THE MINUTEMEN GROUND THE ROCKETS; LEAVE READING WITH A PAIR OF VICTORIES

Meet Information
Reading Dual Meet
April 26, 2023
Reading Memorial High School - Reading, MA
RESULTS
READING, MA - Exactly one year ago, the Reading Rockets came to Lexington on a rain-soaked 50 degree day and handed The Minutemen their only loss of the dual meet season by a score of 71.5-64.5. This past winter the Lex Girls did not have enough firepower to beat the Rockets either, as Reading's Girls won by a score of 56-44. Needless to say, payback was on the minds of every LHS athlete that rolled into Reading on Wednesday afternoon. On the Boys' side, The Minutemen simply ran the Rockets off the track, winning 11 of 15 events en route to a 85-51 thrashing of their archrivals. The Lex Girls had all they could handle as Reading competed their hearts out all afternoon. In the end - as all great track meets do - it came down to the 4x4, and LHS's team of junior Maya Dubrovsky, senior captain Ava Criniti, senior Uma Sanker, and junior Adia Singh took care of business, running a season best time of 4:11.57 to win the race and the meet for their team by a score of 71-65.
Despite the lopsided scored, the Boys' Meet really came down to a number of narrowly won victories that blew the competition wide open. In the first event of the day the 400m Hurdles, competing the event for the first time this season senior Naresh Vytheswaren took the lead early and was barely hanging on as the field approached the 10th and final hurdle. The 110m Hurdle specialist smoothly cleared the final barrier as a pair of hard charging Rockets fell trying to get over their last hurdle. As a result Vytheswaren (59.62) took the win, and fellow classmate Nick Chipashvili (1:03.33) picked up third. In the 110m Hurdles, LHS's one-two punch of senior captains Jayden Bai (15.50) and Michael Gerfen (15.68) took the top two spots as expected, but it was junior Jacob Pan (17.01) who bested Reading senior Gryffin Stoddard for third and broke out the golden broom. Senior Jake Wheaton (11.34) ran down Reading's Jack Dougherty in the final meters of the 100m Dash, and senior captain Alexios Kontothanassis (11.56) was right there to pickup third. Again, senior Branndon Uda-Thach (52.28) did just enough to edge out Reading's Liam Hannabury for the win in the 400m, while junior James Joseph took third with a PR of 53.31. In the next event, sophomore Max Zhang returned to the 800m after a year-long hiatus. He ran a PR of 1:59.74 - breaking the elusive two-minute barrier for the first time - to best Reading's Jackson Clish. Fellow classmate Zach Barry (2:02.47) picked up third with a PR of his own. Then in the 200m, The Minutemen sealed the victory as Bai (23.07) became the second LHS sprinter to run down Dougherty on the day, as he won by less than one-tenth of a second. Junior Khai Uda-Thach (23.41) took third and that was that, The Minutemen had achieved the 69 points they needed for victory with still the 2 Mile and the Relays to go. Along with all of the narrow victories on the track, the reason LHS was able to win so convincingly was because of the efforts of the Bomb Squad. In the three throwing events, The Minutemen bested the Rockets by a score of 21-6. Senior Andrew McDonnell had himself a day, winning the Javelin with a throw of 133'3". After his heroics, the Shot Put was dominated by LHS's top two throwers, as senior Allen Jiang (52'9.75") won by over three feet, and senior captain Jack Ngo (49'3.50") took second - besting Reading's Peter Tompkins by over three feet as well. The captain then finished the job for the Bomb Squad in the Discus as he won with a throw of 137'9". Senior Kaden Cassidy was second with a season best throw of 137'5". Both athletes' throws flew nearly 30 feet farther than Reading's top performer. In the end, The Minutemen's victory was a total team effort, and together they made an empathic statement that they are the class of the Middlesex League.
