SENSATIONAL TEAM EFFORT LEADS THE MINUTEMEN TO VICTORY OVER ROCKETS
Meet Information
Reading Dual Meet
January 3, 2025
Boston University Track & Tennis Center - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Friday night The Minutemen were on the campus of Boston University where they competed on the fastest indoor track in the world against their archrivals from Reading. Whenever LHS squares off against the Rockets, meets are filled with all the drama and intrigue of any championship meet. Friday's edition of the rivalry was no different as the boys' meet came down to the relays after a dramatic back and forth. In the end, Lexington was able to execute when they needed it most and came away with a victory by a score of 56-44. On the girls' side, the meet turned into a route early. The Minutemen either swept or went one-two in five of the first six events on their way to a 73-27 win of their own.
The boys' meet saw Lexington and Reading trade blows early on. In the first event of the day, LHS went one-two in the 55m Hurdles behind captains Simon Tandeih (7.95) and Ryan Zhang (8.33). Reading answered right back with a one-two finish of their own in the 55m Dash. Sophomore Alessandro Vicentini (37'8.25") came through with a huge personal best in the Shot Put, and along with Tandeih (36'11.25"), LHS's Bomb Squad was able to deliver what ended up being a massively important eight points for The Minutemen. Because, Reading again responded immediately with another one-two finish and eight points in the Mile. That left the score knotted at 18 a piece after four events. Next, the Mid-D group had its turn. Seniors James Joseph (1:26.42) and Zach Barry (1:27.25), along with freshman Matteo Sanchez de Rojas (1:28.24) were finally able to break the scoring trend. The trio busted out the golden broom to sweep the 600m, and earn nine points for LHS. From there, the two teams continued the back and forth affair. And, with only the 2 Mile left before the relays, the score stood at 41-40 in favor of Lexington. The 2 Mile proved pivotal, as sophomore Trevor Stevens was tasked with going toe-to-toe with one of the best distance runners in the state, Reading senior Chris Barbato. If Stevens was able to take down the Rockets top runner, The Minutemen would only need to win one of the two relays to earn victory in the overall meet. Anything less, and LHS would need both relays to win it all. When the gun fired Stevens wasted no time taking the race to Barbato. The two were stride-for-stride through the first 800m, when Stevens began to separate. As they approached the mile mark, Stevens had built a lead of nearly nine seconds. Barbato, who earlier was pushed to the limit as he won the 1000m, appeared to be sitting back and waiting to kick to the finish. However, Stevens continued to pour it on, and over the next four laps doubled his lead. As he came onto the bell lap, his team roaring him on down the backstretch it was clear he had got the job done. Stevens crossed the line in 9:47.20 to seal the victory after a sensational effort. After his heroics, the team of sophomores Cayden Chambers, Sheryas Hanchinamani, Luis Linares Gutierrez, and senior Tim George were tapped to bring it home for The Minutemen. With three clean exchanges, the crew won going away with a time of 1:35.95, and with that Lexington earned a hard fought victory.
LHS's dual against Reading saw the season debut of freshman Janie Conrad and sophomore Callie Glenn. The pair spearheaded The Minutemen's runner-up finish at the Division 1 All-State Championships in Cross Country, and spent the month of December preparing for this season. In their opening race, they went up against the best the Rocket's have to offer in the distance events, senior Molly Hackett. While Hackett hung in there early, Glenn and Conrad made a strong move in the middle of the race to break away and place first and second. Conrad got the win in a time of 5:19.04, just a hair ahead of Glenn's 5:19.34 as they both qualified for Divisionals. Along with the showing by the milers, freshman Cynthia Gu had the breakout performance of the day. One of LHS's freshmen hurdle squad, Gu managed to three-step her way over all five hurdles for the first time. That jump from five-step to three-step helped her win the race going away in a personal best time of 9.74 seconds. That performance was just three-hundredths off the standard for the MIAA Division 1 Championships, and was well under the mark for the League Championships. Another big breakthrough came from yet another of The Minutemen's talented freshman class. After gaining some experience and getting the nerves out over the past two meets, Natalie Bielat took her second shot at the 1000m. She raced like a season veteran as she earned a runner-up finish in the race with a time of 3:20.74. While she was bested by an athlete from Melrose, she was first across the line in the Lexington v. Reading matchup, which earned her the first five point performance of her LHS career. Meanwhile, while all the action was taking place on the track, junior Ainsley Cuthbertson was over in the throwing area putting on the finest display of weight throwing in LHS history. After she broke the LHS record against Arlington, the LHS junior had a few so-so performances in the weeks since. However, beginning with her third throw of the competition, Cuthbertson unleashed bomb after bomb, each throw besting her previous record, en route to a new personal best of 44'4.25". That mark won her the event, and left her just 1.75 inches off the New Balance Nationals standard.
