LEX GIRLS FIGHT TO DRAMATIC VICTORY; HAVERLY MAKES NATIONALS STANDARD
Meet Information
Arlington Dual Meet
December 21, 2023
The Track at New Balance - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - The Minutemen were back at Boston Landing on Thursday evening to face off against the Arlington. On the boys' side the meet was a route, as LHS easily dispatched the Spy Ponders by a score of 81-19. The Girls Meet, however, had a much more dramatic flare. A back-and-forth affair over three and a half hours of jam packed action left the situation still in doubt as the meet came to the relays. After the Lex Girls easily won the 4x200m Relay with a season best time, the meet - as all great track meets do - came down to the 4x4. The team of sophomore Rose Neely, junior Lucy Kontos, freshman Callie Glenn, and sophomore Anika Steinbrecher were called upon to deliver their team to victory, and they did just that. Steinbrecher turned in a 63.4 split on the anchor leg to hold off Arlington senior Elise Kempf's furious charge by one-hundredth of a second. The victory gave LHS the overall win by a final score of 55-45.
Along with the heroic performance by the Lex Girls' 4x4, the story of Thursday's meet simply cannot be told without giving a shoutout to sophomore Felice Haverly. After being injured to start the season, Haverly stepped on the high jump apron in competition for the first time since last June. Not quite knowing what to expect, she entered the competition at the opening height of 4'2", and cleared it on the first attempt. She then continued to match Arlington's Ella Radoslovich height-for-height up to 4'10". There, Haverly asserted herself, and leapt over the bar on her opening try. Radoslovich could not counter, and with that Haverly had earned her team a much needed five points. However, she was just getting warmed up. She soared cleanly over the bar at 5'0", and again to achieve a PR at 5'2". Then on her third and final attempt at achieving the New Balance Indoor Nationals standard of 5'4", Haverly did just enough to clear the height on her final attempt. That effort not only punched her ticket to Nationals in March, but tied her for the highest jump in Massachusetts so far this winter. Another big performance in the field for the Lex Girls came from yet another sophomore. Representing the "Bomb Squad," Ainsley Cuthbertson's second throw in the Shot Put flew a personal best distance of 32'7.25". That mark was third in the League on Thursday night. Before she came through with her relaymates in the 4x4, Kontos raised the bar yet again for herself. After she debuted with the Lex Girls on the XC trails this fall with a modest time of 24:51 for 5k, the junior's steady but steep improvement has been nothing short of a revelation for her team. Thursday, she ran a MIAA Division 1 qualifying time of 5:37.31 in the Mile, which was good for second, and was the fifth fastest time run this season in the Middlesex League.
While the boys' meet was not altogether all that competitive from a team standpoint, there were some stellar performances from The Minutemen. Senior McKenna O'Hare Gibson proved that he is going to be one to watch in the sprints this year. He made his debut in the 300m with an MA #4 time of 35.92 seconds. In the 2 Mile, it was Owen Ross who introduced himself to the Middlesex League. The freshman harrier ran a gutsy race from start to finish, and crossed the line with a time of 10:22.18. That mark was good for fourth overall. While their teammates were lighting up the track, sophomores Cleavon Manor Jr and Simon Tandeih were quietly building the foundation of what might turn into one of the best high jump squads LHS has seen in a long time. After a slow start, the two both cleared 5'8" on their opening height. Now, along with O'Hare Gibson, the three athletes are The Minutemen's first trio of high jumpers to clear 5'8" in the same season since 2018.
Other Highlights for the Girls
Other Highlights for the Boys
Up Next
After a short break for Christmas, The Minutemen will have a select group compete at the MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge this coming Wednesday, December 27th. The meet - at The Track at New Balance - is set to begin at 9:00am.
Arlington Dual Meet
December 21, 2023
The Track at New Balance - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - The Minutemen were back at Boston Landing on Thursday evening to face off against the Arlington. On the boys' side the meet was a route, as LHS easily dispatched the Spy Ponders by a score of 81-19. The Girls Meet, however, had a much more dramatic flare. A back-and-forth affair over three and a half hours of jam packed action left the situation still in doubt as the meet came to the relays. After the Lex Girls easily won the 4x200m Relay with a season best time, the meet - as all great track meets do - came down to the 4x4. The team of sophomore Rose Neely, junior Lucy Kontos, freshman Callie Glenn, and sophomore Anika Steinbrecher were called upon to deliver their team to victory, and they did just that. Steinbrecher turned in a 63.4 split on the anchor leg to hold off Arlington senior Elise Kempf's furious charge by one-hundredth of a second. The victory gave LHS the overall win by a final score of 55-45.
