The Marblehead girls team came away as winners at the Northeastern Conference Championship meet Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
The Lady Magicians jumped out to a five-point lead after the first three events and never looked back, finishing with 121 points and running rough-shod over the the rest of the field and leaving runner-up Masconomet (76 points), third-place Beverly (74) and fourth-place Peabody (64) in the rear-view mirror. Swampscott (10) and Saugus (6) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Marblehead’s Paige Tredwell was the top star of the day in the girls meet, winning the high jump (PR 5-02) and 55-meter hurdles (8.91). She also finished fifth in the long jump with a PR 15-03.50.
“In her first track season, Paige Tredwell defies the odds,” said coach Nolan Raimo.
Ava Machado (7.48) led a sweep in the 55-meter dash with Sadie Halpern (7.53) right behind in second place and LaDaisha Williams (7.59) taking third. The trio also shined in the 300 with Williams winning the gold in 42.0, Halpern placing second with a PR 42.13 and Machado placing fourth with a PR 42.91.
“It was a tidal wave of points with these three collecting 24 points in the first event of the meet,” Raimo said.
Other Magicians posting third-place finishes included Elise Burchfield in the 55 hurdles (PR 9.29), Kate Twomey in the 1,000 (PR 3:11.97), Philine Heuermann (5-00) in the high jump, Rachael Albert (PR 31-11) in the shot put and Cat Piper in the 2-mile (PR 12:34.78).
The Marblehead boys finished third with 65 points. Thomas Carlson won the 55-meter dash (PR 6.56), while Nathaniel Assa won the 2-mile (9:47.52) and Alex Hersey won the long jump (21-05.75). Hersey also finished second in the 55 hurdles (PR 7.79).
“To land four jumps six inches beyond his previous best is unthinkable,” Raimo said of Hersey. “Alex has put together the best jumping days in NEC Championship history: 21’5.75,” 21’4.25,” 21’4,” and 21’0.5.”
Other top-three finishers included Isaac Gross, second in the mile (4:29.70); William Cruickshank, Gross, Will Cerrutti and Xavier Grazado, third in the 4×800 (8:52.29), and Carlson, Hersey, Slater Johnson and Jacob Bobowski, third in the 4×200 (1:37.00).