RIVALRY RENEWED: THE MINUTEMEN EARN A SPLIT WITH THE TANNERS
Meet Information
Woburn Dual Meet
April 25, 2024
Lexington Center Track - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - Over the years, whenever Lexington and Woburn faced off in cross country / track & field, fireworks have flown. The two programs have dominated the Middlesex League in track & field for over a decade, having won a combined 17 of 18 Indoor League Championships, and another 18 of 21 Outdoor Titles. Over the last three seasons, the rivalry between The Minutemen and the Tanners has been particularly heated on the girls' side, culminating in a 87-87 tie for the League Championships this past winter. On the contrary, the boys' rivalry had cooled a bit as Woburn had not beaten LHS since 2018 in a dual or championship meet. However, anything can happen during rivalry week. And while the Lex Girls easily dispatched the Tanners by a score of 86-50, The Minutemen - who rested a number of key athletes ahead of this weekend's MSTCA Division 1 Relays - were bested outright by Woburn, as the Tanners walked out of Lexington with a 77-58 victory.
After Woburn went one-two in the Girls 400m Hurdles to begin the meet, Lucy Kontos did her best to respond for her team in the Mile where she face off against the Middlesex League's Cross Country MVP, Sinead Butler. Kontos made it an honest race from the gun, and took Butler through the 800m mark in 2:40. The two remained stride-for-stride through the third lap until LHS's junior harrier surged hard down the backstretch. Her move was strong, but not enough to break away from Butler who rallied herself and pulled away over the final stretch of the race to best Kontos with a season best time of 5:13.58. For her effort, Kontos ran a huge PR of 5:14.49 to pick up second place and three points. Kontos was back later in the meet in the 800m, where she confidently dispatched Woburn's Leah Finn with a negative split 2:22.41 that earned her another five points for her team. While everything was happening on the oval, sophomore Ainsley Cuthbertson began the best day of her young career. She dropped a bomb in the Shot Put (34'5"), which was a personal best by just under a foot, and earned her the win and five points. However, she was just getting warmed up. In the Discus circle, Cuthbertson's first attempt was ruled a foul. Her second attempt left no doubt that she is among the class of the Bay State in the event, as it travelled a whopping 105'2". Along with her teammates' second place finishes, senior "Downtown" Makalah Brown's (29'8.25") in the Shot Put, and sophomore Ella Wolosoff's (90'7") in the Discus, as well as senior captain Katie Atkins' (86'7") victory in the Javelin, LHS's Bomb Squad came through with 21 of a possible 27 points in the throws. Along with the big efforts by Kontos and the Bomb Squad, not enough can be said about what sophomores Felice Haverly and Aubrey Deardorf did to anchor their team to victory. The dynamic sprinting/jumping duo competed in five events (100m, 200m, 400m, High Jump, and Long Jump). Each won two, and they went one-two in the 200m. All tolled, Haverly and Deardorf accounted for 28 of The Minutemen's points in what was nothing short of a spectacular performance by pair of budding stars.
The highlight of the meet for The Minutemen came in the very first event of the day, the 400m Hurdles. Senior McKenna O'Hare Gibson was third in Massachusetts last year in the event with a PR of 55.90. In his 2024 debut on Thursday, he eviscerated that mark. O'Hare Gibson ran a blistering opening half of the race, and maintained that effort over each of the 10 barriers to cross the line with a time of 54.86 seconds. That mark ranks him US #23 in the event, and also broke the LHS record set by two-time NCAA Division III All-American Andrew McGovern (LHS '20) in 2019. LHS's "Burger Squad" continued its strong day in the hurdles, as sophomore captain Simon Tandeih (15.16), junior Ryan Zhang (15.19), and senior Jacob Pan (15.56) all turned in personal bests in the 110m Hurdles. The Minutemen were also able to break out the golden broom in the Mile as freshman Alden Hall (4:40.20), junior Daniel Ryans (4:41.60), and freshman Owen Ross (4:41.73) all ran personal or season bests that qualified them for the Middlesex League Championships as they swept the event.
