Division 2 track relays: Deep North Andover boys, girls take titles

NORTH ANDOVER — Whether it was the familiar surroundings of running on their home track or a day when everyone up and down the lineup had standout performances, it added up to a nearly flawless day for North Andover on Sunday.

The Scarlet Knights only won four events combined on the boys’ and girls’ sides but their ability to rack up points consistently led to a sweep of the MSTCA Div. 2 relays.

The North Andover boys put up 77 ½ points, good enough to beat second place Peabody and Winchester by three touchdowns. The Scarlet Knight ladies were equally impressive as they won only the first track event of the day, the 4×1600 relay, but piled up scoring places all day to beat second place Woburn by 19 points.

“This was a great surprise,” North Andover coach Rick Dellechiale said. “I didn’t see us as favorites coming in but we were able to score in a lot of events. This was a total team effort.”

The Scarlet Knight boys were consistent in both disciplines on Sunday. They had six top five finishes on the track, capped by wins in the 4×200 (1:30.50) and 4×400 relays (state best time of 3:24.30). They also recorded six top five placings in the field events, led by double scoring performances in the shot-put and pole vault relays.

Speaking of the boys’ field events, no one was more impressive there than the Tanners. Led by the outstanding throwing of Alex Jackson and the jumping of Evan Bedard, Peabody won the most events of any school on Sunday, taking the triple jump, long jump, discus and shot-put events.

Spectacular performances were turned in all across the board in both competitions.

The Wellesley boys won the 4×100 relay in 43.05, the second-best time in the state this season. Not to be outdone, their female counterparts one upped them in the 4×800 as they recorded the best time of the season in Massachusetts. Second place Arlington had the third best time of the season.

The Raider ladies did it again in the 4×400 as they won in a state best 4:03.99, ahead of Woburn’s third best time in Massachusetts.

Winchester (discus and shot-put), Concord-Carlisle (4×200 and javelin) and King Philip (triple jump and long jump) also were double winners on the girls’ side.

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