Warriors stayed focused, stomp on Stoneham 63-23

BOSTON — Even though it is the school vacation week, the members of the Wakefield Memorial High boys’ indoor track team were hard at work securing the Warriors’ second victory of the dual meet season.

Wakefield won nine of the 10 events and got many of the second and third places as well as it easily defeated Stoneham by a 63-23 score yesterday morning in the second block of Middlesex League dual meets held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.

“Our second meet against Stoneham was another good step in the right direction,” said Head Coach Ruben Reinoso. “The athletes were ready to compete as they won nine of 10 events. I am really happy that our team stayed focused and dedicated during these last couple of weeks of vacation.”

In the 55 meter dash, senior Armin Palic ran a time 6.96 seconds for first against the Spartans and second overall among all teams in the meet (although no score is kept among the 12 teams). Kevin Russo, a junior, was second at 7.02 seconds and Eric Chi, a junior, was third with a time of 7.12 seconds.

Jian Gallardo, a junior, was fifth in the dash with a time of 7.16 seconds.

In the 55 meter hurdles, Ben Thompson, a sophomore, was third with a time of 10.04 seconds. Senior Kyle Geaney ran a time of 10.14 seconds, sophomore Tyler Moore ran a time of 10.45 seconds and junior Cory Chen ran a time of 10.82 seconds.

Senior Joe Hurton was first in the 300 meter dash as he clocked in at 38.64 seconds. Cam Yasi, a senior, was second at 38.74 seconds. Joe Boudreau, a junior, helped to complete the sweep as he was third with a time of 40.57 seconds.

Rich Custodio, a junior, got the win in the mile with a time of 4:58.34. Sophomore Jack Stevens was third with a time of 5:10.90. Jackson Kehoe, a sophomore, was not far behind with a time of 5:13.82.

In the 1000 meter run, Adam Roberto, a sophomore, ran a strong race as he won his heat and defeated Stoneham’s number one runner with a strong finishing lap. Roberto ran a 2:51.26 which was a personal best. Tyler Whipple, a junior, had a personal best as well with a time of 3:00.57 placing him third in the event. Senior Tyler Strauss ran a time of 3:17.83.

In the 600 meter run, senior Jackson Gallagher is well ahead of his junior season as he ran 1:24.37 defeating Matt Bergin of Stoneham. Gallagher pushed Bergin to a Stoneham school record of 1:25.34. They had the top two times of all 12 Middlesex League schools.

Alec Rodgers, a junior, had a good 600 race for third in a time of 1:31.77. Junior Alex Guerriero ran a 1:38.04 and freshman Tommy Lucey ran a time of 1:48.72.

Wakefield swept the two mile. Ian Ritchie, a senior, ran the third fastest time of the day for the win in a strong time of 10:10.09. Chris Skeldon, a junior, ran a fantastic race almost a minute ahead of his time last year to place second in a time of 10:57.38. Jeremy Keegan, a junior, also had a strong race for third in a time of 11:28.68.

Senior Pat Casaletto jumped 5-5 and was first in the high jump, while Thompson was third with a 5-1. Yasi also cleared 5-1 and finished in fourth place.

In the shot put, Ben Joly, a senior, won with a throw of 40-5 1/2, Dylan Brady, a senior, was third with a throw of 37-3 1/4 and Cole Mottl, a sophomore, was fourth with a throw of 33-0 1/2.

In the long jump, a non-scoring event, Gallardo jumped 17-0 1/2 and Geaney jumped 16-3.

In the 4×400 relay, Wakefield won with a time of 3:45.79. The runners were Yasi, Roberto, Boudreau and Hurton.

On Saturday, the Warriors are taking part in the Auerbach Freshman/Sophomore meet at 9 a.m. at the Lewis Center. On Tuesday, Jan. 6, Wakefield faces Wilmington in the third block of dual meets at 5 p.m. at Boston University.