It was quite the afternoon for the Manchester Essex indoor track team this past Tuesday at the annual Cape Ann League Championships.
The Hornets girls squad was particularly impressive, securing a third place finish out of 10 teams overall while earning first in the CAL Baker division. They did so despite rostering numerous underclassmen and middle schoolers, all of whom have strung together sensational campaigns and set the program up for future success.
“We were able to enter 29 athletes (and) hit 12 personal bests, five season bests, and three divisional state qualifier times,” said Hornets’ coach Brian Davis. “Top this off with the girls team shocking the league (and earning) 10 CAL all-stars … this is a record-setting performance and the highest placement in team history for the girls.
“What’s more,” he continued, “non-entered teammates were there to support their teammates, get splits, and help with running certain events. A special thank you for their contributions.”
Tess Taylor got things started for the girls in the 55 hurdles, crushing her personal best by 0.4 seconds, and then taking fifth in the league in the finals while bettering her PR to 9.19 seconds. Her time was good enough to qualify for the Division 5 state meet.
Taylor then ran another PR in the 55 dash, taking second overall and earning second team CAL all-star status. Senior Abby Kent was fifth in the same event.
In the mile, Evelyn Bergeron, a 7th-grader, ran a 15-second PR to place fourth while 8th-grader Adelaide Hall was fifth with a rousing season best. Freshman Anna Sergi stormed out of the unseeded heat of the mile, winning it with a PR to grab eighth place for the final point in the event.
Kent then returned to the track with a signature win in the 600, running a season best and D5 state meet qualifying time to secure first team CAL all-star honors. Another middle-schooler, Melina Binieris, closed fast to take sixth in the 600; Bergeron doubled back to take fourth in the 1000 with a four-second PR; senior Cia Donohoe took fifth in the 1000 with a season best and 7th-grader Teagan O’Rourke was sixth with a four-second PR.
The girls squad also entered a full slate of relays with all of them scoring. In the 4×200, Taylor, Binieris, Donohoe and Kent were third, securing second team all-star status. Not to be outdone, the 4×800 team of Hall, O’Rourke, Bergeron and Sergi also took third for second team all-star status with a D5 state meet qualifying time.
Finally, the 4×400 relay team of Caroline Eliassen, Ana Burgess, Tessa Novak and Annie Kent took seventh overall for the final points of the meet.
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The Hornets’ boys side didn’t have quite the success on a team level, finishing 10th overall at the marquee meet. They did, however, string together some standout individual performances.
Junior Noah Cohen opened by recording a season-best 6.99 seconds in the 55 dash to earn 11th place. Senior Luke Renzi also ran a PR in the 55 dash to take 21st.
Sophomore Gus Hall then took eighth in the mile with a two-second PR, followed by classmate Isaiah Nicastro with a PR for ninth. Sophomore Alec Rizzico ran a season best in the 300; Tyler Cummins ran a PR in the 600, moving up to eighth on the Hornets all-time records list; and Charlie Thurlow capped off an amazing season in the high jump, coming from being an unknown in the event to scoring in eighth place.
In the relays, the 4×200 team of Cohen, Ronan McGilligan, Thurlow and Renzi placed sixth to earn three points. The 4×800 team of Cummins, Nicastro, Devin Peavey and Hall were seventh in a gutsy effort for two points, while the 4×400 foursome of McGilligan, Adare Foster, Massi Colarusso and Dylan Johnson ran a hard fought 3:58.
The Hornets will now turn their attention to the Last Chance Meet on Saturday and the Division 5 state meet the following weekend on Valentine’s Day.