THE WAKEFIELD High boys’ indoor track and field team are 2022 Div. 3 State Relay Champions. It is the first indoor state relay title in program history. (WMHS Track Photo)
BOSTON — The Wakefield High boys’ indoor track and field team targets the State Relays as a major meet of their season every year. The relays championship include running and field events that allow teams to display their true depth.
Over the years, there have been some fantastic performances from many Warrior relays and those led to some big team finishes. In 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019 the Warriors had to settle for 2nd place.
Although they did win the title in the spring of 2018, Friday night at the Reggie Lewis Center was the first time that the Warriors pulled off the victory in indoor track and field.
They did it in dominating fashion, winning the Div. 3 State Relay team title with 52 points before the final event, the 4×400. They had to beat 23 scoring teams to be presented the trophy. Duxbury was 2nd with 38 points, Burlington had 23 points and Walpole had 22 points.
The 4×800 meter relay team was first to put points on the board with a 2nd place finish to earn 8 points. The team of Ben Stratton (2:04), Ajay Haridasse (2:05), Leith Jones (2:09) and Michael Roberto (2:01) ran a time of 8:22.34 just 0.02 seconds shy of the victory won by Amherst-Pelham Regional.
The Long Jump relay team of Lucas Kehoe (20’8”), Josh Catino (17’10.75”) and Ryan Tracy (17’4.75) got the win with a total distance of 55’11.25” to put up a big 10 points. Kehoe was also the top individual jumper of the whole field.
The Sprint Medley Relay team of Jack Berinato, Brian Casey, Lucas Kehoe and Bradley Diaz got another win for the Warriors and qualified for New Balance Nationals in New York City. Berinato ran a 200 meter leg in 23 seconds. Casey ran a 200 meter leg in 25 seconds. Kehoe ran a 400 meter leg in 51.8 seconds and Diaz ran an 800 meter leg in 2:01.
The High Jump relay team of Kehoe (6 feet), Will Riley (5’ 6”), and Joe Patt (5’3”) also captured 1st place with a combined total of 16’9.25. Kehoe finished up his incredible day to clear 6 feet as the top jumper in the whole field, just 15 minutes after a hard 400 meter effort. Kehoe was part of three gold medal teams posting 30 points.
The Distance Medley Relay team of Stratton, Diaz, Haridasse and Roberto posted 10 more team points with a victory in a New Balance Nationals qualifying time of 10:57.98. Stratton opened with 1200 meters in 3:21. Diaz ran 400 meters in 51 seconds. Haridasse ran 2:05 for 800 meters. Roberto ran the mile leg in 4:39 with a blazing kick over the last 200 meters in 31 seconds to pull away from a strong Danvers team.
To top the score off, the Warriors were allowed a B team in the same event. That team of Jones, James Christie, William Mezikofsky and Thomas Dowd put up 4 more points toward the team score by finishing 4th in a time of 11:18 demonstrating the depth of their distance team. Jones ran the 1200 in 3:27. Christie ran the 400 meters in 56. Mezikofsky ran the 800 meters in 2:10. Thomas Dowd ran the mile in 4:42.
“This feels special,” said Wakefield boys’ track coach Ruben Reinoso. “At this meet, we’ve been second a few times so this is unbelievable, that we were finally able to finish first, especially with what we’ve gone through with Covid the past two years.
“I am so proud of the kids because they were so excited about this meet and finally winning this meet – it shows how strong they are as a team. I am also so proud of our coaching staff and the job they do to keep the kids motivated and focused everyday so they can perform at their best.”
