Kelley Invitational: Lantz Dominant In Debut ! Joe Reardon Sep 29, 2013

 Olivia Lantz has already more than proven herself an enormous running talent on the track, courtesy of a 4:57 best in the mile her sophomore year. Now it's time for the Manchester-Essex junior to show her versatility by adding cross country dominance to her resume.

 

Kelley Invitational: Newburyport's Carleo Off To A Fast Start ! Joe Reardon Sep 28, 2013

"Last year I won this by pretty much kicking the last 800 meters and breaking them," Carleo said. "That's what I did this year and it worked out fine. "I think I'm ahead of of last year. My goal was to beat my (3 mile) course record by a little. It was 15:12 and I ran 14:59. I'm in way better shape than I thought. I'm happy where I am right now."

 

Lowell Starts Season On Top Again ! Joe Reardon Sep 22, 2013

Maia was pleased with the early-season effort of a team very eager to defend the title it won last November on Northfield Mountain. "We're just basically running off our fitness," he said. "The kids did their work over the summer and it's early in the season. It's a good beginning and the kids are excited."

Franklin Park Off The MIAA Calendar Again Joe Reardon Aug 20, 2013

"I'm looking forward to a return to Franklin Park in the very near future," he said. "I've seen many outstanding runners, races and course changes dating back to 1960. There is certainly a lot of history and tradition at Franklin Park."  said Mike Meagher

Mass Crowns 6 New England Champions! Joe Reardon Jun 09, 2013

Brian Sommers wanted to take full advantage of his one event at Saturday's 68th New England Track Championships and give the competition a world of hurt in the process.

With no long jump and only the 400-meter dash on his schedule,the Acton-Boxboro senior attacked the event harder than he ever has. Sommers roared out from the start against a deep, frightenly tough field and barreled down the final straightway to shatter his personal best and take first in 48.31 seconds, just ahead of Zachary Andrews (48.48) of New Britain, CT.

Redemption For DiMare Joe Reardon May 29, 2013

Call it the DiMare Redemption.

A year after falling in the hurdles and not making it to the starting line of the 200-meter dash, Notre Dame’s Isabella DiMare decided it was time to make things right again.

DiMare gave the 200-meter field an up-close look at her talents yesterday at the Div. 2 EMass Championships on her home track. The speedster was fast out of the blocks and accelerated on the turn and down the straightaway to break the tape in a stunning new personal best of 24.98 seconds.

McConville Leads Hingham To Title Joe Reardon May 26, 2013

Hingham’s Julie McConville needed a whole five minutes to catch her breath after destroying both the record and field in the 2 mile at yesterday’s Div. 3 Eastern Mass Track & Field Championships. Less than an hour later, the tiny, Dartmouth College-bound distance starlet ran an impressive mile field into the ground at breezy Pembroke High.

Top Athletes Shine At Weston Twilight Joe Reardon May 05, 2013

Last spring, Wachusett’s Colin Bennie traveled to Fitchburg and proceeded to thoroughly manhandle a deep, talented field to capture the state title in the 2 mile. If Bennie is looking to defend his title this time around, he’s not saying. The mega talent from Central Mass hasn’t ruled out dropping down in attempt to come away with state meet gold in the mile or even the 800.

Relay Meets Produce Early Divisional Favorites Joe Reardon Apr 30, 2013

Deep and tough proved to be Weston’s calling card.

The meet was dubbed as the Div. 4 State Coaches Relays but it was Weston that turned the competition into its own highlight reel show at John B. Reilly Field.

John Monz’s boys’ and girls’ teams combined for six victories to take both team titles, closing out two days of relay meets across Eastern Mass.

Rocha's Record Run Leads Lantz & McNulty Sub 5 Joe Reardon Feb 24, 2013

 

Catarina Rocha's farewell performance at the Reggie Lewis Center proved to be her best.

The Peabody star put her head down, pumped her arms and drove across the finish line, breaking her own meet record with a new personal best of 4 minutes, 49.14 seconds at yesterday's state meet. Runner-up Olivia Lantz of Manchester Essex (4:57.67) and Bishop Feehan’s Abby McNulty (4:58.30) were left behind, but still came away with impressive personal bests.

