THE MINUTEMEN FACE SOME OF THE STATES' BEST AT COACHES INVITE
Meet Information
MSTCA Coaches Invitational
January 26, 2019
Reggie Lewis Center - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - On Saturday, in a meet that is meant to be a preview of the All-State Championships, The Minutemen were at Reggie Lewis for the Coaches Invitational. While this meet is not scored and there was no team title on the line, it was the last opportunity for Lexington's best to see how they measured up to athletes they will not see again until the State Meet, and a final tune-up for the Middlesex League Championships.
The girls team had strong performances across the board but four athletes had especially big races on the oval that highlighted The Minutemen's day. First on the track was senior captain Kesinia Sortor in the Mile. Coming into the meet seeded 25th, Sortor simply wanted to go out there and get one more good race in before the League Meet. She did that and more by running a season best by nearly ten seconds - 5:22.53 - and a time that landed her tenth overall. Next on the track was Lily Sheth who was running her first of three races on the day. After a tough start in the race, Sheth remained calm and worked her way to the front of the pack eventually running away from the unseeded heat in a personal best time of 1:40.84. Her time would earn her a sixth place medal. In the 1000m, sophomore Lina Jafaar was also able to run away from her unseeded section. Driving from the front for the majority of the race, Jafaar crossed the line with a personal best time of 3:10.50 finishing tenth in the process. Not to be outdone in the 1000m was junior Pauline Steines, who had struggled to find form in the race that has been her specialty in previous years. However, she certainly found it on Saturday. From the gun Steines stuck her nose in with the lead pack. As the race developed she was able to maintain form and power through the final lap to finish with a personal best time of 3:09.07, a time good enough for seventh overall.
In the boys meet the junior class showed up time and again for The Minutemen and it was a quartet of them who's performances stood above the rest. In the first event of the meet, Shymon Samsel ran a huge personal best of 8.34 seconds in the 55m High Hurdles improving on his 36th place seed to finish 20th overall. In addition to Samsel's big day, it was two field athletes who stole the show for The Minutemen. First, Yanni Zavaliagkos threw a personal best of nearly two feet in the Shot Put. His throw of 46'8.25" placed him fifth. Next up Brandon Wilkins soared over his season best by four inches in the High Jump, finishing ninth with his leap of 6'0". With that performance, Wilkins qualified for the Division 1 Championships for the first time in his career. Finishing off a stellar day for Lexington's junior class was Micah Benson in the 2 Mile. Seeded 17th going into the race, he was simply hoping to get a Divisional qualifying mark of his own. He did that and much more. Benson - a true grinder, not one to out kick his opponents - came through the mile in a brisk 4:50. From there he hung with the pack over the next few laps before he made his move with 800m to go. His early move slowly blew up the chase pack, dropping runners one by one over the final four laps and propelling him to an eventual podium finish. Benson's time of 9:46.14 not only placed him third but was well under the Divisional qualifying mark he was chasing, and was the fastest time run by a Lexington harrier this year.
Other Highlights for the Girls
Other Highlights for the Boys
Up Next
The Minutemen return to action the day after the Super Bowl - February 4th - to go up against the best the Middlesex League has to offer at the Middlesex League Championships. The meet is set to start at 4pm.
MSTCA Coaches Invitational
January 26, 2019
Reggie Lewis Center - Boston, MA
RESULTS
BOSTON, MA - On Saturday, in a meet that is meant to be a preview of the All-State Championships, The Minutemen were at Reggie Lewis for the Coaches Invitational. While this meet is not scored and there was no team title on the line, it was the last opportunity for Lexington's best to see how they measured up to athletes they will not see again until the State Meet, and a final tune-up for the Middlesex League Championships.
The girls team had strong performances across the board but four athletes had especially big races on the oval that highlighted The Minutemen's day. First on the track was senior captain Kesinia Sortor in the Mile. Coming into the meet seeded 25th, Sortor simply wanted to go out there and get one more good race in before the League Meet. She did that and more by running a season best by nearly ten seconds - 5:22.53 - and a time that landed her tenth overall. Next on the track was Lily Sheth who was running her first of three races on the day. After a tough start in the race, Sheth remained calm and worked her way to the front of the pack eventually running away from the unseeded heat in a personal best time of 1:40.84. Her time would earn her a sixth place medal. In the 1000m, sophomore Lina Jafaar was also able to run away from her unseeded section. Driving from the front for the majority of the race, Jafaar crossed the line with a personal best time of 3:10.50 finishing tenth in the process. Not to be outdone in the 1000m was junior Pauline Steines, who had struggled to find form in the race that has been her specialty in previous years. However, she certainly found it on Saturday. From the gun Steines stuck her nose in with the lead pack. As the race developed she was able to maintain form and power through the final lap to finish with a personal best time of 3:09.07, a time good enough for seventh overall.
In the boys meet the junior class showed up time and again for The Minutemen and it was a quartet of them who's performances stood above the rest. In the first event of the meet, Shymon Samsel ran a huge personal best of 8.34 seconds in the 55m High Hurdles improving on his 36th place seed to finish 20th overall. In addition to Samsel's big day, it was two field athletes who stole the show for The Minutemen. First, Yanni Zavaliagkos threw a personal best of nearly two feet in the Shot Put. His throw of 46'8.25" placed him fifth. Next up Brandon Wilkins soared over his season best by four inches in the High Jump, finishing ninth with his leap of 6'0". With that performance, Wilkins qualified for the Division 1 Championships for the first time in his career. Finishing off a stellar day for Lexington's junior class was Micah Benson in the 2 Mile. Seeded 17th going into the race, he was simply hoping to get a Divisional qualifying mark of his own. He did that and much more. Benson - a true grinder, not one to out kick his opponents - came through the mile in a brisk 4:50. From there he hung with the pack over the next few laps before he made his move with 800m to go. His early move slowly blew up the chase pack, dropping runners one by one over the final four laps and propelling him to an eventual podium finish. Benson's time of 9:46.14 not only placed him third but was well under the Divisional qualifying mark he was chasing, and was the fastest time run by a Lexington harrier this year.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- Star sophomore Aleia Gisolfi-McCready placed fourth in the 300m in a time of 41.95 seconds.
- Junior Chrisondra Awomah picked up a fourth place of her own in the Shot Put with a throw of 34'7.5"
- After polishing off personal best in their individual events, Sheth, Sortor, and Steines all doubled back with junior Danna Ofek to pick up a sixth place medal in the 4x800m relay (10:04.96).
- Sheth then finished off her day in the 4x400m relay along with freshman Elana Sabin, sophomore Aylin Bruce, and Gisolfi-McCready by placing sixth overall with a time of 4:15.23.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- Junior Mateo Useche qualified for the League Meet with a personal best time of 2:46.23 in the 1000m.
- The 2 Mile also featured junior Adam Bernstein running a personal best time of 10:00.91. He placed 15th.
- In the 600m, freshman Evan Eberle (1:29.21) and senior Will Steinfeld (1:29.86) both ran personal bests finishing 32nd and 45th respectively.
Up Next
The Minutemen return to action the day after the Super Bowl - February 4th - to go up against the best the Middlesex League has to offer at the Middlesex League Championships. The meet is set to start at 4pm.