476 days. That was how long it had been since we had a championship or invitational meet. When Morgan, Nia, Olivia, and Kerle walked off the track after the 4x400 at All-States, the world was about to change.
In the fall, we were able to have meets, though the season was cut short due to the surge.
In the winter, “indoor” track was held outdoors. And while the boys won the League Championship Meet, they didn’t know about it until three days later, since all the teams just submitted their best results and waited for the scores to be tabulated.
Taunton announced its presence with authority. Ryan Strawbridge and Sam Denis opened things up with massive PR’s in the 2 mile, 10:39 and 10:44, against a loaded field that featured a league meet record.
Colby Dunham also had to deal with a blistering early pace from the lead pack, but ripped off consistent laps as usual to ensure she’d break 13 minutes for the first time. For good measure, she blasted an 86 second last lap (after averaging 96 before) to post a 12:45, nearly a half minute faster than her best time as of no more than three weeks ago. Also, I missed this when it happened last week, but apparently Colby had already broken Lily's outdoor 8th grade record for the 2-mile when she ran 13:01. So congratulations for unknowingly breaking your own record today!
Steven Westgate has had to bear the burden of being the Multi-Event linchpin of the team for several years. And HJ/400H/4x4 might be arguably the toughest triple to pull off. Up by merely a stride at the 200 against Mansfield and Canton’s finest, he rocketed around the far turn to open up a 10 yard lead heading into the straightaway. With a time of 58.04 seconds, he not only won the meet, but has the fastest time in Division 1 South as of this writing.
The 200 saw a collection of experiences. For the boys, Peyton Weldon faced a battalion of seniors from other teams, but won the second heat in 25.19. Ed Paiva finished fourth in the next heat, 13th overall, in 24.85. Finally, Gavin Weldon took fifth, in a group from 2-6 that was separated by just 0.08.
For the girls race, senior Amaya Cruz took fifth in the first heat, nearly shading 30 with a 30.03. Eighth grader Ava Uhl, who would wind up being the rare rookie to double individually, had a PR of nearly a full second, finishing fourth in her heat and 19th overall in 29.11.Morgan Zakrzewski was in the third heat, but beat three people from the fastest heat to take seventh overall in 27.17.
The boys Mile saw a trifecta of triumph. Zach Oliveira stalked the lead pack of the unseeded heat through a 2:30 opening 800, then hit the Nitrous Oxide button like he was Dominic Toretto, ripping off a 2:20 close to finish in 4:50, which would finish sixth overall, besting more than nearly half of the fast heat.
Speaking of which, Jack Pawlowski hung on to the roller coaster that is the seeded heat and used it to his advantage, smashing the elusive 5:00 barrier with a 4:57 for the sophomore. Nolan Tavares claimed fourth with a strong final surge in 4:45.
In the girls race, Jakhai Nicholson ran one of her faster miles of the year, taking 6:39 in the unseeded heat. Livvy Weber finished 15th in 5:59. Fellow senior Lily Valcovic hung on to a scalding first 400 - the leader broke the record - to take seventh overall in a new PR of 5:41.
By this time, the first field events were starting to wrap up. Nolan Tomaszycki continued his relentless ascent up the Hock Leaderboard, finishing third with a throw of 143’3. Taylor Doherty finished in a tie for 20th in high jump at 4’2.
Back on the track, the Hurdles and 100 had their trials. Taylor and Tatum Lemaire each finished fifth in their hurdle heat, and 21st/22nd overall in 19.89 and 19.93 respectively. Almonroe similarly was in the middle of his open 100 heat in 11.80, GJ was third in his (11.64) and Nate was second in his (11.50), narrowly missing the finals. They would be all heard from again soon enough…
19 days. That’s how many days you have to go back to find when Conal Scully had not run the 800 yet. After a sensational 2:02.5 debut against Mansfield, he toed the line as most likely the least experienced runner in the history of Hocks. Unless some kid was entered with “No Time” - rare for that event - it’s indisputable.
What’s also indisputable is that what Conal did was irrefutable. He Owned The Race. Passing through in 58, he took charge at the top of the second lap. The chasers threatened the last 100, but his strong stride held them at bay, as he won by over a second and nearly broke the hallowed 2-minute mark with a time of 2:00.02. Aidden Fitting added a sixth in 2:06, while Az-Ansael St. Marc was 10th in 2:10.
