not be outdone by The Minutemen's dynamite sprint and hurdle squad, sophomore Max Zhang showed that he is poised for a great season in the middle distance events. He ran an even paced 1:27.02 to cruise to the fastest time in the League on the night. That mark qualifies him for Divisionals as well.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- The Mile saw senior captains Ava Criniti (5:20.60) and Uma Sanker (5:28.94) go one-two; both qualified for Divisionals.
- Junior Adeline Favazzo won the 300m with a Divisional qualifying time of 44.82.
- In the 1000m, senior captain Serena Caira qualified for Divisionals with a PR of 3:22.20.
- Bracken, and fellow freshmen Morgan Wipke (1:50.49) both qualified for the League Championships in the 600m.
- Freshman Thayer DiCerbo turned in a League qualifying time of 12:47.16 in the 2 Mile.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- Junior Nayan Das cruised his way to a Division 1 Championship qualifying time of 2:44.40 in the 1000m.
- It was senior Allen Jiang (46'9.50") with the best throw on the night in the Shot Put; that mark qualified him for Divisionals.
- The 4x400m Relay of senior captain Alexios Kontothanassis, senior Jake Wheaton, Gerfen, and senior captain Jayden Bai ran a Divisional qualifying time of 3:36.96.
- The LHS sprint squad was out fast in the 55m Dash, with Wheaton (6.93) and senior Miguel Jaramillo (7.01) both qualifying for the League Championships.
- In the 2 Mile Joey "Candy Man" Ryan won the race in a time of 10:23.71; senior captain Aidan McPhee was right behind him with a time of 10:33.94, as both qualified for the League Championships.
- Senior Jerry Gong (19'6") qualified for the League Meet in the Long Jump.
Up Next
The Minutemen will be back in action at The Track at New Balance next Thursday, December 22nd against the Woburn Tanners. The meet is set to begin at 4:30pm.