LEX GIRLS & BOYS BRING HOME THE HARDWARE AT MIDDLESEX LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Meet Information
Middlesex League Championships
February 6, 2023
The Track at New Balance - Boston, MA.
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - This year's installment of the Middlesex League Championships had plenty of excitement and intrigue in its build up. On the Boys' side, The Minutemen have been dominant in League action throughout the dual meet season. They have been led by the depth of their vaunted Sprint Squad, as well as the three headed monster that makes up the Bomb Squad in the Shot Put circle. Their goal on Monday night was to win the title, and chase down some history by breaking the Championship Meet's scoring record of 135 points that the 2020 LHS Team established. Sure enough, they went out and did just that. Scoring in every single event - including 48 points in the 300m and Shot Put alone - The Minutemen totaled a record 138 points to double up second place Burlington. The Girls' Meet was expected to be a far tougher task. Defending Champion Burlington won the title last year by one point over LHS, and has shown well all season. While LHS's archrivals, the Woburn Tanners tore through the Lex Girls in a dual meet back in December. However, The Minutemen came ready with 21 season or personal bests to win going away scoring 93.17 points. Woburn was second with 68, while Burlington finished third with 61.67.
You could tell something special was in the air on Monday for The Minutemen when, in the very first race of night junior Amandine Mangon ran a huge PR of 9.30 seconds to make it to finals in the 55m Hurdles. She would go on to improve even more in the finals, placing fifth with a time of 9.19 seconds. Next up for the Lex Girls was freshman sensation Aubrey Deardorf. Coming in having run 7.85 seconds in only her second time running the event, she hung close with Burlington's superstar sprinter Grace Hanafin, and turned in a time of 7.61 seconds to make finals. In the finals, Deardorf stumbled midway through the race, which made her final time of 7.68 seconds all the more incredible. For her efforts, Deardorf landed in a tie for four place overall. Between Mangon and Deardorf, the Lex Girls picked up 8.5 unexpected points. From there it was the one-two punch of senior captains Ava Criniti and Uma Sanker - who carried their team with a combined 36 - who toed the line in the Mile. Criniti cruised through the 800 in 2:35 with a pack of four girls closely behind. From there she simply went to a gear few prep girls can match. Crossing the line with a new personal best and state leading time of 5:01.33 to smash her own Championship Meet Record and earn her team 10 points. Sanker hung tough and charged around the final 400m in 75 seconds to earn the bronze medal and six points with a time of 5:14.36. Meanwhile, in the throws area LHS's Bomb Squad had their best day of the season in the Shot Put. Freshman Ainsley Cuthbertson (31'7.75"), junior Quin Tandeih (31'5.50"), and senior Rory Fox (31'2.25") placed third, fourth, and seventh respectively to earn the team 13 points. The best event on the day - at least when it comes to point totals - has to go to the girls in the 1000m. After taking third in the Mile, Sanker took control of the 1000 from the first step. She flew out in a brisk 33-second first 200 and simply wore out the field over the next three laps. After crossing the line at 800m in 2:25, Sanker cranked it up one final time to win the race with a time of 3:02.92. Back in the pack fellow classmate and captain Serena Caira (3:13.32) and junior Samara McVey (3:14.29) battled their way to place fifth and sixth respectfully after both turned in PRs. The trio's efforts earned their team 17 points, and from there the Lex Girls simply kept pouring it on, scoring points in all 12 events on their way to a well fought victory.
