WMHS boys’ indoor track team has many entries shine
SENIOR IAN Ritchie was a member of Wakefield’s first place distance medley relay team and Wakefield’s second place 4×800 relay. The Warriors placed second overall in the team scoring in the meet. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
BOSTON — It wasn’t quite the finish the Warrior boys’ indoor track team wanted but taking second place in the Div. 4 state relays is still quite an accomplishment for the program.
Wakefield’s goal was to win the Div. 4 state relays title but it turned in a terrific effort nevertheless and came up seven points short in its quest on Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
The Warriors scored 33 points to be the runner-up and was one of 24 schools that competed in the meet and scored. Norton came away with the championship that Wakefield coveted as it scored 40 points and posted a sweep in both the boys’ and girls’ meets.
“We set out, this past Sunday, to win the D4 state relays championship and came up seven points short. Although we came in second place, I am really proud of our team because of all the hard work that they have done to put themselves in this place,” said Head Coach Ruben Reinoso. “Last year, at this same meet, we were 10th overall and just scored 13 points. I told the athletes that just to be able to talk about the possibility of winning this type of meet is an accomplishment itself.
“I really enjoyed watching our team compete and knowing that going forward there is a different attitude and expectation in this program,” added Reinoso. “Before we were happy just to score a point in these meets and now a title is what were are chasing. I believe the last time we were runner up was in 1996. I was a senior in high school.”
The 4×800 “A” relay team ran a great time of 8:15.28 and it captured second overall. The runners were senior Jackson Gallagher, sophomore Adam Roberto, junior Alec Rodgers and senior Ian Ritchie.
The time they ran is one of the fastest times that the Warriors ran in the 4×800 relay in a long time. The winning team, Northampton, broke the meet record with a time of 8:10.31.
The 4×800 “B” relay team ran a time of 9:16.46 and the entry was 18th overall. The runners were sophomore Nick McGee, junior Chris Skeldon, sophomore Jackson Kehoe and junior Alex Guerriero.
“Wakefield was the only team in D4 to have a “B” team, so to finish ahead of a lot of “A” teams is a great accomplishment for our guys,” said Reinoso.
Senior Tyler Strauss, junior Jian Gallardo, senior Kyle Geaney and senior Cam Yasi were the four runners on the sprint medley “A” team. They took 13th overall with a time of 4:00.29.
The sprint medley “B” team ran a time of 4:07.55 and finished in 17th place. The runners were sophomores Jack Stevens, Dan Summers, Carmen Sorrentino and T.J. Sellers. They were the first “B” team to finish and they also finished well ahead of a lot of “A” teams.
The 4×50 “A” relay team clocked in at 22.88 seconds and secured third overall. The runners were Gallardo, junior Eric Chi, junior Kevin Russo and senior Armin Palic.
The 4×50 “B” relay team ran a time of 24.04 seconds and was 15th out of 35 teams. They were the second “B” team out of all “B” teams. The runners were senior Pat Casaletto, freshman Henry Stikeman, sophomore Dan Sallade and sophomore Will Shea.
Chi, Russo, Geaney and Palic teamed up for a 13th place in in the 4×200 relay as the “A” team ran a time of 1:39.57.
The 4×200 “B” relay team ran a 1:42.40 and was 19th overall. The runners were Stikeman, Sallade, Sorrentino and Shea. They were the first “B” team to finish the event.
Wakefield captured first place in the distance medley team with a time of 10:59.92 almost seven seconds ahead of the second place finisher. The four runners on the “A” team were Roberto running the 1200, senior Joe Hurton running the 400, Gallagher running the 800 and Ritchie running the mile.
The distance medley “B” team was 14th overall and ran a time of 11:56.96. The runners were junior Tyler Whipple running the 1200, junior Joe Boudreau running the 400, Rodgers running the 800 and junior Rich Custodio running the mile. They were the only “B” team entered in the event.
The Warriors were sixth in the shot put with a combined distance of 121-5 1/2. The three throwers were senior Ben Joly, senior Dylan Brady and junior Jared Regan.
In the long jump, Wakefield claimed fifth overall with a combined distance of 53-11. The three jumpers were Casaletto, Yasi and Gallardo.
The 4×400 “A” relay team was third overall with a time of 3:39.32. The runners were Yasi, Boudreau, Strauss and Hurton. This team ran a three second PR and they made it a very exciting meet because at the time it put the Warriors behind one to Norton 32-31 with just the long jump waiting to be scored.
Wakefield came in fifth in the long jump and Norton finished second with a distance of 55-11 3/4.
The 4×400 “B” relay team was 25th and ran a time of 3:57.27. The runners were Summers, McGee, Guerriero and Sellers. They were the second “B” team to finish in the event. They also ran almost 10 seconds better than their seed time.
