2024 SALEM NEWS BOYS OUTDOOR TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Alex Jackson
Peabody Junior
Throws
It was recently said that when Alex Jackson steps into the circle in Massachusetts, everyone else is throwing for second place. This spring, that proved to be the case as Jackson dominated both the shot put and discus in every meet at the conference, state and all-state levels.
Voted Northeastern Conference Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season, Jackson extended his own school records to 61-feet-5-inches in the shot put and 176-feet-4-inches in the discus. He won the state championship in both events at the MIAA Meet of Champions, tossing the discus 173-6 and hitting his personal best in the shot at that event.
Also the Division 2 state champion in the shot, runner-up in the discus and NEC champion (with record throws) in both events, Jackson helped the Tanners take gold medals in both events at the D2 MSTCA relays. Though he didn’t spend a ton of time in the event, he was also 4th in the javelin at the D2 state meet.
It was a remarkably consistent season for Jackson, whose worst shot put throw of the season of 55-feet was still among the best on the North Shore. He also set meet records in both the shot put and discus at the Andover Booster meet and placed eighth at the prestigious Penn Relays in April.
Outside of Massachusetts competition, Jackson still measured up. He earned All-New England honors in both the shot put (second place) and discus (fourth) while qualifying for the championship section of the shot, discus and hammer at New Balance Nationals. There, he placed 14h in the shot, 21st in the hammer and 49th in the discus.
An Indoor All-American, Jackson stands 6-foot-4 and at 280 pounds has the blend of power, balance and explosion throwing coaches dream about. A tremendous two-way lineman for the Peabody High football team, he has received seven Division 1 scholarship offers for football and track this far including UConn, Syracuse, James Madison, Old Dominion, Fordham, UMass and Akron.
THE ALL-STARS
EVAN BEDARD
Peabody Junior
Jumps
Tanner team MVP broke a 48-year-old school record in the triple jump by clearing 44-feet-10 1/2 inches … One of only two athletes to qualify for the Meet of Champions in both long and triple jumps … Took bronze in both events at D2 states … Won both events at D2 MSTCA relays … New England qualifier in long jump with best of 21-feet-1 1/4 inches … Broke NEC meet record in long jump and was first boy in six years to win gold in both long and triple … Also scored in the 100 and 200 sprints … Undefeated in the triple jump in dual meets.
AITHAN BEZANSON
St. John’s Prep Senior
Decathlete/400 hurdles
School record holder in both the pentathlon (3,519 points) and decathlon (6,178 points while using just 9 of 10 events) … All-American by virtue of his being ranked sixth place finish at Nationals in the decathlon (after no heighting in the pole vault) … Won the pentathlon at both the Division 1 State Meet as well as the MIAA Meet of Champions … Eagles captain from Danvers also had top time of 56.53 in the 400 hurdles … State champion from Danvers will run track at Babson … Graduated with a 4.1 GPA.
THOMAS CARLSON
Marblehead Junior
Sprints/Jumps
Set new Marblehead High records in both the 100 dash (10.88 seconds) and 200 (22.45) this spring … Best leap in the high jump was 20 feet 10 inches … Took first place at the Northeastern Conference championships in the 100 and placed second in the 200 … All-NEC selection … Was second overall at the Division 3 state championships in the 200 and added a fifth place finish in the 200 … Second leg on 4×100 school record 4×100 relay team (44.39 seconds) … Placed 22nd in 100 at All-State Championships.
WILL CERRUTTI
Marblehead Junior
Distance
Tremendous season capped off with winning Division 3 state championship in the mile … Also claimed first place in the mile at Northeastern Conference championship … Best mile time of 4:19.65 … Also excellent in the 800 with a top time of 2:01.02 … Fifth at Division 3 state meet in the 800 … Member of Magicians’ 4xmile school record holding foursome that won Division 3 state relays … All-NEC selection.
WILL CONKLIN
Danvers Junior
Distance
Best time in the mile was 4:21.92, where he placed fourth at the Division 4 state championships … Top 2-mile finish was 9:29.37 at the Weston Twilight Meet … Took fourth place in 2-mile at state championships (9:34.93) … Meet of Champions qualifier in two events … Part of Falcons’ relay team that sent Northeastern Conference meet record (8:16.80) in the 4×800 … Member of DHS 4×1600 relay squad that broke the state record (18:11.57) while winning by an astounding 27 seconds … All-NEC choice for his exploits in the 4×800.