The story of the Boys' Meet simply cannot be told without giving senior Allen Jiang his due. The University of Chicago commit, who did not even make the varsity squad as a sophomore, put together the best Shot Put performance by a Middlesex League student-athlete in League Championship history. He turned in three throws of over 50 feet, but it was his first throw of the finals that rewrote the record books. Jiang unleashed the 12lb ball an impressive 51'5.75" to break the Championship Meet record set back in 2016 by nearly a foot. With that throw, Jiang now sits at MA #5. Along with Jiang, senior Kaden "the Sundance Kid" Cassidy (47'10.25") and senior captain Jack Ngo (47'7.75") broke out the championship golden broom to sweep the gold, silver, and bronze medal positions on the podium. This marks the first time any school has swept the podium in the Shot Put in the history of the Indoor League Championships. While the Bomb Squad dominated the top of the Shot Put podium - scoring 24 points - LHS's Sprint Squad managed to match that output by scoring a ridiculous five of eight medals in the 300m. Leading the way for his team was Branndon Uda-Thach. Going up against one of the best young sprinters in the country - Winchester sophomore Daniel Killian - Uda-Thach remained calm as Killian blasted out in the first 100m. Uda-Thach slowly reeled him in around the final turn, and with a dive at the line that left skid marks from his fall on the track, Uda-Thach won the title with a new personal best of 34.98 seconds. Senior Jake Wheaton placed fourth in 35.90. While senior captains Alexios Kontothanassis (36.39) and Jayden Bai (36.90) placed fifth and seventh respectively. Running from the unseeded section, Branndon's younger brother Khai ran an electric race of his own to earn sixth place with a PR of 36.86. As was the case in the Girls' Meet, the Hurdle crew turned out to be a tone setter for Boys. Placing one-two in the prelims Bai and fellow classmate and captain Michael Gerfen did what they were expected to do. However, it was freshman Simon Tandeih who keeps getting better and better each time he goes over the 39-inch barriers. Tandeih ran a big PR of 8.51 to earn a spot in the finals along with his teammates. In those finals, Bai and Gerfen put on a show. Bai broke the elusive eight-second barrier for the first time, running an MA #3 time of 7.84 seconds to go for gold. That was followed closely behind by Gerfen's 7.94 silver medal winning performance. Tandeih ran a solid 8.65 to pick up another point for his team. Finally, another breakout performance was turned in by junior McKenna O'Hare Gibson in the 600m. A roll of the dice put the junior in the event for the first time at the League Championships. Since he had no seed time to post, he was entered in the slowest section. When the gun fired, O'Hare Gibson hesitated but then quickly got out to a huge lead after cruising through 400 in 55 seconds. He continued to push around the final lap, winning his heat by nearly half a lap with a time of 1:25.30. That time would qualify him for the MIAA Division 1 Championships, and would hold up to earn him the bronze medal in the event.
Point Scorers for the Girls
Final Girls Team Scores
1. Lexington - 93.17
2. Woburn - 68
3. Burlington - 61.67
4. Arlington - 58.67
5. Reading - 56.67
6. Winchester - 46
7. Wilmington - 27.17
8. Melrose - 19
9. Wakefield - 18
10. Stoneham - 16.67
11. Watertown - 3
Point Scorers for the Boys
Final Boys Team Scores
1. Lexington - 138
2. Burlington - 69
3. Reading - 67
4. Winchester - 58
5. Woburn - 33
6. Wakefield - 32
7. Melrose - 30
8. Arlington - 29
9. Belmont - 8
10. Stoneham - 1
11. Watertown - 1
12. Wilmington - 1
Up Next
The Minutemen will return to The Track at New Balance for the final time this season on Wednesday, February 8th at 4:30pm as the junior varsity athletes will get one final shot to compete this season. The JV Middlesex League Championship is set to begin promptly at 4:30pm.
Middlesex League Championships
February 6, 2023
The Track at New Balance - Boston, MA.
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - This year's installment of the Middlesex League Championships had plenty of excitement and intrigue in its build up. On the Boys' side, The Minutemen have been dominant in League action throughout the dual meet season. They have been led by the depth of their vaunted Sprint Squad, as well as the three headed monster that makes up the Bomb Squad in the Shot Put circle. Their goal on Monday night was to win the title, and chase down some history by breaking the Championship Meet's scoring record of 135 points that the 2020 LHS Team established. Sure enough, they went out and did just that. Scoring in every single event - including 48 points in the 300m and Shot Put alone - The Minutemen totaled a record 138 points to double up second place Burlington. The Girls' Meet was expected to be a far tougher task. Defending Champion Burlington won the title last year by one point over LHS, and has shown well all season. While LHS's archrivals, the Woburn Tanners tore through the Lex Girls in a dual meet back in December. However, The Minutemen came ready with 21 season or personal bests to win going away scoring 93.17 points. Woburn was second with 68, while Burlington finished third with 61.67.