Record Run for Newton North's Lucken Joe Reardon Feb 16, 2013

That’s the one and only way Newton North’s Ryan Lucken could explain the exhilaration of sprinting away from a packed field to win the 300-meter dash at yesterday’s Div. 1 track championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Abby McNulty captures mile Joe Reardon Feb 15, 2013

The matchup had been anticipated by many since November. Abby McNulty of Bishop Feehan and Milton’s Julie McConville, widely regarded as the top two distance runners in the state other than Peabody’s Catarina Rocha, finally banged heads, not once, but twice, at last night’s Division 3 championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Elite Meet Lives Up To Its Name Joe Reardon Jan 28, 2013

A different approach resulted in a familiar result for Amy Piccolo. The dynamic Ursuline Academy sophomore strayed from her usual strategy of leading from the gun at yesterday’s Coaches Elite Invitational, but it was a plan she was confident she could pull off. Entered in both the 600 and 300, Piccolo wanted to run a controlled effort in the longer race so she’d have plenty of spring in her legs for the shorter, quicker event on the Reggie Lewis Center track.

MSTCA D2 & D3 State Relays Joe Reardon Jan 21, 2013

Abby McNulty switched gears like she did so many times during her stellar cross country season and began to move hard with 400 meters remaining on the Reggie Lewis Center track. When the state Div. 2 cross country champion crossed the finish line of the distance medley with a 5-minute anchor split for the mile, Bishop Feehan had a startling meet record of 12:29.

Stubbs Fantastic Finish Earns Mile Victory Joe Reardon Jan 07, 2013

Distance runners just may have to learn the hard way that Cambridge’s Sam Stubbs can never be counted out in a race. St. John’s Prep’s Josh Raposa felt the sting of the talented freshman in the mile at yesterday’s Auerbach Freshman-Sophomore Track Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.

Molly McCabe Breaks Holiday Challenge Record Joe Reardon Dec 30, 2012

Boston Holiday Challenge New Hampshire  Highlights:

  • Betsy Garnick  Bishop Guertin, 2nd Place 55 Meter Hurdles ( 8.44)
  • Molly McCabe  Bishop Guertin 1st Place  1000 Meters   ( 2:57.22  Meet Record)
  • Sara Burke      Bishop Guertin  1st Place 600 Meters  (1:36.58 )
  • Emma Checovich  Winnacunnet  1st Place Long Jump

Boston Holiday Challenge: Strong Performances At BHC Joe Reardon Dec 29, 2012

Abby McNulty slowly sipped a cup of water on the Reggie Lewis Center infield. Sweat beaded up on her brow, but her voice was steady with only a small hint of fatigue. It was somewhat surprising that she was five minutes removed from the best performance at yesterday's Holiday Challenge.

Indoor Track Preview: Inside Lane a Good Spot Joe Reardon Dec 21, 2012

The Reggie Lewis Center will be a busy place all winter with track athletes aiming to run faster, jump higher and throw farther with their sights set on the late-season championship meets. Unfortunately, two of last year’s biggest stars most likely won’t be involved in the proceedings.Sadly, the most electrifying athlete in the sport and the face of Massachusetts indoor track, Newton North’s Carla Forbes, will spend the winter on the sidelines after coach Joe Tranchita decided to err on the side of caution over the defending national triple jump champion’s nagging but undisclosed injury. Foxboro miler Liz Holmes is expected to miss at least the first six weeks of the season with a hamstring injury, and it’s unclear if or when the 4:55.74 talent will be back.

Winter Festival Kick's off Reggie Lewis Schedule Joe Reardon Dec 15, 2012

 

She felt rusty, more than a little off in her gazelle-like approach to the bar and sluggish on the Reggie Lewis Center infield.  And prior experience on the indoor circuit tells Wachusett’s Amy Collins that’s exactly where she wants to be in the infancy of a new season. The real work is still in front of her.

 

NE Highlights: Rocha Wins Northeast Footlocker Championships Joe Reardon Nov 24, 2012

Wrecked, shredded, and dismantled. Call it what you want, it really doesn’t matter. For the third time in two weeks, Peabody’s Catarina Rocha put the hammer down on another deep cross country field.

This time it was the Northeast that got a big, bad dose of Rocha.