Other Highlights for the Boys
Other Highlights for the Girls
Up Next
The Minutemen are right back to work on Saturday, January 4th at the annual MSTCA Auerbach Freshman/Sophomore Meet. This meet is the state's annual opportunity to take a glimpse into the future and see how teams will stack up in the years to come. Action begins at Reggie Lewis at 9am and can be livestreamed free HERE.
Reading Dual Meet
January 3, 2025
Boston University Track & Tennis Center - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - Friday night The Minutemen were on the campus of Boston University where they competed on the fastest indoor track in the world against their archrivals from Reading. Whenever LHS squares off against the Rockets, meets are filled with all the drama and intrigue of any championship meet. Friday's edition of the rivalry was no different as the boys' meet came down to the relays after a dramatic back and forth. In the end, Lexington was able to execute when they needed it most and came away with a victory by a score of 56-44. On the girls' side, the meet turned into a route early. The Minutemen either swept or went one-two in five of the first six events on their way to a 73-27 win of their own.
The boys' meet saw Lexington and Reading trade blows early on. In the first event of the day, LHS went one-two in the 55m Hurdles behind captains Simon Tandeih (7.95) and Ryan Zhang (8.33). Reading answered right back with a one-two finish of their own in the 55m Dash. Sophomore Alessandro Vicentini (37'8.25") came through with a huge personal best in the Shot Put, and along with Tandeih (36'11.25"), LHS's Bomb Squad was able to deliver what ended up being a massively important eight points for The Minutemen. Because, Reading again responded immediately with another one-two finish and eight points in the Mile. That left the score knotted at 18 a piece after four events. Next, the Mid-D group had its turn. Seniors James Joseph (1:26.42) and Zach Barry (1:27.25), along with freshman Matteo Sanchez de Rojas (1:28.24) were finally able to break the scoring trend. The trio busted out the golden broom to sweep the 600m, and earn nine points for LHS. From there, the two teams continued the back and forth affair. And, with only the 2 Mile left before the relays, the score stood at 41-40 in favor of Lexington. The 2 Mile proved pivotal, as sophomore Trevor Stevens was tasked with going toe-to-toe with one of the best distance runners in the state, Reading senior Chris Barbato. If Stevens was able to take down the Rockets top runner, The Minutemen would only need to win one of the two relays to earn victory in the overall meet. Anything less, and LHS would need both relays to win it all. When the gun fired Stevens wasted no time taking the race to Barbato. The two were stride-for-stride through the first 800m, when Stevens began to separate. As they approached the mile mark, Stevens had built a lead of nearly nine seconds. Barbato, who earlier was pushed to the limit as he won the 1000m, appeared to be sitting back and waiting to kick to the finish. However, Stevens continued to pour it on, and over the next four laps doubled his lead. As he came onto the bell lap, his team roaring him on down the backstretch it was clear he had got the job done. Stevens crossed the line in 9:47.20 to seal the victory after a sensational effort. After his heroics, the team of sophomores Cayden Chambers, Sheryas Hanchinamani, Luis Linares Gutierrez, and senior Tim George were tapped to bring it home for The Minutemen. With three clean exchanges, the crew won going away with a time of 1:35.95, and with that Lexington earned a hard fought victory.
