MERRIMACK track and field star John Braga won the decathlon at the Northeast–10 Conference Outdoor Championships with a league and school record–setting point total of 6,531. He won five out the 10 events, including the high jump at 1.92m (6′ 3″), and earned first team All–Conference honors. (Mark Connolly Photo)
Published in the July 30, 2015 edition
By BUD KEOHAN
NORTH ANDOVER — John Braga continued this past year at Merrimack College to carve out a unique career as a Warrior in multi-event competitions.
The sophomore from North Reading won the Northeast-10 decathlon for the second straight year and only lost the New England crown by three points, 6,684-6,681, in one of the closest decathlon competitions ever.
After taking the 2014 NE-10 decathlon with 6,076 points, Braga tried the heptathlon to open the winter season in January at Harvard where he posted personal bests in five events – the 60 meters in 7.27, the 60-meter hurdles in 8.93, the 1,000 in 2:51.33, the high jump at 6′ 5″ and the shot put at 31′ 45″ and ended with 4,741 points. Braga earned Male Athlete of the Week honors for his heptathlon score at Harvard.
At Bowdoin he was fifth in the 200 meters in 23:32 and later that month at the Reggie Lewis Center in the NE-10 Indoors he was fourth in the high jump at 1.94 meters (6′ 3.6″) and seventh in the 60 high hurdles in 8.69 seconds.
When the season shifted outdoors to MIT’s Sean Collier Invitational, Braga was second in the high jump at 6′ 4″, third in the 400 hurdles in 55.96 and eighth in the pole vault. At Fitchburg State he won the long jump at 6.97 meters (22′ 8.7″).
For the first time Merrimack went to the Penn Relays where Braga and three veteran teammates finished 55th in the 4×100, but improved to 35th in the 4×200 relay, a distance they had never run before (usually 4×400 is the other relay).
Braga repeated as Male Athlete of the Week at the NE-10 Outdoor Championships, held this year at Southern Connecticut. He upped his point total by 455 points from last year’s 6,076 points to score 6,531 points. In the process, he broke the meet record of 6,216 points set by Vincent Biunno of Franklin Pierce in 2013. Biunno did not defend his title last year.
Braga won five of the 10 events this year at the NE-10 championship meet – the 100 meters in 11.57, the 400-meter hurdles in 50.58, the high jump at 1.92 meters (6′ 3″), the long jump at 6.99 meters (22′ 9.3″) and the shot put at 10.57 meters (34′ 6.8″), which he had not won in 2014.
In 2014 he won six events, including the javelin and the 1,500, and was third in the other four events.
This year, even though he failed to win the javelin and the 1,500, Braga never finished lower than fourth at the 2015 NE-10 championship meet while competing against a larger field of nine athletes versus the seven present the previous year.
Braga’s 6,531 point total was also the highest total of anyone prior to the New England’s, with Biunno’s 6,366 posted a week earlier at the Penn Relays the main threat. But both exceeded their best to date by far.
For the New England’s at MIT, an event comprised of the the top programs in all collegiate divisions, Biunno won the first two events with Braga second, taking the 100-meters by two-tenths of a second (11.12 to 11.32) for a 43-point edge at 834-791.
Biunno won the long jump 6.86 meters to 6.83 meters (22′ 5″ to 22′ 4″) for a 781-774 edge, increasing his lead to 50. Braga countered by taking the shot put by 10.44m to 9.44m (34′ 2.5″ to 30′ 9.7″), finishing fourth to Biunno’s seventh, a 60-point haul at 512-452. For the moment, Braga was up 10 points.
Biunno then took another jump, this time the high one, in meters 2.02-1.90 (6′ 6.2″ to 6′ 2.3″), good for a 108-point swing and a 98-point lead, even with Braga in second.
To conclude the first day Braga took the 400-meters 50.39 to 50.66, good for 797 points to Biunno’s 784, so at the halfway mark Braga trailed by 85 points.
