The North Andover boys scored victories in the discus relay and distance medley relay and added a pair of second-place finishes to lead local entries in a rain-soaked MSTCA Division 2 Relays on Sunday.
The Scarlet Knights are currently second as a team with 67 points, one behind Hopkinton (68) with the pole vault postponed to Monday due to the rain.
For the winning discus relay, Keenan Gosselin took second overall (136-5), while Nate Jacques was sixth (125-9). Gosselin also placed second in the javelin (150-7), leading that relay to a second place finish. Jacques and teammate Zach Traficante tied for second in the high jump (both 5-10), helping that team place third.
“Fighting through the weather is always tough, not only with the events themselves, but often mentally, especially with the length of the meet itself combined with the elements,” said Gosselin. “Myself and my fellow captains could not be more proud of how we competed and supported each other through adversity. The state relay meet is historically a meet that we focus on doing well in, and even with several things going wrong throughout the day, we had enough standout performances and depth as a team to keep ourselves in contention for becoming state relay champions”
The other Scarlet Knight victory went to the boys distance medley relay (Cam Reiland, Luke Stad, Cole Giles, Ryan Connolly) in 10:39.00. The 1,600 spring medley relay (Trevor Hunter, Brendan Dee, David Muir, Connolly) was second in a school-record 3:35.69.
“Today wasn’t the best of conditions to compete in,” said Jacques. “I don’t think anyone likes running in raining/cold weather. But we got out there and competed. We didn’t let the weather be an excuse. No matter if we win or lose, I’m proud with how team preformed.”
For the North Andover girls, Siena DiSalvo took second in the discus (100-6), with Makeena Dube in fourth (97-10), while also taking seventh in the shot put (32-8.5). The girls shuttle hurdles relay was fourth (1:09.93).
Central Catholic also had a big day, taking second as a team (52 points) led by a pair of leapers.
Anya Neira won the triple jump (35-3.75), Macy Daigle took the high jump (5-2.25) and they teamed with Emma Alworth to take second in the triple jump relay.
Neira also led the victory in the sprint medley relay (4:22.20) along with Rayniah Mercedat, Veralie Perrier and Laura Fennessy. Also placing second was the javelin relay (Franchesca Thurston, Lauren Sanchez, Gianna DeMedeiros), while the 4×200 (Neira, Emma Finch, Janessa Duren, Cyan Scott) was third in 1:49.09.
“I was very pleased with my performance overall as I pushed myself very hard running and jumping in all of my events,” said Neira. “Overall as a team our performances were outstanding, especially considering the weather. I’m very proud of my team!”
For the Central boys, Suuna Kalemera was second in the high jump (5-10), Thomas Galusha was fifth in the shot put (43-1) and the shuttle hurdles was third (1:07.t1).
ANDOVER POLE VAULTERS, SHELDON STAR AT D1 RELAYS
Andover’s Ryan Swenson and Tyler Drummey tied for first in the boys pole vault — each with an 11-11.75 — and Golden Warrior Ashley Sheldon won the triple jump (36-0) to lead competitors at the MSTCA Division 1 Relays on Saturday.
The Andover girls placed second as a team (54 points) while the boys took third (40 points).
The Golden Warrior girls won the shuttle hurdles relay (1:06.24) and placed second in the 4×800 (9:45.79). In the pole vault, Lily Brown was second (9-11.25) and Sophia Hutchins was third (9-05.25).
For the Andover boys, Harvey Lys was second in the high jump (6-2), leading the high jump relay to a second-place finish. The boys pole vault relay took the top two spots — the “A team” was first and the “B team” was second — and 4×100 relay was fourth.
Haverhill’s sprint medley relay team of Gianna Spero, Sophia Riley, Brenna Corcoran and Finleigh Simonds smashed the Haverhill High record with a 4:15.17 — topping the old mark of 4:18.7 set in 2003 — good for fourth place.
Hillie Maddie Goncalves was third in the shot put (36-1.25).
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