LHS's dual against Reading saw the season debut of freshman Janie Conrad and sophomore Callie Glenn. The pair spearheaded The Minutemen's runner-up finish at the Division 1 All-State Championships in Cross Country, and spent the month of December preparing for this season. In their opening race, they went up against the best the Rocket's have to offer in the distance events, senior Molly Hackett. While Hackett hung in there early, Glenn and Conrad made a strong move in the middle of the race to break away and place first and second. Conrad got the win in a time of 5:19.04, just a hair ahead of Glenn's 5:19.34 as they both qualified for Divisionals. Along with the showing by the milers, freshman Cynthia Gu had the breakout performance of the day. One of LHS's freshmen hurdle squad, Gu managed to three-step her way over all five hurdles for the first time. That jump from five-step to three-step helped her win the race going away in a personal best time of 9.74 seconds. That performance was just three-hundredths off the standard for the MIAA Division 1 Championships, and was well under the mark for the League Championships. Another big breakthrough came from yet another of The Minutemen's talented freshman class. After gaining some experience and getting the nerves out over the past two meets, Natalie Bielat took her second shot at the 1000m. She raced like a season veteran as she earned a runner-up finish in the race with a time of 3:20.74. While she was bested by an athlete from Melrose, she was first across the line in the Lexington v. Reading matchup, which earned her the first five point performance of her LHS career. Meanwhile, while all the action was taking place on the track, junior Ainsley Cuthbertson was over in the throwing area putting on the finest display of weight throwing in LHS history. After she broke the LHS record against Arlington, the LHS junior had a few so-so performances in the weeks since. However, beginning with her third throw of the competition, Cuthbertson unleashed bomb after bomb, each throw besting her previous record, en route to a new personal best of 44'4.25". That mark won her the event, and left her just 1.75 inches off the New Balance Nationals standard.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- The 1000m saw senior Max Zhang battle his way to a second place finish in a time of 2:38.80, which qualified him for Divisionals; sophomore Owen Ross (2:45.77) picked up third with a Divisional qualifier of his own.
- Junior Cleavon Manor Jr. (19'7.75") won the Long Jump by a half inch to score five big points; Tandeih (19'7.25") finished third on a tiebreaker.
- While the meet had already been won, the crew of Sanchez de Rojas, Zhang, Barry, and Joseph ran a season best of 3:35.85 to win the 4x400m Relay.
- Hanchinamani (38.02) and freshman Bennett Siino (39.03) delivered key performances to place second and third respectively in the 300m.
- In the Mile, sophomore Patrick Noonan (4:40.62) earned third.
- Chambers (7.10) too picked up one point with a third place finish in the 55m Dash.
- Freshman Rhys Behling (10:20.39) made his season debut with a Middlesex League Championship qualifying run in the 2 Mile.
- Junior Colin Smith qualified for League in the 600m with a time of 1:31.78.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- In the 600m, freshmen Amelia Whorton (1:41.29), Mackenzie Callahan (1:46.14) and C.C. Kvaal (1:47.62), along with senior captain Claire Cunningham (1:47.67) broke out the platinum broom and swept the top four spots; Whorton and Callahan hit the Divisional standard in the event, while Kvaal and Cunningham qualified for League.
- Before her huge day in the Weight Throw, Cuthbertson (31'3") led the Bomb Squad to a sweep of the Shot Put; juniors Ella Wolosoff (25'9.75") and Emily Wondolowski (24'8.25") both turned in personal bests to get the job done.
- Along with Bielat's performance, the 1000m saw junior Prachi Aggarwal (3:27.43) and Allie Galloway (3:34.01) break out the golden broom for the sweep.
- The 300m was swept by junior Felice Haverly (45.27), freshman Kashish Kumar (46.19), and junior Anika Steinbrecher (46.22).
- A season best came from the 4x400m relay team of Callahan, Glenn, Conrad, and Whorton as they won the race in 4:18.89.
- Junior Aubrey Deardorf, sophomore Marissa Hao, Haverly, and Steinbrecher won the 4x200m Relay in a time of 1:51.34.
- The Long Jump was won by Deardorf with a jump of 16'7".
- It was Deardorf (7.55) and Hao (7.98) who placed second and third in the 55m Dash.
- In the 2 Mile, junior Meghan Caldera (12:10.31) and sophomore Erin Ehmann (12:20.56) finished second and third overall with Divisional qualifying performances; freshman Daphne Warren (12:56.19) hit the League standard as well.
- Junior Monjola Finnih placed second in the 55m Hurdles with a time of 10.23 seconds.
- Gu picked up second in the High Jump with a leap of 4'6".
Up Next
The Minutemen are right back to work on Saturday, January 4th at the annual MSTCA Auerbach Freshman/Sophomore Meet. This meet is the state's annual opportunity to take a glimpse into the future and see how teams will stack up in the years to come. Action begins at Reggie Lewis at 9am and can be livestreamed free HERE.