Division 5 track: Weston boys, North Reading girls rule again
SEEKONK — As thousands of athletes and fans made their way down Arcade Avenue on Saturday, many were wondering if a new school would burst onto the scene.
As it turned out, Weston’s building a dynasty.
Oscar Torres led his group to a meet record-time in the 4×100-meter relay (43.39 seconds) and paced all competitors in the long jump relay (6.46 meters). Meanwhile, teammates Carsen Valenta and James Osborn propelled their squads in the 4×1,600 (19:14.38) and the 4×800 (8:30.61), as Weston captured its latest Div. 5 boys outdoor track and field relay crown with 85 points at Seekonk High School.
“For Oscar, it was disappointing when he broke his foot in football season,” said Weston coach John Monz. “Missed the entire winter season, and it has taken him a little while to get back this spring because he was out so long. But today, he announced that (he’s) back. I think he’s going to have a great year. He’s a talented kid, he’s a hard worker, and this was a big breakthrough for him.”
The Wildcats also received great performances in the pole vault from Chelian Subbiah, Lucas Sculli-Power and Jacob Inbar, winning the event with a distance of 31 feet, six inches.
“It’s incredible,” said Osborn, a senior captain. “I think the relays are especially fun to win, especially because you get to see a lot of people who don’t score in many meets often.T hey get to participate a lot, and it’s a lot more meaningful for the team to win it.”
Speaking of dynasties, eight is great. Certainly is for North Reading, which captured its eighth consecutive girls title and third in Div. 5.
The Hornets were propelled in the field events, with Callie MacLellan (1.58 meters) and Abigail Lilley (1.53 meters) finishing first and second, respectively, in the high jump relay. Hayden MacLellan also finished with a meet record in the pole vault, pacing all competitors at 10 feet, six inches.
“Last year and this year, our goal was to win every field event,” said North Reading coach Sotirios Pintzopoulos. “We knew we had teams that could … but we won high jump, we won pole vault, we won long jump. And we were second in shot, I believe. That sounds correct.”
The meet came down to the last handful of events. Madison Vant (5.33 meters) and Giuliana Ligor (5.04 meters) finished second and third in the long jump relay to put the Hornets over the top, clinching another crown.
Other noteworthy highlights included Dighton-Rehoboth’s relay team of Matthew Suprenard, Joel DaSilva, William Dalton and Evan Thibert, who combined to set a meet record in the boys 4×200 (1:32.05). Norwell pulled off an impressive rally to set a meet record of its own in the 4×400 (3:27.87) behind Griffin Murphy, Sam Pesko, Jackson Adams and Noah Mulligan.
Weston’s girls team finished runner-up to North Reading. Maya McCatty, Solana Varela, Eva Ferris and Sloan Hinton helped the Wildcats win the 4×100 (49.93) and the 4×400 (4:06.07).
Dalton Feeney of Medway competes in the shuttle hurdles during the Division 5 relays in Seekonk. (Photo by Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)
London Cole of Triton Regional competes in the girls shot Saturday in Seekonk. (Photo by Mark Stockwell/Boston Herald)