Other Highlights for the Girls
Other Highlights for the Boys
Up Next
The Minutemen will now travel down to Pisini Field at Franklin High School for the MSTCA Division 1 Relays. The annual test of team depth will offer The Minutemen their first and only opportunity to see how they stack up against the rest of Massachusetts' Division 1 teams ahead of the Championships over Memorial Day Weekend. Action begins in Franklin this Sunday, April 28th at 9:30am.
Woburn Dual Meet
April 25, 2024
Lexington Center Track - Lexington, MA
RESULTS
LEXINGTON, MA - Over the years, whenever Lexington and Woburn faced off in cross country / track & field, fireworks have flown. The two programs have dominated the Middlesex League in track & field for over a decade, having won a combined 17 of 18 Indoor League Championships, and another 18 of 21 Outdoor Titles. Over the last three seasons, the rivalry between The Minutemen and the Tanners has been particularly heated on the girls' side, culminating in a 87-87 tie for the League Championships this past winter. On the contrary, the boys' rivalry had cooled a bit as Woburn had not beaten LHS since 2018 in a dual or championship meet. However, anything can happen during rivalry week. And while the Lex Girls easily dispatched the Tanners by a score of 86-50, The Minutemen - who rested a number of key athletes ahead of this weekend's MSTCA Division 1 Relays - were bested outright by Woburn, as the Tanners walked out of Lexington with a 77-58 victory.
After Woburn went one-two in the Girls 400m Hurdles to begin the meet, Lucy Kontos did her best to respond for her team in the Mile where she face off against the Middlesex League's Cross Country MVP, Sinead Butler. Kontos made it an honest race from the gun, and took Butler through the 800m mark in 2:40. The two remained stride-for-stride through the third lap until LHS's junior harrier surged hard down the backstretch. Her move was strong, but not enough to break away from Butler who rallied herself and pulled away over the final stretch of the race to best Kontos with a season best time of 5:13.58. For her effort, Kontos ran a huge PR of 5:14.49 to pick up second place and three points. Kontos was back later in the meet in the 800m, where she confidently dispatched Woburn's Leah Finn with a negative split 2:22.41 that earned her another five points for her team. While everything was happening on the oval, sophomore Ainsley Cuthbertson began the best day of her young career. She dropped a bomb in the Shot Put (34'5"), which was a personal best by just under a foot, and earned her the win and five points. However, she was just getting warmed up. In the Discus circle, Cuthbertson's first attempt was ruled a foul. Her second attempt left no doubt that she is among the class of the Bay State in the event, as it travelled a whopping 105'2". Along with her teammates' second place finishes, senior "Downtown" Makalah Brown's (29'8.25") in the Shot Put, and sophomore Ella Wolosoff's (90'7") in the Discus, as well as senior captain Katie Atkins' (86'7") victory in the Javelin, LHS's Bomb Squad came through with 21 of a possible 27 points in the throws. Along with the big efforts by Kontos and the Bomb Squad, not enough can be said about what sophomores Felice Haverly and Aubrey Deardorf did to anchor their team to victory. The dynamic sprinting/jumping duo competed in five events (100m, 200m, 400m, High Jump, and Long Jump). Each won two, and they went one-two in the 200m. All tolled, Haverly and Deardorf accounted for 28 of The Minutemen's points in what was nothing short of a spectacular performance by pair of budding stars.
The highlight of the meet for The Minutemen came in the very first event of the day, the 400m Hurdles. Senior McKenna O'Hare Gibson was third in Massachusetts last year in the event with a PR of 55.90. In his 2024 debut on Thursday, he eviscerated that mark. O'Hare Gibson ran a blistering opening half of the race, and maintained that effort over each of the 10 barriers to cross the line with a time of 54.86 seconds. That mark ranks him US #23 in the event, and also broke the LHS record set by two-time NCAA Division III All-American Andrew McGovern (LHS '20) in 2019. LHS's "Burger Squad" continued its strong day in the hurdles, as sophomore captain Simon Tandeih (15.16), junior Ryan Zhang (15.19), and senior Jacob Pan (15.56) all turned in personal bests in the 110m Hurdles. The Minutemen were also able to break out the golden broom in the Mile as freshman Alden Hall (4:40.20), junior Daniel Ryans (4:41.60), and freshman Owen Ross (4:41.73) all ran personal or season bests that qualified them for the Middlesex League Championships as they swept the event.