The girls 800 featured a leader aiming for the meet record, and a tight pack of a half dozen that included the youngest runner in the race, Emersyn. She just missed her PR with a 2:28, but took fifth overall. No other school has 8th graders in our league, but only four freshman girls from other teams managed a higher individual place in any running event. Phylicia PR’d and took the last medal with a 2:32, while Kiley placed third in her heat with a 2:41, a second off her PR>
Colin O’Leary nearly won the first heat of the boys 400, with a time of 62. The girls 400 featured a “Taunton vs. World” fast heat. With Franklin’s top girl rocketing out early, Nia Mainer-Smith and Caelen O’Leary separated from the rest of the field to break 60 seconds, as Nia (59.41) was runner-up and Caelen (59.75) was third. Olivia rounded out the scoring with a seventh place in 61.05, as the girls scored 16 points all by themselves. The rest of the field combined managed 23.
The final field events saw the continued utter dominance of one Hannah McEntee, who nearly broke her own school record again with a 125’3 to take javelin by over 10 feet. Fellow senior/Coach Moose Protege Emily O’Gara obliterated the 100’ barrier for the first time, launching a best of 104’3 to beat her old PR by six feet and grab fourth place. Emily also took 22nd in discus at 62’, a few feet behind fantastic frosh Sayla DePina, who also threw 23’3 in shot put.
Steven Westgate added a bronze in the high jump (5’10) to go with his gold in the hurdles. Almonroe (19’3) nearly made finals in long jump, taking 10th.
The relays proved to be a phenomenal end ot the day. Both 4x800s medaled, as the boys quartet of Jack, Zack, Nolan, and Ryan were sixth in 9:01, while the girls squad of Phylicia, Livvy, Lily, and Emersyn were seventh in 10:49. All eight were doubling back, with about 40 minutes rest in the case of those that had run the open 800.
The boys 4x100 had run in the 44’s earlier in the year, and also had what any 4x1 team must wrestle with - the fragility of the passes. While lacking the security blanket of an 11-flat uberstud like some teams, the boys were led by a shot-out-of-a-cannon Nate Candido, and a second leg from Almonroe that seemed to throw some of the top teams off their game, as one contender botched their second handoff. GJ Mualis may have set a “100 on a curve" school record as he opened up a massive lead for Gavin Weldon to add to in the final straightaway. Crisp passes and fast times across the board led to a time of 43.79, breaking the old school record and the top time in D1 South as of this writing.
The boys 4x400 were seeded second, but with enough teams lurking a second or two behind that nothing could be taken for granted. While lacking a 50-second safety net anchor as in years past, the quartet nonetheless featured three medalists and two individual event champions. Ed Paiva set things up with a 54.1, giving Conal great position to take the early lead and avoid the traffic that always occurs on the second leg. A 53.6 leg from the sophomore led to a 53.5 from classmate Aidden Fitting, who built a 3 second led for Steven. The lead was insurmountable at first, but as the familiar yellow blur of Jovan Joseph of King Philip (who IS a 50-second kid), the lead looked tenuous for a while on the far turn. Steven had enough left in the tank, and had been through countless battles as the final defender of Tiger Pride in meets that he kept his foe at bay, crossing the line in 3:34.06, the second fastest time in school history.
The ladies 4x400 had run around 4:10 in the winter and spring, fast but not what they had originally been aiming for. Nia led off with a sub-60 opening leg, as Morgan took the handoff with Milford appearing to be the main competition. Despite the Scarlet Hawks throwing a 59-second girl on the second leg to gain separation, Morgan didn’t let it affect her split, as she dropped a 62 to keep Olivia within sight of Milford for the third leg. Though the Scarlet Hawks would maintain their lead, Olivia’s 60 second leg set up Caelen to get the overall time down under 4:05. She did that and then some, as she ran 60 and change as the team finished second in 4:03.77, just under a second off the 2019 school record. Milford’s 4-flat time may be the best in the entire state so far, so silver medals were well-earned.
At the end, the boys finished with 71 points, tied with North Attleboro and only behind the juggernaut that is Stoughton and Mansfield. They avenged two of their earlier dual meet losses, as did the girls, who took fifth overall with 50 points.
We had waited 15 ½ months, and took advantage of the opportunity. You never see 90% of kids all PR or exceed their ranking in meets like these - in the years I’ve been coaching, I’ve found getting ⅔ of athletes to PR or beat their projected place usually results in positive feelings overall. Without checking the math, it’s safe to say we eclipsed that mark.
The Division 1 South entries will be known by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest. Both teams will be well-represented at Hingham next weekend.
Thanks to all the parents for all their support, we had arguably the loudest cheering going on at a neutral site meet. And athletes, tremendous job cheering for your teammates. At one point during one of the relays I counted nine Taunton athletes on the infield at different spots shouting words of encouragement.
Though our numbers dwindle with the steep qualification standards for the sectional meet, this was a great day for the team. As we said last week, the grueling past year and change has been made easier by what great teammates and great people you all are.