CLARK GLIDDEN
Hamilton-Wenham Junior
Distance
Cape Ann League champion in the mile ran a 4:41 to win gold, barely edging out Generals teammate Cole Regan’s 4:42 … Earned All-CAL honors in the mile … Also won the CAL title in the 4×800 relay at 8:38.58 … At D6 state meet, placed 7th in the 4×800 relay and tenth in the mile with a personal best 4:35.99 … Also claimed fourth in 4×800 at Andover Booster meet … Also a Salem News all-star for the cross country season.
ARBRI HALILAJ
Masconomet Junior
Sprints
Excelled at both the 100 and 200 meter distances, grabbing sixth place at the Division 3 state meet in the 200 with a time of 22.87 seconds … Ran a leg of school record setting 4×200 relay to earn silver medal at D3 state relay meet … Medaled in both the 100 (3rd, 11.56) and 200 (5th, 23.37) at the NEC championship meet … Season best time in the 100 was 11.34 seconds, which ranks among Masco’s top ten all-time. … Clocked best time of 22.82 in the 200 and also broke 55 seconds in the quarter mile at 53.84 … Selected as NEC all-star.
ALEX HERSEY
Marblehead Senior
Hurdles/Jumps
Northeastern Conference champion in the 110 high hurdles … Set school record in the event in 14.80 seconds … Top time of 59.3 seconds in the 400 hurdles … Had long jump of 21 feet 7 1/2 inches … Best triple jump went 42 feet 2 1/2 inches … Anchored Magicians’ school record 4×100 relay team (44.39 seconds) … Took fourth in long jump at NEC Championships, but a pulled hamstring there forced him to miss the rest of the postseason … All-NEC selection.
RAY KWIATEK
Beverly Junior
Sprints
Panthers team MVP earned All-Northeastern Conference accolades for his excellence this spring … Had best times of 11.23 seconds in the 100 dash, 22.33 seconds in the 200, and 49.30 in the 400 … Took third place in the 400 meter at Division 2 states … Placed fifth in 200 at same event … Swedish relay school record holder … Captain-elect for the BHS indoor and outdoor track teams … Wants to study sports medicine in college while continuing to run track at a high level.
CALEB LEOPOLDO
Swampscott Senior
Throws
One of the most accomplished shot putters in Big Blue history cleared 46-feet in every meet this spring … Personal best was 48-feet-9 1/2 inches … Northeastern Conference all-star … … Threw 46-feet-8 at MSTCA D5 relays, helping Swampscott take silver as a team and was first individually … Throw of 46-10 3/4 earned second at D5 states … Season best in the discus was 120-feet-6-inches … Two season all-star plans to throw in college.
LINCOLN MASSARO
St. John’s Prep Junior
Pentathlon
Finished third at MIAA Meet of Champions in the pentathlon with 3,312 points … Was also third at the Division 1 state championships with 3,226 total points … School record holder in the 400 hurdles with a time of 55.40 seconds … Claimed second place at MSTCA North Decathlon with 5,894 points … Helped Eagles win the D1 state relay meet by running a leg of gold medalist sprint medley … Broke the school record in the intermediate hurdles at Andover Booster meet.
KYE McCLORY
St. John’s Prep Junior
Javelin/High Jump
Used his powerful frame (6-foot-5, 200 lbs.) to fling the javelin long distances … Had a personal best throw of 163 feet 2 inches … Catholic Conference champion in the event … Placed third at Division 1 State Meet … Finished in 20th place at Meet of Champions … Had best high jump of 5 feet 10 inches … Helped relay team take third at Division 1 Relays … Has weighted GPA of 4.20 … Verbally committed to Holy Cross to continue his diving career … Said Neeraj Chopra, a javelin thrower from India, inspired him to start throwing ever since he first watched him win his country’s first-ever gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics.
SEAN MOORE
Danvers Senior
Distance
Captain had a dominant final season with the Blue-and-White … Lowered the school’s mile record three separate times, bringing it from 4:25 all the way down to 4:17.50 at the MIAA Meet of Champions … Set DHS record in the 2-mile (9:25.50) at Weston Invitational … Also part of Falcons’ record setting 4×800 (8:16.80), distance medley (10:51.55) and state record holding 4×1600 relays … Won MSTCA Division 4 state relay meet in final two events, serving as team’s anchor … NEC champion in 4×800 … Third at Division 4 state meet in mile … Qualified for Meet of Champions in 2-mile as well … Third-fastest time in school history in 800 … Two-time All-NEC will head to Merrimack for Rehabilitation Sciences while running cross country and indoor/outdoor track teams.
