THE WARRIORS are always led by their captains, who are not only relied upon to score points, but to also set an example for future leaders and pass on the tradition. This year, Carter Margolis (far left) and Rohan Singhvi (far right) are two of six senior captains who will look to uphold the leadership set by last year’s captains including Tommy Lucey (second from left) and Riley Brackett (whose brother Casey Brackett is a captain this year). (File Photo)
Published in the April 4, 2019 edition.
Warriors edged by Burlington in first meet
BURLINGTON — The boys’ track and field team opened up their season again at Burlington yesterday. Although they came up short 72-64, the Warriors gave it all they had and walked away with some very good performances.
“Burlington is always a very good team and to get them as a season opener makes it even more difficult,” said Wakefield head coach Ruben Reinoso. “I told the boys that I know this one will hurt for a few days but we will regroup, keep our focus on the process and continue to improve so we can be at our best at the bigger meets later on in the season.”
The Warriors opened up the meet by taking first place in the 400 hurdles as Tucker Stikeman ran a very good time of 64.1 to start off his season.
In the shot put, Liam Cosgrove had a big pr throw of 43’2 to start out the season and was second.
In the long jump, Eli Gosselin-Smoske had an almost five foot pr jump of 19’3.75 and was second. The winner jumped 19’4.
In the triple jump, captain Tommy Galvin had a one foot pr jump of 40’7 and was second. Tucker Stikeman improved by a couple feet and was third with a jump of 37’8.5.
In the high jump, Galvin was second with a jump of 6’. Gosselin-Smoske was third with a three inch pr of 5’8.
In the javelin, Alex Kent was third with a throw of 10’7.
In the mile, captain Carter Margolis ran a strong opener with a time of 4:38 to place 2nd. Captain Billy Stevens had one of his best mile times placing 3rd with a 4:47.
In the 110 hurdles, Gosselin-Smoske was third with a time of 17.3.
In the 100 meters, captain Brian Smith was first with a time 10.8, this is fastest time anyone at Wakefield has run in a long time. Wesley Pierre was second with a time of 11.5.
In the 400 meters, Bradley Diaz and Rishabh Prakash gave the fans an exciting race. Diaz edged out one of the best runners in the state with a time of 52.6 for the win. Billy Stevens was third with a time of 56.3.
In the 800 ,Tanner Jellison ran a controlled race taking over at the halfway point and finishing in 2:01 for first. Trevor Zupan ran his best time of 2:03 to capture 3rd just on the heels of a Burlington runner.
In the 200 meters, Brian Smith was first with a time of 23.2.
In the 2 mile Matt Roberto controlled the pace early leading Cornell-bound Burlington star Rishabh Prakash until the last lap. Roberto finished 2nd in 10:15. Captain Casey Bracket finished in 3rd with 10:39.
In the 4×100 relay, MyKease Driggers, Tucker Stikeman, Tommy Galvin and Wesley Pierre won with a time of 46.5.
The 4×400 relay, the team of Bradley Diaz, Carter Margolis, Trevor Zupan, and Tanner Jellison cruised to a win in a time of 3:39.
Wakefield is coming off an historic season in which they were state champions for the first time since 1968. While they lost some key leaders and point-scorers to graduation, the outdoor Warriors have built the type of program that consistently competes for league and state titles.
“I think everyone knows what we did last year, it was pretty special but last year does not carry over to this year,” said Reinoso. “It’s a new team with the same goal which is simply to improve everyday. If we do the little things right it will show in the results.”
“Our captains, Brian Smith(sprints), Billy Stevens(distance), Tommy Galvin (hurdles and jumps), Carter Margolis (distance), Rohan Singhvi (distance) and Casey Brackett (distance), as always will lead the way,” said Reinoso.
As a team, Wakefield always pushes each other to create the depth that improves throughout the season and allows the team to compete with anyone at the state level. Following the captains, some key contributors to look out for are Tanner Jellison and Trevor Zupan in the mid distance events and relays; Matt Roberto, Jimmy Crump and Jonathan D’Ambrosio in the distance events; Eli Gosselin-Smoske and Tucker Stikeman in the hurdles and jumps; Wesley Pierre and Bradley Diaz in the sprints; brothers Liam and Logan Cosrove in throwing events and Matt Tobey, Brian Reilly, Brayden Leishman and Alex Kent in the javelin.
The Warriors next meet will be their home opener at the Shaun F. Beasley Track and Field on Tuesday, April 9 against Watertown at 4 p.m.
