Warriors win 4th straight Freedom championship with win over Stoneham

Published in the May 9, 2019 edition.

WAKEFIELD — A perfect record and one meet away from a fourth consecutive Freedom Division championship sounds like it could be a dangerous recipe for complacency, especially for a team with so many underclassmen.

That’s when it helps to have some seniors who have been there.

Before the Wakefield girls’ outdoor track team took on Stoneham Tuesday, their four captains, Eadeen Beck, Ava Vaughan, Isabella Kehoe and Michelle Maffe called the entire team together for a huddle.

These seniors had won three Freedom trophies in their first three years of competition. They knew what it would take to get their fourth in their final home meet of their Wakefield careers.

“The message was to never let up, to stay focused and to go after another league title,” said head coach Karen Barrett about that impromptu team meeting. “Nothing great ever comes easy. This leadership is so important when you have such a young, talented team that has not been in this position before. My team certainly listened to their leaders. These girls were simply amazing today.”

The Warriors, showing no signs of fatigue from their grueling contest against Melrose last week, set the tone early and never looked back on their way to a 104-32 win and yet another undefeated season.

The scoring started out with Lillian Jones getting two points in the 100 and 400 hurdles, placing 3rd in both events with a 77 and 18.1.

Wakefield swept the mile led by Sammy Seabury running a 5:45, Grace Butler with a 6:06 and Audrey Schopperle running a 6:10.

Olivia Fetherston continued to excel in the high jump and long jump as she took first in both events with a 5’2” in the high jump and a 16’5” in the long jump.

Fetherston finished the season undefeated in both events, a feat coach Barrett could only describe as “impressive”.

Adriana Minasian was 2nd in the high jump with a 4’10” and 2nd in the triple jump with a 32’6”.

Ashlee Purcell took 2nd in the long jump with a 15’6”. She then went on to have the best race of her season, winning the 400 with a personal record 62.7.

“I was really impressed with her effort in this meet,” said Barrett.

The Warriors swept the 400 as Maeve Recene took 2nd with a 65.2 and Kaitlin Sweeney got 3rd in 66.4.

Michelle Maffe saved her best jump for her last home meet as she took first in the triple jump with two-foot PR jump of 33’1”.

“I could not be happier for her,” said Barrett.

Caroline Herzog also had a personal record in her last home meet with a 31’2”.

“I am so impressed with their efforts in a stressful situation,” said Barrett.

On to the javelin where Julia Castellano had a huge PR and state qualifying throw to win with a 99’9”. Rachel Cook was 2nd with a 92”.

“Those javelin points were huge because going into the event, Stoneham had longer recorded throws, so again, they stepped up in a big way,” said Barrett.

Speaking of throws, the Warriors have gotten used to seeing captain Eadeen Beck dominate the competition as she was undefeated in the shot put and discus this season, recording the longest throws in the league.

Beck saved her best for last, winning the shot put with a personal record 35’11” and getting another incredible personal best throw of 104” for first place in the discus.

“Eadeen Beck was simply awesome,” said Barrett. “Amazing leadership and talent is what she contributed to this team all season long.”

The Warriors would sweep the discus with Lily Cullen getting 2nd on a PR of 83’9” which earned Cullen a varsity letter. Powers completed the discus sweep with a 67’5”.

Ava Vaughan had a great day, winning the 100 and 200, running a 13.1 and 27.6 respectively.

“Her hard work certainly paid off today,” said Barrett.

Jade Roycroft was 2nd in the 100 with an impressive time of 13.4. Sarah Labiad got 3rd in the 200 with a 28.7

Elina Olmedo and Sophie Brown both ran a great 800. Olmedo was 2nd with a 2:32 and Brown was 3rd with a 2:36.

Wakefield swept the two mile as Olivia Lucey won with a 12:21 followed by Retta Carroll in 12:43 and Isabella Kehoe in 13:01.

The 4×100 relay team (Noell, Castellano, Grant and Roycroft) won with a state qualifying time of 51.8.

The 4×400 all-freshman team of Purcell, Recene, Brown and Porter won in 4:26.

In the end, it was another no-doubter for the 2019 Middlesex League’s Freedom Division Champion Wakefield Warriors.

“I can’t say enough about how impressed I am with this talented group of ladies,” said Barrett. “Congratulations League Champs! Your coach is so proud of you all.”