Banner Sports Sponsored by the Patriots Foundation
As the days wind down to the end of this school year, so does the athletic competition to decide state champions in track and field as well as baseball.
The MIAA divisional track and field competition took place at Merrimack College (Division 2), Westfield State (Division 3), and Tufts University (Division 6) this past weekend. Individual winners automatically advance to the MIAA “Meet of Champions” at Fitchburg State on June 5 and 7.
Other participants will be selected by the best times recorded during the season as well as a place of finish in the divisional competition. Boston city schools will place several athletes in the state competition following their strong showings this past weekend.
The boys and girls track and field teams from Dearborn Stem Academy, John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, Boston Latin Academy, TechBoston Academy and Charlestown High School all placed athletes in the top 10 categories of individual events.
Rick Barros, a senior from Dearborn Stem Academy, lived up to his title as Boston Public School (BPS) Outdoor Athlete of the Year, finishing second in the 100- and 200-meter sprints with times of 11.33 and 22.10 seconds, respectively. The freshman tandem of Nassir Camille (51.55 for seventh place in the 400-meter run) and Terrance McGhee (two minutes 2.22 seconds for eighth place in the 800-meter run) gained headlines for their school.
Leanna Lynch, a senior from Boston Latin Academy, the BPS Girls Outdoor Athlete of the Year, followed the lead of Barros with a fourth-place finish in the 200-meter sprint (26.25 seconds) and fifth in the 400-meter run at 59.28 seconds against the top flite competition.
Other individual athletes who gained distinction were Uchendu Bede, a sophomore from O’Bryant, who placed second in the high jump at six feet, two inches and eighth in the triple jump at 41 feet, 10.75 inches.
Sophomore Sara Blanco turned in a time of two minutes, 21.12 seconds in the 800-meter run, good enough for a fourth-place finish. She also completed the mile run in a time of five minutes, 22.75 seconds for 11th place.
Boston Latin Academy got strong performances from sophomore Lendz Desamours, who jumped 19 feet, 8.5 inches, and freshman Will Harllenz, who jumped 19 feet, 5.25 inches, in the long jump. BLA junior Ryan Collins and senior Dominic Jorge turned in sixth and ninth place finishes in the 800-meter run — Collins in a time of one minute, 55.41 seconds and Jorge in a time of one minute, 56.74 seconds.
Senior Demya McClure, the BPS Indoor Athlete of the Year, led the Dragons women’s team by tossing the shot put 33 feet, 4.5 inches for fifth place in the individual competition.
The STem 4×400 relay squad finished second to Lunenburg with a time of three minutes, 27.91 seconds.
TechBoston was led by junior Donte Robinson, who doubled as a sprinter and pentathlete. Robinson ran 16.46 seconds in the individual 110-meter hurdles and third in the pentathlon event, winning the high jump at five feet, 10 inches, the 110-meter hurdles in 16.96 seconds, and placing second in the shot put (11.31 meters) to register a score of 2,701 points. His teammate Salomon Sanon placed seventh in the 100 meters in 11.76 seconds, and Shane Archer tossed the shot 47 feet, 11.75 inches for a sixth-place finish in the individual competition.
The young women from Boston United and Brighton High schools gained distinction in individual and team events. Junior Lailah Harris (13.61 seconds in the 100 meters for 11th place) and the 4×100 relay squad (53.25 seconds) did their work for Boston United, while Brighton High senior Jai-Reon Brown-Carter ran a time of 27.43 seconds in the 200-meter run, placing 10th in the event. Quincy Dorsey (2 mins. 2.66 seconds for 10th in the 800 meter) and the Townies 4×800 relay squad (8 minutes, 30.93 seconds for third place) left their mark in the competition as well.
In MIAA postseason baseball competition, Boston placed two teams in the round of 16 as Boston English trounced Mount Greylock, 16-2, and Charlestown whipped Millis, 6-3.
“The results of how our city athletes measure up to state competition reflects the combination of [athletic] talent and dedicated coaching,” said Avery Esdaile, athletic director for the Boston Public Schools “Our athletes take great pride in their competitive spirit and feel that they can compete with anyone.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.