Has five relay squads capture first place, many others have good efforts
THE WMHS boys’ outdoor track team placed second at the Div. 3 State Relays on Saturday at Sandwich High School with 53 points. The Warriors had five relay teams captured first and two others medal to score points.
Published in the May 2, 2017 edition.
SANDWICH — The Wakefield Memorial High boys’ outdoor track team has battled Middlesex League Freedom division rival Burlington for league titles over the last few years in both indoor track and outdoor track.
So why should the Div. 3 State Relays be any different?
The Warriors had their best showing in the outdoor state relays in many years as they captured second place with 53 points on Saturday at Sandwich High School.
Meanwhile the Red Devils won the meet with 73 points.
“It was a very exciting relays meet this weekend at Sandwich High School. We finished second place to a very good Burlington team,” said head coach Ruben Reinoso. “This was the most points we have ever scored and the first time we finished runner up in a long time. I told the coaches that the tough part about the relays was that if we don’t win it, Burlington will. I give them a lot of credit, they are a very good team.
“Our kids battled and it is nice to go into a meet talking about having an opportunity to win this caliber of meet. When we first took over this program in 2009 we were lucky to score a point and this year we scored 53,” added Reinoso. “This is a direct result of the hard work the kids and my coaches have put in.”
Over the years Wakefield scored 1 point in 2009, 4.5 points in ‘10, 11 points in ‘11, eight in ‘12, seven in ‘13, 33 points for fourth place in ‘14, 37 points for fifth place in ‘15, and 31 points for sixth place in ‘16.
“We are really happy to be second because just a few years ago we were lucky just to be on the board,” said Reinoso.
The meet got started off on the right note when both 4×1600 meter relay teams had strong races. The Warriors were fortunate to have the depth to compete with two teams in the distance relay as both came away with some big team points.
Team A consisted of senior Nick McGee, senior Ryan Sullivan, senior Adam Roberto, and junior Matt Greatorex. Team A captured first place in a time of 18:47.37.
Team B raced junior Tommy Lucey, junior Riley Brackett, sophomore Carter Margolis, and senior Jack Stevens. Team B secured fourth place in a time of 19:13.04.
The race was highlighted as both McGee and Lucey handed off the baton in first and second place among the field of 24 teams. Team A led start to finish winning for 10 points. Team B finished in a solid 4th place earning four points.
Wakefield followed up the big points from the 4×1600 relay by winning its first ever long jump relay. Junior Marc Biennestin, sophomore Trevor Noble, and senior Carmen Sorrentino were first with a combined jump of 57’-0 1/2”
The Warriors then followed up that win with a win in the shot put. Senior Cole Mottl, junior Pat Redmond, and senior Ben Clark had a combined distance of 128’3” for the win, beating the competition by more than three feet.
In the discus relay, Redmond, junior Charlie Senior, and junior Pat Bertini had a combined distance of 212’0” for a 17th place finish.
In the javelin relay, Clark, Devin Shaw, and senior CJ Wixon had a combined distance of 308’8” for a 15th place finish.
In the triple jump relay, sophomore Tommy Galvin, junior Sam Morey, and senior Peter Crump jumped a combined distance of 103’1”. The trio finished 12th.
In the high jump relay, Biennestin, Sorrentino, and Noble had a combined jump of 16’11” and they placed sixth.
In the 4×100 meter shuttle hurdles relay Crump, sophomore Derrick Scheeler, Galvin, and Morey ran a time of 1:16.68 for 11th place..
The Warriors had two entries the 1600 sprint medley.
The A team of freshman Tanner Jellison (800 meters), junior Jared Hurley (200 meters), freshman Ryan Obear (200 meters), and junior Ryan Ritchie (400 meters) had a good day and placed ninth with a time of 3:53.69.
The B team of senior Shahnawaz Anwar (800), Scheeler (200), Galvin (200), and freshman David Root (400) ran a time of 4:16.77 for 29th place.
In the 4×100 relay, the A team of Biennestin, junior Henry Stikeman, Sorrentino, and senior Dan Sallade ran a good time of 45.63 seconds and placed ninth.
The 4×100 B team of Obear, Noble, junior Travis Marsh, and Clark ran a very good time of 48.34 seconds. They were the top finishing B team and placed 26th.
Wakefield also had two entries in the 4×800 relay.
The 4×800 A team of Greatorex, Sullivan, McGee, and Roberto ran their second race of the day and placed second to put eight more points on the board. They finished behind a very strong Plymouth North team. They clocked in at 8:18.77.
The B team of sophomore Josh Ell, sophomore Nick Connor, freshman Colby Emerson, and junior Ryan Smith finished 15th overall and was the top B team in the race. They had a time of 9:06.89.
In the 4×200 relay, the A team of Sallade, Stikeman, senior Dan Summers, and sophomore Brian Smith ran a fast time of 1:33.83 and were first overall.
The 4×200 relay B team of Obear, Crump, Morey, and Marsh ran a time of 1:46.37 and secured 30th place.
The distance medley relay had sophomore Billy Stevens (1200 meters), Hurley( 400 meters), sophomore Rohan Singhvi, and sophomore Casey Brackett (1600 meters) ran a good race finishing ninth in a time of 11:54.34.
The 4×400 relay A team of Brian Smith, Jellison, Jack Stevens, and Summers placed 17th in a time of 3:48.42.
The B team of senior Mike Frezza, freshman Matt Roberto, senior Justin McGonagle, and junior David Lee placed 31st in a time of 4:07.98.
The Warriors compete against Burlington today at 3:30 p.m. in a M.L. Freedom division dual meet which will be held at Varsity Field in Burlington.