You could tell something special was in the air on Monday for The Minutemen when, in the very first race of night junior Amandine Mangon ran a huge PR of 9.30 seconds to make it to finals in the 55m Hurdles. She would go on to improve even more in the finals, placing fifth with a time of 9.19 seconds. Next up for the Lex Girls was freshman sensation Aubrey Deardorf. Coming in having run 7.85 seconds in only her second time running the event, she hung close with Burlington's superstar sprinter Grace Hanafin, and turned in a time of 7.61 seconds to make finals. In the finals, Deardorf stumbled midway through the race, which made her final time of 7.68 seconds all the more incredible. For her efforts, Deardorf landed in a tie for four place overall. Between Mangon and Deardorf, the Lex Girls picked up 8.5 unexpected points. From there it was the one-two punch of senior captains Ava Criniti and Uma Sanker - who carried their team with a combined 36 - who toed the line in the Mile. Criniti cruised through the 800 in 2:35 with a pack of four girls closely behind. From there she simply went to a gear few prep girls can match. Crossing the line with a new personal best and state leading time of 5:01.33 to smash her own Championship Meet Record and earn her team 10 points. Sanker hung tough and charged around the final 400m in 75 seconds to earn the bronze medal and six points with a time of 5:14.36. Meanwhile, in the throws area LHS's Bomb Squad had their best day of the season in the Shot Put. Freshman Ainsley Cuthbertson (31'7.75"), junior Quin Tandeih (31'5.50"), and senior Rory Fox (31'2.25") placed third, fourth, and seventh respectively to earn the team 13 points. The best event on the day - at least when it comes to point totals - has to go to the girls in the 1000m. After taking third in the Mile, Sanker took control of the 1000 from the first step. She flew out in a brisk 33-second first 200 and simply wore out the field over the next three laps. After crossing the line at 800m in 2:25, Sanker cranked it up one final time to win the race with a time of 3:02.92. Back in the pack fellow classmate and captain Serena Caira (3:13.32) and junior Samara McVey (3:14.29) battled their way to place fifth and sixth respectfully after both turned in PRs. The trio's efforts earned their team 17 points, and from there the Lex Girls simply kept pouring it on, scoring points in all 12 events on their way to a well fought victory.
The story of the Boys' Meet simply cannot be told without giving senior Allen Jiang his due. The University of Chicago commit, who did not even make the varsity squad as a sophomore, put together the best Shot Put performance by a Middlesex League student-athlete in League Championship history. He turned in three throws of over 50 feet, but it was his first throw of the finals that rewrote the record books. Jiang unleashed the 12lb ball an impressive 51'5.75" to break the Championship Meet record set back in 2016 by nearly a foot. With that throw, Jiang now sits at MA #5. Along with Jiang, senior Kaden "the Sundance Kid" Cassidy (47'10.25") and senior captain Jack Ngo (47'7.75") broke out the championship golden broom to sweep the gold, silver, and bronze medal positions on the podium. This marks the first time any school has swept the podium in the Shot Put in the history of the Indoor League Championships. While the Bomb Squad dominated the top of the Shot Put podium - scoring 24 points - LHS's Sprint Squad managed to match that output by scoring a ridiculous five of eight medals in the 300m. Leading the way for his team was Branndon Uda-Thach. Going up against one of the best young sprinters in the country - Winchester sophomore Daniel Killian - Uda-Thach remained calm as Killian blasted out in the first 100m. Uda-Thach slowly reeled him in around the final turn, and with a dive at the line that left skid marks from his fall on the track, Uda-Thach won the title with a new personal best of 34.98 seconds. Senior Jake Wheaton placed fourth in 35.90. While senior captains Alexios Kontothanassis (36.39) and Jayden Bai (36.90) placed fifth and seventh respectively. Running from the unseeded section, Branndon's younger brother Khai ran an electric race of his own to earn sixth place with a PR of 36.86. As was the case in the Girls' Meet, the Hurdle crew turned out to be a tone setter for Boys. Placing one-two in the prelims Bai and fellow classmate and captain Michael Gerfen did what they were expected to do. However, it was freshman Simon Tandeih who keeps getting better and better each time he goes over the 39-inch barriers. Tandeih ran a big PR of 8.51 to earn a spot in the finals along with his teammates. In those finals, Bai and Gerfen put on a show. Bai broke the elusive eight-second barrier for the first time, running an MA #3 time of 7.84 seconds to go for gold. That was followed closely behind by Gerfen's 7.94 silver medal winning performance. Tandeih ran a solid 8.65 to pick up another point for his team. Finally, another breakout performance was turned in by junior McKenna O'Hare Gibson in the 600m. A roll of the dice put the junior in the event for the first time at the League Championships. Since he had no seed time to post, he was entered in the slowest section. When the gun fired, O'Hare Gibson hesitated but then quickly got out to a huge lead after cruising through 400 in 55 seconds. He continued to push around the final lap, winning his heat by nearly half a lap with a time of 1:25.30. That time would qualify him for the MIAA Division 1 Championships, and would hold up to earn him the bronze medal in the event.
