Medals collected at ML track championship

LOTS OF medals were collected at the 2023 Middlesex League Outdoor Track Championship at Burlington High. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)

Girls’ 4×800 relay team are league champs

By JENNIFER GENTILE

BURLINGTON—On the eve of Div. 3 States, the Melrose High boys and girls indoor track teams competed among the best at the 2023 Middlesex League Championship held at Burlington High on May 17.

The top result of the day was a great performance by Melrose’s girls 4×800 mixed relay team of Jillian Bakey, Cadence L’Heureux, Amy Rowe and Darby Thompson, who became league champions by placing first in all the Middlesex League with a time of 10:08.

Earning a silver medal for Melrose was Cadence L’Heureux who placed second in the 400 hurdles. Meghan Radzik also brought home a medal for a 4^th place finish in the triple jump and Noelle L’Heureux also placed 4^th in the shot put.

Teammate Mae Donohue placed 12 400 hurdles and in the 400 dash Abby Dennison placed 11^th and teammate Jaya Karamcheti placed 19^th. In the 800, Maizie Frakt placed 12^th. In the 1 mile, Melrose saw finishes by Naomi Breay at 14th and Adeline Lawlor in 18th.

In the 2 mile, Jillian Bakey placed 11^th and Juliet Moore 13^th. In the 100m hurdles, Chloe Mahoney placed 14^th and Ella Callahan 21^st

Melrose also placed in the 4×100 relay behind the work of Sofia Paptsoris, Amara Otaluka, Meghan Radzik and Lara McLucas who came in 7^th. The 4×400 mixed relay team of Abigail Dennison, Juliet Moore, Jaya Karamcheti and Maizie Frakt placed 7^th.

In field events, Melrose saw several fine performances behind the work of Sofia Papatsoris and Emeline Boyer in the high jump (9&10^th respectively), and Boyer in the pole vault. Melrose also saw Isabelle Chardavoryne compete in the long jump along with teammate Cadence L’Heureux who placed 8^th. Emeline Boyer was 7^th in the shot put and Amy Rowe was 13^th in the triple jump. Aisling Donegan was 6^th in the javelin and Anna Spinale 17^th in disc.

Melrose overall placed seventh as a team ahead of every ML Freedom team besides Burlington.

Boys’ team finishes with solid performances

On the boy’s side, Melrose also brought home several medals at the ML Meet, which included:

Charley Krygowski: 3^rd in javelin

Josh Grant: 4^th in 100 dash

Ellis lurilli-Hough: 5^th in 1 mile

Caleb Barnes: 5^th in 2 mile

Gabe Buffonge : 4^th in 110 hurdles

Jevon Ssebugwawo: 4^th in 400 hurdles

4×800 mixed relay: Ellis lurilli-Hough, Caleb Barnes, Adam Caldwell and Jonah Tully.

Sam Madden: 4^th in high jump

Two Melrose relay teams both placed 7^th which included the 4×400 mixed relay team of Russell O’Donnell, Filip Ilic, Adam Caldwell and Sam O’Donnell, and the 4×100 mixed relay team of Tyler Lecomte, Brendan Radzik, Keegan Maloney and Josh Grant.

Those who cracked the top ten in events included Sam O’Donnell, 8^th in the 400 dash and Jevon Ssebugwawo, 10^th. And others having a strong day were Adam Caldwell (16^th in the 1 mile) Peter Story in the 2 mile, Giancarlo Martinis-Torres (15^th in the 110 hurdles) Russell O’Donnell (12^th in the 400 hurdles) and Charlie Finnachario (7^th in the high jump). Melrose’s long jump was competed by Josh Grant and Brendan Radzick. Tommy McElligot placed 15^th in the triple jump, and Melrose saw quality efforts from Jack Claeys (13^th) and Charley Krygowski (17^th) in the shot put. Claeys also competed the discus and teammate Bryan Ayala placed 12^th in the javelin.

Melrose as a team, placed 6^th overall, and similar to the girls team, beat every ML Freedom team beside Burlington.

Both teams are eagerly awaiting this weekends Div. 3 State Finals at Fitchburg State which begins on May 25 and concludes on May 27. Look for several Melrose athletes to be in top contention for event medals.

Results can be found at the MIAA website www.miaa.net