The Lex Girls were carried by the Distance Squad on Wednesday. LHS broke out the golden brooms to sweep the Mile and 2 Mile, as all six athletes who placed turned in season or personal bests. Beginning with the Mile, Criniti dominated the field with a season best, and MIAA Meet of Champions qualifying time of 5:10.09. She was followed by junior Samara McVey who's time of 5:33.92 qualified her for the Middlesex League Championships, and bested her previous PR by nearly 10 seconds. She was followed by fellow classmate Dora Liao (5:41.74) who ran a PR to pickup third. In the final event before the Relays, The Minutemen needed to pickup all nine points available to them, and the crew of seniors Jasmine Sun (11:51.73) and Mirra Payson (12:19.61), and freshman Nadia Abdinoor (12:38.21) all delivered with lifetime bests to get the job done. For Sun, it was her first time breaking the elusive 12-minute barrier, and she achieved the MIAA Division 1 standard as well. While Payson's time qualified her for the League Championships. As they did for the Boys, the Bomb Squad came through for the Girls as well. Junior Quin Tandeih (95'11"), and freshmen Ainsley Cuthbertson (82'8") and Ella Wolosoff (76'7") broke out the golden broom in the Discus. Tandeih (30'7.50") and Cuthbertson (29'6.50") also earned second and third in the Shot Put for the Lex Girls. In the Javelin it was junior captain Katie Atkins (95'6") who placed second, while senior Rose O'Neill (80'9") was third. In the end, the Bomb Squad bested the Rockets' throws team by a score of 17 to 10, as all five LHS athletes turned in season or personal bests to get the job done for their team.
Other Highlights for the Boys
Other Highlights for the Girls
Up Next
The Minutemen will be competing at Day 1 of the MSTCA Division 1 Relays on Thursday, April 27th as the Pole Vaulters will take center stage. The meet - at Andover High School - will begin at 4pm.
Reading Dual Meet
April 26, 2023
Reading Memorial High School - Reading, MA
RESULTS
READING, MA - Exactly one year ago, the Reading Rockets came to Lexington on a rain-soaked 50 degree day and handed The Minutemen their only loss of the dual meet season by a score of 71.5-64.5. This past winter the Lex Girls did not have enough firepower to beat the Rockets either, as Reading's Girls won by a score of 56-44. Needless to say, payback was on the minds of every LHS athlete that rolled into Reading on Wednesday afternoon. On the Boys' side, The Minutemen simply ran the Rockets off the track, winning 11 of 15 events en route to a 85-51 thrashing of their archrivals. The Lex Girls had all they could handle as Reading competed their hearts out all afternoon. In the end - as all great track meets do - it came down to the 4x4, and LHS's team of junior Maya Dubrovsky, senior captain Ava Criniti, senior Uma Sanker, and junior Adia Singh took care of business, running a season best time of 4:11.57 to win the race and the meet for their team by a score of 71-65.
Despite the lopsided scored, the Boys' Meet really came down to a number of narrowly won victories that blew the competition wide open. In the first event of the day the 400m Hurdles, competing the event for the first time this season senior Naresh Vytheswaren took the lead early and was barely hanging on as the field approached the 10th and final hurdle. The 110m Hurdle specialist smoothly cleared the final barrier as a pair of hard charging Rockets fell trying to get over their last hurdle. As a result Vytheswaren (59.62) took the win, and fellow classmate Nick Chipashvili (1:03.33) picked up third. In the 110m Hurdles, LHS's one-two punch of senior captains Jayden Bai (15.50) and Michael Gerfen (15.68) took the top two spots as expected, but it was junior Jacob Pan (17.01) who bested Reading senior Gryffin Stoddard for third and broke out the golden broom. Senior Jake Wheaton (11.34) ran down Reading's Jack Dougherty in the final meters of the 100m Dash, and senior captain Alexios Kontothanassis (11.56) was right there to pickup third. Again, senior Branndon Uda-Thach (52.28) did just enough to edge out Reading's Liam Hannabury for the win in the 400m, while junior James Joseph took third with a PR of 53.31. In the next event, sophomore Max Zhang returned to the 800m after a year-long hiatus. He ran a PR of 1:59.74 - breaking the elusive two-minute barrier for the first time - to best Reading's Jackson Clish. Fellow classmate Zach Barry (2:02.47) picked up third with a PR of his own. Then in the 200m, The Minutemen sealed the victory as Bai (23.07) became the second LHS sprinter to run down Dougherty on the day, as he won by less than one-tenth of a second. Junior Khai Uda-Thach (23.41) took third and that was that, The Minutemen had achieved the 69 points they needed for victory with still the 2 Mile and the Relays to go. Along with all of the narrow victories on the track, the reason LHS was able to win so convincingly was because of the efforts of the Bomb Squad. In the three throwing events, The Minutemen bested the Rockets by a score of 21-6. Senior Andrew McDonnell had himself a day, winning the Javelin with a throw of 133'3". After his heroics, the Shot Put was dominated by LHS's top two throwers, as senior Allen Jiang (52'9.75") won by over three feet, and senior captain Jack Ngo (49'3.50") took second - besting Reading's Peter Tompkins by over three feet as well. The captain then finished the job for the Bomb Squad in the Discus as he won with a throw of 137'9". Senior Kaden Cassidy was second with a season best throw of 137'5". Both athletes' throws flew nearly 30 feet farther than Reading's top performer. In the end, The Minutemen's victory was a total team effort, and together they made an empathic statement that they are the class of the Middlesex League.