After easy wins in both the Div. 1 EMass and All-State races, Rocha hung around with the leaders for the first half before changing gears at yesterday’s FootLocker Northeast Regional Cross Country Championships. Racing in chilly conditions that included a light snow flurry in the final half mile, Rocha was all smiles as she earned her third consecutive trip to the FootLocker Finals with an easy 17-minute, 49.5-second victory over the challenging 3.1-mile Van Cortlandt Park layout. The finals will take place in Balboa Park in San Diego, CA, on Dec. 8.

Green Smashes Northfield Record ! Joe Reardon Nov 18, 2012

Given the eye test, Jonathan Green of St. John’s of Shrewsbury was the overwhelming favorite to capture the Div. 1 race at Saturday’s All-State Championships and defend his title from last fall.

McNulty, Feehan have fastest kick Joe Reardon Nov 18, 2012

Abbey McNulty and Bedford’s Erin Dietz went back and forth in the lead in the Div. 2 race after the Bishop Feehan star surged away from the cluster of runners at the top of the hill. A 5:10 miler, McNulty doesn’t have a blazing kick, but she can finish hard and that’s just what she did in pulling away for the win in 18:20.72. The rookie Dietz was second in 18:31.65 and Kerri Keohane of Tyngsboro took third in 19:56.03. Third a year ago as a sophomore, McNulty will be looking to defend her title next fall in Gardner when the state meet shifts to Central Mass. McNulty was finally able to break Dietz with 800 meters remaining and never let up until she crossed the finish line. “I went out in the lead pack and when I got to the top of the hill I knew I had to push,” said McNulty. “She was with me the whole way. It was back and forth. I was pushing myself the whole way. That’s the whole point of racing. You know that you fought your hardest. “I poured it on in the last straightaway. I couldn’t go any faster.”

Rocha's Solo Effort Was Truly Amazing Joe Reardon Nov 12, 2012

Peabody’s Catarina Rocha put on a solo performance that further cemented the senior’s growing legend in Saturday’s Div. 1 race at the EMass Cross Country Championships on the grounds of the Wrentham Developmental Center.

Haverhill's Gilmore Runs Away from Field Joe Reardon Nov 04, 2012

 

WRENTHAM – As a rule, Haverhill’s Riley Gilmore has made a career of taking the pace from gun, but when another harrier is willing to push hard early, she’s perfectly content to sit back before making a decisive move.

Yesterday’s Div. 1 Junior/Senior race at the State Coaches Cross Country Invitational played right into the junior’s strength. Dracut’s Karina Shepherd put 50 yards on the pack in the first mile into a chilly breeze. Gilmore let the race

come back to her.

Holmes Shuts it Down After Hockomock Victory Joe Reardon Oct 29, 2012

 

The gun went off at Saturday’s Hockomock Cross Country Championships and Liz Holmes of Foxboro was gone, baby gone.

Holmes was an easy winner over the Borderland State Park’s scenic 3.1-mile layout. Her time of 18 minutes, 39.15 seconds put the Foxboro sophomore well ahead of Attleboro’s Shelby Cuddeback (19:19.56) after taking command of the race at 800 meters and passing through the opening mile in 5:44.

Middlesex School Runners Among The Elite Joe Reardon Oct 22, 2012

A small sign on Lowell Road, indicating the entrance to the campus, is the only evidence that the Middlesex School is tucked untouched in the woods of Concord. The splashing colors of the changing leaves, along with brick buildings and manicured playing fields makes for a quintessential New England setting. 

Top Runners Tackle The Mountain Joe Reardon Oct 21, 2012

The Northfield Mountain course in Western Massachusetts has always been an intimidating track and its now legendary lore has athletes itching to get a personal feel of the hellacious incline.The bring-the-runners-to-their-knees nature of the mountain has also caused coaches to pause and reflect on its ruthlessness. Plymouth North coach John Laverty once said the opening incline reaches into the heavens and athletes could touch God at the top. Long-time Notre Dame of Hingham coach Rick Kates doesn’t see the layout quite as majestic, deeming it Satan’s Playground. How it’s viewed, and by who, really doesn’t matter in the big picture of a cross country season. What’s important is that the mountain is the site of this year’s state championships and Saturday’s Bay State Invitational was a prime opportunity for harriers to get an up-close-and-personal view of the challenging layout.