KENNY PYBURN
Masconomet Senior
Sprints
Northeastern Conference all-star and tremendous leader placed second at the NEC championship in the 400 in 50.39 seconds, less than a half-second off the winner … Took a bronze at the Haverhill Invitational as well as silver in the 4×400 with a time that ranks in Masco’s all-time top five … Also medaled in the 4×400 at NEC meet with time of 3:37 … Had one of the top seeds in the D3 state meet quarter mile but an injury at the NEC meet ended his season … Ace student will continue his track career at Assumption College.
BEN RICH
Hamilton-Wenham Junior
Distance
Double medalist at the Cape Ann League Open, winning the 4×800 relay along with teammates Clark Glidden, Cole Regan and James Regan and finishing second in a blistering 2-mile race … PR’d at 9:43 in that race and never ran slower than 9:55 all season … Podiumed in both the mile and 2-mile at D6 state meet … Personal best mile was 4:28 … 9:52.47 2-mile at states yielded fourth place … Also placed 7th at states in 4×800 … Earned Salem News all-star for all three seasons of track.
HARRY SILVA
Beverly Senior
Jumps/Sprints/Relay
Multi-talented Panther performer was a Northeastern Conference all-star and field events MVP for his squad … Had best long jump of 22 feet 8 1/2 inches … Best triple jump of 42 feet 6 inches … Part of school record 4×110 shuttle hurdles and Swedish Relay teams … Usually came away with multiple first place finishes in league meets … Also took part in the 200, 400 hurdles, 4×100 relay and high jump for the Orange-and-Black … Graduated with 3.58 GPA … Going to St. Anselm College to continue his track and field career.
BRIAN STEVENS
Peabody Junior
Hurdles/Relay
Versatile performer consistently scored in three different events for the Tanners while being voted team MVP of the running events … Best event was the 400 low hurdles, where he finished third at the D2 state meet in 56.9 … Runner-up at NEC championships in that event in 57.6 … Also earned third in triple jump at NEC meet … Meet of Champions qualifier clocked 52.56 for 18th place … Helped the Tanner 4×400 relay came in fourth at D2 states with time of 3:28.8 … State relay champion in triple jump … NEC all-star had state qualifying marks in the 400, low hurdles, triple jump and relays.
HONORABLE MENTION
Beverly: Riley McGoldrick, Sr. 2-mile; Leo Sheriff, Sr. 110 hurdles; Scott Kwiatek, Sr. javelin; Evan Wong, Jr. 200/400/4×400 relay.
Bishop Fenwick: Sam Appleyard, Soph. Distance; Declan Corcoran, Jr. Jumps; Aidan Silva, Jr. Hurdles; Gianluca Sestito, Sr. Throws; Jesse Timson, Soph. Sprints.
Danvers: JJ Rooney, Jr. mile/Relays; Chuck Garlin, Jr. 800/Relays.
Essex Tech: Paul Danehy, Jr. Throws; Chris Cunha, Sr. Distance.
Hamilton-Wenham: Cole Regan, Fr. Distance; James Regan, Fr. Distance.
Ipswich: Ange Tshimbambe, Soph. hurdles/4×400; Mossimo Pinsky, Jr. 100/long jump/triple jump; Peter Joss-Green, Sr. 400; Joe Wertz, Fr. 400 hurdles/800.
Marblehead: Isaac Gross, Sr. 2-mile/4xmile relay; Nate Assa, Jr. 2-mile/4xmile relay.
Masconomet: Tyson Arnold, Jr. Distance; Nico Ceffalo, Soph. Sprints; Adam Staffier, Jr. Hurdles; Adam Toleos, Fr. Javelin.
Peabody: Kobe Avery, Jr. Sprints/Jumps; Eli Batista, Sr. Sprints; Riley Michaud, Fr. Jumps; Jackson O’Brien, Jr., Throws; Areno St. Victor, Jr. Throws; Declan Smith, Jr. Jumps/Distance; Peyton Smith, Jr. Hurdles; Robert Smith, Sr. Hurdles.
Pingree: Will Coughlin, Fr. 300 IM hurdles/800/1500/long jump.
Salem: Oscar Fernandez, Soph. Sprints.
St. John’s Prep: Daniel Padley, Jr. Distance; Gael Garcia, Jr. Throws; Doug Clement, Jr. Sprints.
Swampscott: Simon Brown, Soph. Distance; Nakeylan Davis, Jr. High jump; Hunter Hersey, Jr. Distance.