Liam Kneeland didn’t need his best stuff to get the job done this weekend.
But even his “offspeed pitch” in the discus was enough to break records.
On the first day of the Division 5 State Meet on Friday, the Triton senior was crowned a State Champion after his toss of 162-0 won the discus — while also breaking the meet record in the process. Earlier this season, Kneeland broke Triton’s school record when he launched an excellent toss of 173-10 during a dual meet with North Reading.
So what will he do at Meet of Champions next week?
Of course, that remains to be seen.
But, with Kneeland’s record-breaking performance, the Triton boys were able to place 15th out of 36 scoring teams at the Division 5 State Meet with 21 points. Weston and its 89.5 points won the title, and was followed by Norwell in second (72), Norton in third (40) and Pentucket in sixth (34).
For the girls, CAL friend North Reading took home its second straight Division 5 title with 94 points. The Hornets were well clear of Weston in second place (67), and for our local teams, Pentucket was 10th with 25.5 points with Triton right behind it in 11th (25).
Let’s first finish up Triton’s scorers, though.
Besides Kneeland, the only other placers for the Triton boys were a pair of relay teams. The quartet of Tyler Brosch, Michael Coco, William Hight and Sam Abt placed third in the 4×100 (44.15), while Jack Lyman, Scott Holscher, Abt and Andrew Doherty were fourth in the 4×400 (3:31.18).
The Triton girls, meanwhile, crowned a State Champion with its 4×400.
The team of Sophia Lesinski, Arianna Basile, Avery Upite and Anna Romano blitzed the field, finishing first in 4:08.95 to take home the title. The gold medal capped a terrific championship for the multiple-time Daily News All-Star Lesinski, who also placed fourth in the 400 hurdles (1:04.76) and seventh in the 400 (1:01.76). Lastly for the Vikings, Romano crossed the 800 finish line in 2:22.49 to win the silver medal.
Pentucket: Dalgar is a five-time state champion
Between cross country, indoor track and outdoor track, Kaylie Dalgar has done a lot of winning at the state level.
In fact, she’s done it a whopping five times.
Sunday evening, the superstar Pentucket distance runner added a fifth State Championship to her already illustrious career, racing to first in the Mile in 5:14.26. A UMass Amherst track commit, Dalgar then finished her State Meet by racing to fourth with the 4×800 relay alongside Carly Foley, Cece Cammett and Brighton Seymour (10:07.11).
The relay was also Seymour’s second event she had placed in, after the sophomore took sixth in the pentathlon with 2440 points. Wynter Smith added a fifth in the 100 hurdles (16.74) and a sixth in the high jump (5-0) for the Panther girls, and Meaghan Grenham rounded out the scoring with an eighth in the 100 hurdles (18.05).
For the Pentucket boys, Joel Spaulding did it again.
Besides racing to second in both the 100 (11.22) and the 200 (22.71), the senior was also a member of the winning 4×100 relay with Luke Zavaski, Kade Dennis and Jack Foley (43.65). The Panthers then got sixths from Tighe Hosman in the 110 hurdles (16.37) and Anthony Lee in the javelin (148-4), along with a seventh from Jackson Beauparlant in the Mile (4:33.66).
Division 5 State Meet (Boys)
Meet Results (36 teams scored): 1. Weston 89.5; 2. Norwell 72; 3. Norton 40; 4. Dighton-Rehoboth 37; 5. Winthrop 35, 6. Pentucket 34; … ALSO: 15. Triton 21
Local Placers (top-8)
100: 2. Joel Spaulding (P) 11.22; 200: 2. Joel Spaulding (P) 22.71; Mile: 7. Jackson Beauparlant (P) 4:33.66; 110 hurdles: 6. Tighe Hosman (P) 16.37; 4×100: 1. Pentucket (Luke Zavaski, Kade Dennis, Jack Foley, Joel Spaulding) 43.65; 3. Triton (Tyler Brosch, Michael Coco, William Hight, Sam Abt) 44.15; 4×400: 4. Triton (Jack Lyman, Scott Holscher, Sam Abt, Andrew Doherty) 3:31.18; Discus: 1. Liam Kneeland (T) 162-0; Javelin: 6. Anthony Lee (P) 148-4
Division 5 State Meet (Girls)
Meet Results (37 teams scored): 1. North Reading 94; 2. Weston 67; 3. Whitinsville Christian 66; 4. Norwell 55; 5. Norton 49.5; … ALSO: 10. Pentucket 25.5, 11. Triton 25
Local Placers (top-8):
400: 7. Sophia Lesinski (T) 1:01.16; 800: 2. Anna Romano (T) 2:22.49; Mile: 1. Kaylie Dalgar (P) 5:14.26; 100 hurdles: 5. Wynter Smith (P) 16.74; 8. Meaghan Grenham (P) 18.05; 400 hurdles: 4. Sophia Lesinski (T) 1:04.76; 4×400: 1. Triton (Sophia Lesinski, Arianna Basile, Avery Upite, Anna Romano) 4:08.95; 4×800: 4. Pentucket (Carly Foley, Cece Cammett, Brighton Seymour, Kaylie Dalgar) 10:07.11; HJ: 6. Wynter Smith (P) 5-0; Pentathlon: 6. Brighton Seymour (P) 2440 points