Published June 3, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
WENHAM, MA—The Melrose High girl’s outdoor track team earned a second place finish at the MSTCA Div. 3 State Relays at Gordon College on Saturday, May 30. The silver medalists wowed thanks to a combination of sprints and field events that had them heads above competition from Burlington, Plymouth South and Pembroke, among others. Winner North Reading topped the pack with 78 points.
Melrose enjoyed some first place finishes to help pack on the points, including their 4×800 team who topped all the competition with a finish of 10:25.78 behind the work of Ella Fleming, Sydney Kroon, Juliet Moore and Ann Mackey. Melrose’s Julia McAree also earned gold in the high jump with a reach of 4-09.75.
Melrose also enjoyed a strong finish in the 4×400 relay with a time of 4:20, thanks to runs by Sydney Kroon, Autumn Whelan, Grace Donohue and Charlotte Tysall, finishing second overall. Their 4×200 team placed third behind the efforts of Meg Radzik, Lily Nolan, Grace Donohue and Hailey Keegan/ Their 4xmile team placed third thanks to Marissa Zelten, Lillian Lawlor, Jill Bakey and Charlotte Tysall. Their 4×100 hurdle team of Mollie Lytje, Julia McAree, Taylor Pesce and Kaiya Thompson also placed third and Melrose’s distance medley relay team placed fourth with a time of 14:16.04.
Melrose started their field events with the winning jump by McAree followed by a 4th place finish by Taylor Pesce and a 7th place finish of Mollie Lytje. In the long jump, Melrose saw quality reaches from Hailey Keegan, Kaiya Thompson and Sophia Weissman. Melrose’s Ella Fleming and Julie McAree represented nicely in the triple jump, while Mollie Lytje, Andrea Mortimer and Grace Donohue competed in the shot put. Melrose showed great strength in the javelin with Kate Sikkema and Autumn Whelan placing 4th and 6th respectively. Andrea Mortimer also competed in the event.
It was another great success for the team, who will prepare for the Middlesex League meet on June 10 at Burlington High. Look for Melrose to eye some hardware when they compete among the ML 12 best. In the meantime, several members of the team will be making an appearance at the MSTCA Coaches Invitational this weekend at Gordon College. Stay tuned.
