FRANKLIN — As the outdoor track and field season ramps up and postseason meets grow closer, St. John’s Prep coach Zach Lankow gets excited to see his athletes compete on the ultimate stage.
Once again, the big moment didn’t shine too bright for the Eagles, who soared to their fourth consecutive MSTCA Division 1 Relays title on Sunday at Franklin High.
The Prep posted a team score of 62 to comfortably cruise past runner-up Newton North (44), as well as Acton-Boxborough and Xaverian, which tied for third with 36 points.
“Our team is built for this,” said Lankow. “We’re a pretty large team and, culture-wise, we preach team. In our minds, the relays are the biggest team event that you could have.”
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The Prep claimed its lone event victory in the 1,600-meter sprint medley, as Ahmir Hykel, Dayvian Sullivan, Lincoln Massaro, and Daniel Padley partnered to win in 3:32.78.
Led by Tireni Asenuga’s sixth-place finish in the long jump relay (21 feet, 11 inches), and Anthony Rogosa’s sixth-place finish in the shot put relay (48-10), Prep earned 10 valuable points in each event.
The Prep also earned eight crucial points in the 4x100 after posting a meet record time of 42.45, which was just shy of Xaverian’s winning, record-breaking time of 42.32. It was the first of two meet records for Xaverian’s quartet of Jordan Wilson, Alex Todorov, Mitchell Kisgen, and Henry Hasselbeck, which also claimed the 4x200 title in 1:28.33.
“We have a really good group,” said Hasselbeck, a UCLA football commit who anchored both victories. “It’s not possible without the teammates that we have, and to be able to put ‘X’ on top is amazing.”
The Boston Latin boys’ distance medley foursome broke the last meet record of the day when Bilal Elhaji, Max Deane, Ethan Andersson, and Colin Fisher took first in 10:18.94 — shattering Needham’s previous record of 10:21.80, which had stood since 1973.
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On the girls’ side, Newton North scored 53 points to claim its third consecutive team title, holding off runner-up Central Catholic (46) and Bay State Conference rival Weymouth (42).
Like the Prep boys, North preached a team approach. The Tigers’ lone victory came in the high jump relay after Bronte Gow (second place, 1.58 meters), Gemma Gow (fourth, 1.53) and Abigail Hogan (eighth, 1.43) each cracked the top 10 to give the Tigers 10 valuable points.
Displaying its depth in full, North had three second-place finishes, three third-place finishes, and three fourth-place finishes en route to another title.
“This is the most important meet for us,” North coach Michael Travers said. “I told them, ‘All you have to do is what you normally do. It’s not the time for PRs. PRs are nice, but do what you usually do because we have enough depth’.”
Travers praised his trio of triple jumpers — senior Jadyn Grant (second place, 35 feet, 6¾ inches), and freshmen Blake MacNeal (10th, 32-11¾) and Aleena Parker (15th, 32-2¼) — for combining to earn eight valuable points in the triple jump, an event the Tigers didn’t even field last year.
MacNeal also earned a crucial third place in the long jump (17-5½) to lead another eight-point event for the Tigers that included a fifth place by Sophie Finklestein (17-1½) and a 12th-place by senior Dolapo Soyoye (16-6½).
The Framingham’s girls’ sprint medley relay team of Catelyn Last, Ava Lombardo, Abby Desmarais, and Sasha Lamakina won in a meet-record time of 4:06.53. The quartet then closed out the meet by winning the 4x400 in 3:58.54.
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