Warriors overwhelm Red Raiders with many good performances in 101-35 win
BEN JOLY, a senior, had a throw of 50-2 in the shot put to take first place and lead a Warrior sweep of the event. Joly improved his distance by a little over a foot. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Memorial High boys’ track team had a busy weekend running in three different meets. However the Warriors showed no signs of fatigue yesterday afternoon against Melrose. In fact, Wakefield was as strong as ever in a 101-35 victory over the Red Raiders at the Beasley Track and Field facility.
The Warriors are a perfect 4-0 in dual meet competition and will have the opportunity to win the Middlesex League Freedom division crown next Tuesday at Burlington. The Red Devils are also 4-0 after a 100-36 triumph against Stoneham yesterday afternoon.
“We had a very good meet against Melrose yesterday. After several meets this past weekend our athletes responded by beating Melrose, 101-35,” said Coach Ruben Reinoso. “We won 12 of 16 events, swept several events and had a lot of athletes improve their times and throws.”
Wakefield started the meet taking first and second place in the 400 meter hurdles. Joe Hurton, a senior, ran a personal best time of 59.5 seconds and took first place. Senior Brian Dickey was second with a time of 64.7 seconds.
In the mile, Alec Rodgers, a junior, ran a 4:37 and was second. This was an eight second improvement for Rodgers. Senior Jackson Gallagher was third with a time of 4:48 in the mile.
In the shot put, the Warriors swept the event with Ben Joly, a senior, taking first place and improving his personal best by a little over a foot with a throw of 50-2. Joly is the first athlete since Matt Sallese in 2002-03 and current coach Justin Berry in ‘02 to throw over 50 feet. This throw puts Joly second in Div. 3 and fourth in the whole state.
Patrick Redmond, a freshman, was second with a throw of 39-9 1/2 and Jared Regan, a junior, was third with a throw of 39-7 1/2.
Junior Kevin Russo was first in the javelin with a throw of 144-0 and Eric Smith, also a junior, was second with a throw of 132-3.
In the high jump, senior Pat Casaletto was first with a jump of 5-6 and senior Tyler Strauss was second with a jump of 5-4.
Casaletto was second in the long jump with a distance of 20-6.
Wakefield swept the triple jump with Hurton (41-1), senior Kyle Geaney (36-6 1/2) and junior Devin Pronco (36-0) securing the nine points. Pronco improved his distance by almost two feet.
In the discus, Dan Wensley, a senior, was first with a throw of 99-4.
Wakefield swept the 110 hurdles with junior Zach Conlon (19.4 seconds), sophomore Peter Crump (19.6 seconds) and sophomore Ben Thompson (20.0 seconds).
Eric Chi, a junior, was first in the 100 meter dash with a time of 11.4 seconds and Russo was second with a time of 11.6 seconds.
In the 400 meter run, Gallagher was first with a time of 52.6 seconds and Cam Yasi, a senior, was second with a time of 55.4 seconds.
Sophomore Adam Roberto captured first place in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:06 and junior Rich Custodio was second with a time of 2:08.
In the 200 meter dash, Chi had a huge personal record of 22.9 seconds and was second. Hurton claimed third with a time of 23.2 seconds.
Ian Ritchie, a senior, was first in the two mile with a time of 10:12.
The 4×400 relay team won with a time of 3:46 and the runners were Strauss, Custodio, Roberto and Rodgers.
“Now we prepare for Burlington as this will be a chance to compete for a league title,” said Reinoso. Burlington is a very good team. They are always well coached and they will be ready to compete. The athletes of the meet were Ben Joly (shot put), Jian Gallardo (400 meters), Alec Rodgers (mile and 4×400 relay), Zach Conlon (110 hurdles) and Adam Roberto (800 meters and 4×400 relay).”
The Warriors will run against Burlington for the league championship on Tuesday, May 12 at 3:30 p.m. at Varsity Field in Burlington.
Correction: Ryan Sullivan ran the mile in a time of 5:05 in the MSTCA Freshman/Sophomore meet on Saturday.
Also omitted from the results of the MSTCA Freshman/Sophomore Meet on Saturday were Redmond and sophomore Joe Connell. Redmond had a throw of 38-6 in the shot put. He made it to the finals and was fifth overall. Connell had a distance of 104-7 in the discus. He made it to the finals and was second overall.
