Nate Assa left no doubt that he’s the most dominant runner on the North Shore this year … and maybe that we’ve seen in a long, long time.
Saturday at the New England Championships held in New Britain, Connecticut, Assa blazed his way past the best distance men the region has to offer to win the 3200 in a time of 9:04.57. The distance is just a hair less than the traditional 2-mile, and Assa won it by one second over a competitor from Rhode Island.
Now a New England champion in consecutive seasons after winning the indoor two mile, Assa’s resume in his senior senior has been close to peerless. After leading the Magicians to the Division 2A state cross country title, he won was 2-mile champion indoors in both D3 and at the MIAA Meet of Champions. Assa added a New Balance All-America nod by finishing sixth in the 5,000, the won the outdoor 2-mile at the Meet of Champions last week.
A multi-time Northeastern Conference champion, Assa’s ability to compete and dominate at the local, state, regional and national level has earned him a chance to compete on the Big Ten stage at Purdue University next fall.
Peabody’s Alessandra Forgione earned All-New England status for the second straight season, finishing fourth in the javelin with a throw of 123-feet-11-inches. That was her final throw of the day and vaulted her by several competitors and onto the podium. Forgione will be competing at New Balance Outdoor Nationals at the University of Pennsylvania later this week.
Also earning a spot to compete at New England’s was pole vaulter Kameya Perron of Ipswich. She cleared 10-feet-9-inches to finish in seventh place.