WHORTON PASSES A LEGEND; BOYS & GIRLS 4x8s BREAK RECORDS ON DAY 1 OF NATIONALS
Meet Information
New Balance Indoor Nationals Day 1
March 13, 2025
the TRACK at New Balance - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Billed as "the fastest party on the planet," the New Balance Indoor Nationals brings together much of the top prep talent in the United States for a four days each March. For the last three years, Boston has been the host city, which makes it an easy trip for The Minutemen who compete at the TRACK at New Balance all winter long. Day 1 of Nationals proved to be a banner day in LHS Track & Field history. Lexington's middle and long distance athletes turned in one tremendous performance after the next, as three school records fell over the course of the afternoon.
The story of the day began with freshman phenom Amelia Whorton who competed first in the Freshman Mile. When the gun fired, Whorton charged out and put herself in solid position in the middle of the pack as the race came through the quarter mile in 73 seconds. As the race unfolded, the freshman maintained her composure coming through the 800 split in just under 2:30. Whorton moved up to third position as the race came to its penultimate lap and when the race approached the bell, she unleashed her signature kick to break away from Daphne Weller (IN) and secure the bronze medal with a time of 4:57.25. In addition to the medal, Whorton's performance broke the LHS Mile record previously held by 2-time Cross Country All-American and Lexington legend Natasha Roetter (LHS '02). It was a simply sensational effort, especially considering she is only a freshman. Later in the meet, The Minutemen's 4x800m Relay toed the line in the Boys Championship division. The team of seniors James Joseph, Max Zhang, Zach Barry, and sophomore Arjun Raha had already broken the elusive 8-minute barrier earlier this winter, but on Thursday they had their eyes on the LHS record of 7:56.59 that was set back in 2020. Joseph got the team off to a good start as had fought his way through a physical start to cruise through the halfway mark in 58 seconds flat. He continued to run a strong leg and passed the baton to Raha in eighth place after a 2:00.94 split. From there, Raha dropped a pair of very hard laps that had him through in 56.3 seconds for 400m. While the sophomore harrier paid the price of that fast early pace, he stayed tough and managed to move his team into seventh place with a 2:01.11 split. Despite the strong legs by Joseph and Raha, the team was well off school record pace as Zhang got the baton as the clock read 4:01. However, both he and Barry have been Lexington's heavy hitters all season long and they delivered massive performances when their team needed them most. Zhang powered around the track for four laps and passed the stick after a personal best split of 1:57.27 that had his team up to sixth place. From there it was up to Barry. The senior flew through the opening 200m in 27.4 and never let off the gas over the next two laps. As he approached the bell, he could see on the scoreboard that he needed to find a way to run around 30 seconds to get the record. Barry charged down the backstretch to the roar of the Lexington fans who were hammering away at the New Balance barricades holding them off the track. With one final push he passed the team from Mavericks Run Club (NC) and crossed the line fourth in a time of 7:55.38. With his 1:56.08 split, Barry, Zhang, Raha, and Joseph etched the second new LHS record of the day into the books. However, there was still one more race to go for The Minutemen. After the boys did their thing, the Lex girls took to the track in the unseeded section with the team of sophomore Callie Glenn, freshmen Mackenzie Callahan and Ceci Kvaal, along with Whorton. Glenn got off to a uncharacteristically fast start that had her through the opening 200 in 33 seconds. She continued to battle through a tightly packed race and handed off the baton in fourth place with a huge personal best split of 2:20.24. Callahan flew out from the start and quickly overtook the leaders in the first lap. Over the next three laps, she was able to gut it out to hang onto that lead, as she handed off to Kvaal after a personal best split of her own (2:21.50). Kvaal was also out quick, but did what she had to do to deliver a 2:23.32 split that had The Minutemen in second place just behind Tub Gator (NJ) as the anchor legs waited. Fresh off her record run in the Mile, Whorton took the baton and slammed the door shut on the field. She delivered fastest split of anyone in the heat (2:15.61) and brought home the victory for her teammates in another new LHS record of 9:20.66. Their mark broke the previous record set back in 2015 and was the fastest time run by any Massachusetts team this winter.
Other Highlights from the Track
Up Next
After a fantastic day 1, The Minutemen are right back at it tomorrow, March 14th for day 2 of New Balance Indoor Nationals. LHS begins the day at 10:00am with Callahan and Whorton in the Freshman 800m before junior captain Simon Tandeih will take flight in the Long Jump at 2:00pm. The Girls Distance Medley Relay will then finish off the night at 6:21pm. Live results can be found here, and the meet can be livestreamed for free all weekend.