To start the second day with the 110 meter hurdles, the event was run as three heats of three men each, sent out for what amounted to time trials. Biunno won 14.75 seconds to 15.98 seconds as Braga was fourth on time, winning his second heat. This meant a 122-point swing for 857-735 to give Biunno a 207 point advantage with four events left. Braga’s time was a personal record, one of four he would set at this meet.
North Reading’s pride and joy then almost made it all the way back. First he tied for first in the pole vault (4.15m or 13′ 6″) with Biunno third (4.05m or 13′ 3″) and gained 28 points, 659-631, to close within 179 points.
The biggest gain for Braga came with the discus, as he finished fourth to Biunno’s seventh, with a wide margin of 29.07m to 25.54m (95′ 3.7″ to 83′ 7.9″) for a gain of 68 points, 446-378, trimming Biunno’s margin to 111 points.
The penultimate event was the javelin throw, where Braga was third and Biunno fifth, the ex-Hornet taking the event 532-489 as he won it 46.31m to 43.25m (151′ 9″ to 141′ 9″), to cut the lead down to 68 points.
The final event in a decathlon is a tough one. The 1500 meter race saw Braga gain 65 points, 721-656, but fall short by three points, at 6,684-6,681 as he finished third while Biunno was fifth. Braga finished the 1500 in 4:33.56 but Biunno saved his title barely with a 4:43.93.
Next year Biunno is a senior and Braga a junior, so it will be the last year they will compete against each other at the intercollegiate level. The two NE-10 athletes finished 1-2 at the New England Championships with the lone NCAA Division I entrant from UNH placing third in the field of nine.
The 6,681 points Braga scored at this meet is a program record for the Warriors and placed him No. 22 nationally among Div. II athletes.
Braga enjoying the experience
AT THE New England Outdoor Championships, John Braga set another Merrimack school record for total points in the decathlon with 6,681 and was ranked 22nd nationally among Div. II decathletes. Placing second overall by just three points, he also set four personal event records. (Mark Connolly Photo)
Braga has been happy to find the right college so near to home. As he puts it, “I am pleased with my sophomore year at Merrimack. My number one goal every year is to improve my times and distances and this past year I was able to do that, especially in the decathlon, which is my favorite event.
“The track and field program at Merrimack is still new and watching the team grow as much as it has is fantastic and I’m very excited to see what the next two years have in store for both myself and for the team. It’s a great group of athletes and coaches, and I love working with them.”
He also is very happy about having former UNH track star Jacky Mendes as his head coach for his last two collegiate seasons, noting that having her take over was a highlight of this past season.
From an academic standpoint in the Girard Business School, Braga noted that he “declared accounting as my major before the spring semester and so far I’ve enjoyed and have done well in my courses.”
Summing up, the former Hornet concludes, “It’s hard to believe that I’m already half way done with college but these next two years are going to be very memorable on and off the track.”
Mendes, who graduated from UNH in 2012 after being a four-year letter winner and captain her senior year of both the outdoor and indoor track teams, then earned her master’s degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences with a concentration in Sports Psychology from Ithaca College in 2014. She competed for the Wildcat women indoors in the pentathlon (five events) and outdoors in the heptathlon (seven events) so she understands what it means to take on a multi-event competition such as the 10-event, two-day decathlon, which Braga considers his favorite event.
Johnny has ‘heart’
Commenting on Braga, Mendes stated: “What makes Johnny an exceptional athlete is his heart. He loves track and field and is committed to excellence through hard work. He does everything and anything I ask him to. He is passionate and very dedicated. To top it off he is also a great person. He is one of the most liked by teammates and competitors because he has a humble and reserved poise to how he carries himself. He is truly a pleasure to both coach and be around. And the best part is, he’s only just beginning to realize his potential.”
So Braga continues to build on what he learned as a Hornet in his home town and looks forward to two more years of learning more about his future career in accounting and of improving his times and distances in his myriad of events.
