Division 3 track relays: A big day for Billerica’s Ryan Leslie
It will be interesting to see just how fast Billerica distance ace Ryan Leslie runs on the oval when he makes the transition from distance to speed training heading into the championship part of the season.
The Northeastern-bound senior, who is one of the most consistent cross country runners in the state, has been plenty fast so far. His strength was evident at Sunday’s Div. 3 Coaches Relays.
Leslie ran an anchor leg split of 1:58.1 for the 800 on the way to clinching the sprint medley. He joined teammates Tyler Fortune, Dhaethmy Dorival and Jack Peck for a time of 3:37.81 and the win.
Just an hour later Leslie burned through his mile leg in 4:26 to anchor the Indians to a decisive 10:49.38 win in the distance medley.
Leslie was all smiles after the race and said running relay races with his teammates is extra special. “You work together and feel like a real team,” Leslie said. “My teammates put me in greats spots. I focused on my form. All I can do is give it my all. Time wasn’t important today, place was.”
Billerica coach Cullen Hagan said that Leslie is an “incredible kid” and the type of athlete you like to see succeed.
“He’s all about the team and all about making the team better,”
Billerica (22.33) and Milton (22.36) kicked off the morning on the infield, breaking the meet record in the 4×50 which was set in 2013 by Randolph (22.50). The winning time from the lineup of Tyler Fortune, Jacob Peck, Juds Dorival and Gryffin Bordeau lowered Billerica’s school record by nearly a second.
“We just put in our best guys who gave us the best chance to win,” said Billerica head coach Shaun Corum. “The depth of our sprinters is good, but we have some top-notch talent.”
Billerica just missed sweeping the team title. Marblehead’s terrific sprinter, LeDaisha Williams, ran a stellar anchor leg to pull out a win in the 4×400 to push the team into first 36-35 over Billerica. Sadie Halpern, Ava Machado and Charlotte Roszell stayed close to the front of the race before Williams brought it home in 4:12.22.
The title was the first in over 20 years for the Magicians. “We thought we were out of it and then went out and won,” said Marblehead head coach Nolan Raimo.
Williams had a good feeling going into the final event. “I had a hunch (we could win),” she said. “I usually push it hard the last 100 meters. Our coach told us before that if we won we’d have a chance to win the meet.”