New Balance Indoor Nationals Day 1
March 13, 2025
the TRACK at New Balance - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Billed as "the fastest party on the planet," the New Balance Indoor Nationals brings together much of the top prep talent in the United States for a four days each March. For the last three years, Boston has been the host city, which makes it an easy trip for The Minutemen who compete at the TRACK at New Balance all winter long. Day 1 of Nationals proved to be a banner day in LHS Track & Field history. Lexington's middle and long distance athletes turned in one tremendous performance after the next, as three school records fell over the course of the afternoon.
The story of the day began with freshman phenom Amelia Whorton who competed first in the Freshman Mile. When the gun fired, Whorton charged out and put herself in solid position in the middle of the pack as the race came through the quarter mile in 73 seconds. As the race unfolded, the freshman maintained her composure coming through the 800 split in just under 2:30. Whorton moved up to third position as the race came to its penultimate lap and when the race approached the bell, she unleashed her signature kick to break away from Daphne Weller (IN) and secure the bronze medal with a time of 4:57.25. In addition to the medal, Whorton's performance broke the LHS Mile record previously held by 2-time Cross Country All-American and Lexington legend Natasha Roetter (LHS '02). It was a simply sensational effort, especially considering she is only a freshman. Later in the meet, The Minutemen's 4x800m Relay toed the line in the Boys Championship division. The team of seniors James Joseph, Max Zhang, Zach Barry, and sophomore Arjun Raha had already broken the elusive 8-minute barrier earlier this winter, but on Thursday they had their eyes on the LHS record of 7:56.59 that was set back in 2020. Joseph got the team off to a good start as had fought his way through a physical start to cruise through the halfway mark in 58 seconds flat. He continued to run a strong leg and passed the baton to Raha in eighth place after a 2:00.94 split. From there, Raha dropped a pair of very hard laps that had him through in 56.3 seconds for 400m. While the sophomore harrier paid the price of that fast early pace, he stayed tough and managed to move his team into seventh place with a 2:01.11 split. Despite the strong legs by Joseph and Raha, the team was well off school record pace as Zhang got the baton as the clock read 4:01. However, both he and Barry have been Lexington's heavy hitters all season long and they delivered massive performances when their team needed them most. Zhang powered around the track for four laps and passed the stick after a personal best split of 1:57.27 that had his team up to sixth place. From there it was up to Barry. The senior flew through the opening 200m in 27.4 and never let off the gas over the next two laps. As he approached the bell, he could see on the scoreboard that he needed to find a way to run around 30 seconds to get the record. Barry charged down the backstretch to the roar of the Lexington fans who were hammering away at the New Balance barricades holding them off the track. With one final push he passed the team from Mavericks Run Club (NC) and crossed the line fourth in a time of 7:55.38. With his 1:56.08 split, Barry, Zhang, Raha, and Joseph etched the second new LHS record of the day into the books. However, there was still one more race to go for The Minutemen. After the boys did their thing, the Lex girls took to the track in the unseeded section with the team of sophomore Callie Glenn, freshmen Mackenzie Callahan and Ceci Kvaal, along with Whorton. Glenn got off to a uncharacteristically fast start that had her through the opening 200 in 33 seconds. She continued to battle through a tightly packed race and handed off the baton in fourth place with a huge personal best split of 2:20.24. Callahan flew out from the start and quickly overtook the leaders in the first lap. Over the next three laps, she was able to gut it out to hang onto that lead, as she handed off to Kvaal after a personal best split of her own (2:21.50). Kvaal was also out quick, but did what she had to do to deliver a 2:23.32 split that had The Minutemen in second place just behind Tub Gator (NJ) as the anchor legs waited. Fresh off her record run in the Mile, Whorton took the baton and slammed the door shut on the field. She delivered fastest split of anyone in the heat (2:15.61) and brought home the victory for her teammates in another new LHS record of 9:20.66. Their mark broke the previous record set back in 2015 and was the fastest time run by any Massachusetts team this winter.
Other Highlights from the Track
- Janie Conrad turned in a strong race in the Freshman Mile that saw her deliver a top-10 finish of her own; her time of 5:06.65 earned her ninth place overall.
Up Next
After a fantastic day 1, The Minutemen are right back at it tomorrow, March 14th for day 2 of New Balance Indoor Nationals. LHS begins the day at 10:00am with Callahan and Whorton in the Freshman 800m before junior captain Simon Tandeih will take flight in the Long Jump at 2:00pm. The Girls Distance Medley Relay will then finish off the night at 6:21pm. Live results can be found here, and the meet can be livestreamed for free all weekend.