Along with the heroic performance by the Lex Girls' 4x4, the story of Thursday's meet simply cannot be told without giving a shoutout to sophomore Felice Haverly. After being injured to start the season, Haverly stepped on the high jump apron in competition for the first time since last June. Not quite knowing what to expect, she entered the competition at the opening height of 4'2", and cleared it on the first attempt. She then continued to match Arlington's Ella Radoslovich height-for-height up to 4'10". There, Haverly asserted herself, and leapt over the bar on her opening try. Radoslovich could not counter, and with that Haverly had earned her team a much needed five points. However, she was just getting warmed up. She soared cleanly over the bar at 5'0", and again to achieve a PR at 5'2". Then on her third and final attempt at achieving the New Balance Indoor Nationals standard of 5'4", Haverly did just enough to clear the height on her final attempt. That effort not only punched her ticket to Nationals in March, but tied her for the highest jump in Massachusetts so far this winter. Another big performance in the field for the Lex Girls came from yet another sophomore. Representing the "Bomb Squad," Ainsley Cuthbertson's second throw in the Shot Put flew a personal best distance of 32'7.25". That mark was third in the League on Thursday night. Before she came through with her relaymates in the 4x4, Kontos raised the bar yet again for herself. After she debuted with the Lex Girls on the XC trails this fall with a modest time of 24:51 for 5k, the junior's steady but steep improvement has been nothing short of a revelation for her team. Thursday, she ran a MIAA Division 1 qualifying time of 5:37.31 in the Mile, which was good for second, and was the fifth fastest time run this season in the Middlesex League.
While the boys' meet was not altogether all that competitive from a team standpoint, there were some stellar performances from The Minutemen. Senior McKenna O'Hare Gibson proved that he is going to be one to watch in the sprints this year. He made his debut in the 300m with an MA #4 time of 35.92 seconds. In the 2 Mile, it was Owen Ross who introduced himself to the Middlesex League. The freshman harrier ran a gutsy race from start to finish, and crossed the line with a time of 10:22.18. That mark was good for fourth overall. While their teammates were lighting up the track, sophomores Cleavon Manor Jr and Simon Tandeih were quietly building the foundation of what might turn into one of the best high jump squads LHS has seen in a long time. After a slow start, the two both cleared 5'8" on their opening height. Now, along with O'Hare Gibson, the three athletes are The Minutemen's first trio of high jumpers to clear 5'8" in the same season since 2018.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- In what was the best event of the night for the Lex Girls, sophomores Aubrey Deardorf (7.67), Bruguers Sagues (7.86), freshman Alyssa McKee (7.95), and Steinbrecher (7.99) broke out the platinum broom to sweep the top four spots in the 55m Dash.
- Following right behind was the performance of Deardorf (16'2.50"), McKee (15'2.50"), and Sagues (14'6.75") to sweep the Long Jump.
- The Minutemen's sprint squad came through again in the 300m, as freshman Marissa Hao (45.06), and senior captain Jada Solomon (46.61) finished first and third.
- In a performance that gave the 4x4 the chance to earn the victory, the 4x2 of Deardorf, Sagues, Solomon, and freshman Emily Hoefkens breezed their way to victory with a time of 1:53.99.
- The 600m saw Neely run a PR of 1:46.55 to place second; junior Caroline Kvaal was third in 1:47.14.
- Glenn turned in a time of 3:20.40 in the 1000m to finish second for her team.
- Along with Kontos, sophomore Nadia Abdinoor (5:46.97) picked up a third place finish.
- Hoefkens (9.80) four-stepped her way to a third place finish of her own in the 55m Hurdles.
- Senior Samara McVey (12:13.25) placed third in the 2 Mile.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- Junior captain Max Zhang qualified for the Division 1 Championships in the 600m with a time of 1:26.98; fellow classmates James Joseph (1:30.57) and Will Fletcher (1:30.97), along with freshman Eli Selsky (1:32.53) all hit the Middlesex League Championship standard.
- In the 1000m, junior Zach Barry (2:43.82) qualified for Divisionals; junior Daniel Ryans made the League mark with a time of 2:46.74.
- The Mile saw a similar outcome for The Minutemen, as senior captain Joey "The Candyman" Ryan qualified for Divisionals in 4:34.68, while freshman Trevor Stevens (4:52.88) qualified for League.
- In the 4x200m Relay, it was senior captain Khai Uda-Thach, O'Hare Gibson, senior Victor Yu, and junior Tim George who combined to run a Divisional qualifying time of 1:32.50.
- Joseph, Barry, Zhang, and Ryan all ran nearly identical splits to win finish third overall on the night in the 4x400m Relay with a time of 3:34.37.
- The 55m Dash saw Uda-Thach (6.89), George (6.92), and senior Jacob Pan (6.96) all run season bests and League qualifying marks.
- Sophomore Sam Finch (10:26.46) followed Ross's lead in the 2 Mile to earned a PR and League qualifier of his own; as did fellow classmate Owen Kuder (10:47.62).
Up Next
After a short break for Christmas, The Minutemen will have a select group compete at the MSTCA Boston Holiday Challenge this coming Wednesday, December 27th. The meet - at The Track at New Balance - is set to begin at 9:00am.