Warriors have six individuals, one relay qualify for the All-State Meet
IAN RITCHIE, a senior, came in second overall in the 800 meter run in the Div. 3 state meet which was held on Wednesday. Ritchie clocked in at 1:57.60 behind Stoughton’s David Lockhart who ran a winning time of 1:55.85. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
FALL RIVER — Even though the Div. 3 state meet was postponed twice, the Wakefield Memorial High boys’ outdoor track team had a fine showing when the meet was finally run on Wednesday at Durfee High School.
The Warriors scored 38 points and finished sixth overall as a team.
“We had a very successful day at Durfee High School in the D3 state meet,” said Head Coach Ruben Reinoso. “We had several athletes place and move onto the state meet this upcoming Saturday. Although the meet got postponed twice we came out and competed.”
Senior Ben Joly threw 48-9 1/2 and was fifth. Joly also qualified for all-states this Saturday. Joly has been Wakefield’s best thrower in the last 10 years and he ends his career on high note after being a Middlesex League champion in the shot and qualifying for for all-states.
Pat Redmond also competed in the shot put and he threw 39-9 3/4 for 25th place. He was the only freshman competing in the event and he ends his year as being the third best freshman in the state.
In the long jump, junior Jian Glenn Gallardo jumped 19-4 1/2 and was fourth. Gallardo also moves onto all- states. Pat Casaletto, a senior, also competed in the long jump and was ninth with a distance of 18-8. Casaletto also competed in the high jump but didn’t make opening height.
In the triple jump, Joe Hurton, a senior, was third with a distance of 43-0 and will move onto all-states. Hurton is probably the most improved athlete in the history of the Warrior program. He is an athlete who scored few points for Wakefield last year and this year he became Wakefield’s top scorer.
“I always talk to the kids about two words, passion and commitment. Passion is what gets you interested in the sport, project or anything that you decided to do and commitment is what keeps you there,” said Reinoso. “Joe stayed committed even when things where not going his way and it paid off.”
Hurton also ran the 400 meters in 53.84 seconds for 13th place.
In the javelin, Kevin Russo, junior, after not being able to throw the last few weeks due to injury, placed fourth with a 155-6 and he will move onto all-states this weekend as well.
In the 800 meter run, Ian Ritchie, a senior, had another great performance and placed second with a time of 1:57.60. Currently, Ritchie is ranked sixth in the state and will look to improve this at all-states this weekend.
Alec Rodgers, a junior, was fourth in the mile with a 4:32.29 and he will move onto this weekend. This was Rodgers’ personal record and he joins the elite group of milers to come out of Wakefield.
Adam Roberto, a sophomore, also ran in the mile and clocked in at 4:45.88 for 11th place.
In the two mile, Rich Custodio, a junior, ran a time of 10:49.13 for a 20th place finish.
The Warriors had three sprinters in the 100 meter dash. Junior Eric Chi ran a time of 11.55 seconds, Russo ran 11.75 seconds and freshman Henry Stikeman ran a time of 12.37 seconds. They placed 10th, 20th and 34th, respectively.
Chi also ran the 200 meter dash and ran a time of 23.79 seconds for a 20th place finish.
In the 4×800 relay, the team of freshman Tom Lucey, sophomore Ryan Sullivan, Custodio and freshman Matt Greatorex ran a time of 8:48.89 for a 12th place finish.
In the 4×100 relay, the team of Gallardo, Russo, sophomore Dan Sallade and Chi ran a time of 45.07 seconds and they were ninth overall.
In the 4×400 relay, senior Cam Yasi, Hurton, Rodgers and Ritchie ran a time of 3:30.59 and were fourth overall. They also move onto all-states.
Alex McKenna, a sophomore, competed in the pentathlon and finished in 11th place with 2,174 points. The pentathlon consisted of five events: 110 hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and the 1500 meters.
In the 110 hurdles he ran a time of 20.33 seconds for 12th place. In the long jump he jumped 16-0 for 11th place. In the high jump he cleared 5-5 for fifth place. In the shot put he threw 31-0 for seventh place. In the 1500, McKenna ran an impressive time of 4:58.48 for fourth place.
“This is the most athletes that we have had qualify for all-states,” said Reinos. “This is also the most individual athletes that we’ve had. In the field events (are) Ben Joly, Joe Hurton, Jian Gallardo and Kevin Russo. In the running events (are) Ian Ritchie and Alec Rodgers. In the 4×400 (are) Cam Yasi, Joe Hurton, Alec Rodgers and Ian Ritchie.”
The All-State Meet is tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Fitchburg State.