The Lex Girls were carried by the Distance Squad on Wednesday. LHS broke out the golden brooms to sweep the Mile and 2 Mile, as all six athletes who placed turned in season or personal bests. Beginning with the Mile, Criniti dominated the field with a season best, and MIAA Meet of Champions qualifying time of 5:10.09. She was followed by junior Samara McVey who's time of 5:33.92 qualified her for the Middlesex League Championships, and bested her previous PR by nearly 10 seconds. She was followed by fellow classmate Dora Liao (5:41.74) who ran a PR to pickup third. In the final event before the Relays, The Minutemen needed to pickup all nine points available to them, and the crew of seniors Jasmine Sun (11:51.73) and Mirra Payson (12:19.61), and freshman Nadia Abdinoor (12:38.21) all delivered with lifetime bests to get the job done. For Sun, it was her first time breaking the elusive 12-minute barrier, and she achieved the MIAA Division 1 standard as well. While Payson's time qualified her for the League Championships. As they did for the Boys, the Bomb Squad came through for the Girls as well. Junior Quin Tandeih (95'11"), and freshmen Ainsley Cuthbertson (82'8") and Ella Wolosoff (76'7") broke out the golden broom in the Discus. Tandeih (30'7.50") and Cuthbertson (29'6.50") also earned second and third in the Shot Put for the Lex Girls. In the Javelin it was junior captain Katie Atkins (95'6") who placed second, while senior Rose O'Neill (80'9") was third. In the end, the Bomb Squad bested the Rockets' throws team by a score of 17 to 10, as all five LHS athletes turned in season or personal bests to get the job done for their team.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- Having perhaps the best day of his career, Junior Joey "Candy Man" Ryan began the meet by running a gutsy race to place third in the Mile with a big PR of 4:34.20; he then doubled back to win the 2 Mile with a season best time of 9:58.95.
- Also running a great 2 Mile was senior Aidan McPhee, who outlasted his opponent by nine-hundredths of a second to place second with a PR of 10:12.97.
- In the Long Jump, senior Jerry Gong turned in a season best jump of 20'2.50" to place second in the event.
- The Triple Jump saw Pan leap his was to 40'4.75" on his way to a second place finish.
- Senior Aviv Spitz ran a PR of 2:03.31 to earn a spot a the League Championships.
- In the Mile, senior Antonio Lopez qualified for League with his time of 4:43.86.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- The 4x400m Relay's time of 4:11.57 was enough to qualify for the Division 1 Championships.
- Sanker hung tough in the 800m to win with a League qualifying time of 2:26.58; sophomore Claire Cunningham gutted her way to a third place finish with a PR of 2:34.29.
- Along with her League qualifying performance in the Javelin, Atkins ran a PR and League qualifier of 17.00 seconds in the 100m Hurdles.
- Freshman Annika Steinbrecher ran a PR of 1:03.85 to place third in the 400m.
- Completing the Distance Squad's perfect day of season bests, freshman Sophie Johnson ran 5:55.60 in the Mile and sophomore Mirei Saneyoshi ran 12:41.77 in the 2 Mile.
- In the Long Jump freshman Aubrey Deardorf (15'8") placed third in her first time competing the event.
Up Next
The Minutemen will be competing at Day 1 of the MSTCA Division 1 Relays on Thursday, April 27th as the Pole Vaulters will take center stage. The meet - at Andover High School - will begin at 4pm.