Other Highlights for the Girls
- Junior Alkisti Kokkinia (1:10.92) picked up a third place finish and one point for her team in the 400m Hurdles.
- The Mile saw freshman Alycia Charest (5:51.64) earn her first varsity point in the event with a third place finish.
- Senior Amandine Mangon (15.50) ran a season best time to pickup three points with a second place finish in the 100m Hurdles; Atkins (16.82) was third with a season best time that qualified her for the MIAA Division 1 Championships.
- Deardorf became just the eight LHS female to break the elusive 13-second barrier in the 100m with a time of 12.89 seconds; Sophomore Bruguers Sagues (13.20) qualified for the Division 1 Championships as well, and picked up a point with a third place finish.
- In the 400m, Haverly (59.79) broke the 60-second barrier for the first time and picked up five points with the win and a Divisional qualifying mark.
- Junior Claire Cunningham (2:32.77) earned an important point in the 800m, and qualified for the League Championships in the process, as she placed third.
- Haverly (26.36) and Deardorf (27.35) both hit the Divisional standard in the 200m with their one-two finish; Sagues broke out the golden broom with a Middlesex League Championship qualifying time and PR of 27.45.
- Freshman Erin Ehmann competed well in the 2 Mile and managed second place to Butler with a PR and Divisional qualifying time of 12:16.23; sophomore Thayer DiCerbo (12:29.72) picked up a point with her third place finish.
- The 4x100m Relay of junior Caitlin Lennox, Mangon, and freshmen Emily Hoefkens and Alyssa McKee stormed their way to victory with a time of 52.48.
- Haverly won the High Jump with a leap of 4'10"; freshman Lyla Monaco (4'4") picked up third place finish and one point for her team.
- In the Long Jump, Deardorf flew to a new PR and a #2 all-time mark in LHS history when she landed at 17'8.50" to win the event; Kokkinia (15'7.50") picked up a third place finish with a PR of her own.
- The golden broom was out in the Triple Jump as Mangon (33'1"), Sagues (31'5"), and Lennox (30'6.25") took care of business to earn nine points for LHS.
Other Highlights for the Boys
- Along with O'Hare Gibson's big day, junior captain Kabir Gokarn's debut in the 400m Hurdles saw him achieve the League standard in the event.
- In the 100m, freshman Cayden Chambers (11.39) continued his strong freshman campaign with a victory in a personal best time; junior Tim George (11.45) also PRed to pick up second as the two were both under the League standard.
- Ross (2:08.57) doubled back in the 800m to pick up a point with a PR and third place finish.
- Sophomore Sam Finch (10:15.37) ran a season best and League qualifier in the 2 Mile, as he earn third place behind freshman Trevor Stevens' winning time of 9:58.50.
- The High Jump saw sophomore Cleavon Manor Jr pick up second place with a leap of 5'4".
- LHS can now claim a trio of 20-foot long jumpers, as Tandeih (20'8"), sophomore Amari Mow (20'7"), and Pan (20'4") all broke the barrier on Thursday.
- Sophomore Sam Myerberg turned in a PR of 124'1" in the Javelin to place second in the event.
- In the final event of the night, sophomore Franz Schroeder threw a big PR of 127'9" in the Discus, which qualified him for Divisionals.
Up Next
The Minutemen will now travel down to Pisini Field at Franklin High School for the MSTCA Division 1 Relays. The annual test of team depth will offer The Minutemen their first and only opportunity to see how they stack up against the rest of Massachusetts' Division 1 teams ahead of the Championships over Memorial Day Weekend. Action begins in Franklin this Sunday, April 28th at 9:30am.