Point Scorers for the Girls
- After her record run in the Mile, Criniti won the 2 Mile with ease in a time of 11:24.27; it was freshman Meghan Caldera who picked up a point by placing eighth in a PR time of 12:27.09.
- Junior Adia Singh ran a controlled 1:41.05 to earn the silver medal in the 600m; freshman Morgan Wipke placed eighth with a PR of 1:43.99.
- The 4x200m Relay of junior Jada Solomon, sophomore Laya Barghuthi, junior Noa Helmbrecht, and freshman Felice Haverly ran a season best time of 1:49.51 to place third.
- Not to be outdone, Singh, junior Gabby Fainelli, sophomore Caroline Kvaal, and Wipke ran a season best 4:14.92 to earn a bronze medal of their own in the 4x400m Relay.
- In the 300m, Haverly found another gear by running a PR of 43.68 to place fifth overall; she also landed in a six-way tie for fifth in the High Jump with a leap of 4'9".
- Saving her best for when her team needed her most, Barghuthi turned in a PR of 15'5.50" in the Long Jump to place eighth.
Final Girls Team Scores
1. Lexington - 93.17
2. Woburn - 68
3. Burlington - 61.67
4. Arlington - 58.67
5. Reading - 56.67
6. Winchester - 46
7. Wilmington - 27.17
8. Melrose - 19
9. Wakefield - 18
10. Stoneham - 16.67
11. Watertown - 3
Point Scorers for the Boys
- The 4x200m Relay just missed the Meet Record as Kontothanassis's 22.0 split led seniors Miguel Jaramillo, Parth Kocheta, and Gerfen to victory in a time of 1:32.18.
- O'Hare Gibson outdueled Reading's Jack Quinn for the second time this year in the 4x400m Relay; his 51.8 split was enough to lead his team of Khai Uda-Thach, sophomore James Joseph, and senior Sam Simon to gold in a time of 3:31.03.
- Branndon Uda-Thach (6.67) earned a silver medal with another huge PR in the 55m Dash; Wheaton was fourth in 6.79 seconds after a PR of 6.77 in the prelims.
- Gerfen turned in a lifetime best leap of 20'4" on his final attempt of the Long Jump competition to earn silver by one-half inch; senior Jerry Gong was seventh with a leap of 19'6.25".
- Junior Joey "Candy Man" Ryan gutted his way to a PR and bronze medal in the 2 Mile with a time of 9:48.06.
- In the Mile it was junior Nayan Das who placed fourth with a season best 4:33.48.
- The 1000m saw sophomore Zach Barry run a PR of 2:43.44 to place fifth; senior Antonio Lopez run 2:43.51.
- The High Jump saw O'Hare Gibson clear 5'8" on his first attempt to place fifth overall.
Final Boys Team Scores
1. Lexington - 138
2. Burlington - 69
3. Reading - 67
4. Winchester - 58
5. Woburn - 33
6. Wakefield - 32
7. Melrose - 30
8. Arlington - 29
9. Belmont - 8
10. Stoneham - 1
11. Watertown - 1
12. Wilmington - 1
Up Next
The Minutemen will return to The Track at New Balance for the final time this season on Wednesday, February 8th at 4:30pm as the junior varsity athletes will get one final shot to compete this season. The JV Middlesex League Championship is set to begin promptly at 4:30pm.