There’s nothing like a Northeastern Conference showdown in track and field, and this one brought the action from beginning to end between Marblehead and Peabody. The Magician girls tied the Tanners, 43-43, to up their record to 2-0-1, while the Marblehead boys lost, 49-37.
“It was a close meet on both the boys’ and girls’ sides, and it was great competition for so early in the season,” said Marblehead coach Nolan Raimo.
Paige Tredwell remained undefeated in the high jump with a clearance of 4-10, while Elise Burchfield leaped 4-6 to finish third.
“Paige and Elise tally a ton of points within the first hour of the meet by scoring in the hurdles and immediately following the hurdles with points in the high jump,” Raimo said. “They put us in a good position by scoring 12 out of 18 points to open the meet.”
It got better for the duo. Tredwell won the hurdles (9.26) and Burchfield finished third (10.10).
“Elise has been battling a knee injury from the NEC Winter Invite, which has limited her range of motion, but she continues to compete at every given opportunity,” said coach Danny Plunkett.
In their first high jump competitions, freshmen Clark Roszell (5-4) and Noah Smerka (5-4) finished second and third, respectively, against a talented Peabody jump squad.
Despite Marblehead’s boys and girls being swept in the shot put, there were a few positives. Hannah O’Brien missed third place by only two inches, throwing 25-5.5 for a 2.5-inch personal record. Nardo Bannis was the top boy from Marblehead, throwing 37-0.5 for a full 2-foot PR from the previous week.
It was a battle of the best in the 55-meter hurdles between Peabody’s Peyton Smith and Marblehead’s Noah Jackson. Smith, a senior, won in 8.16, while sophomore Jackson finished second in 8.55.
“Peyton and Noah will face off again at the NEC championship in early February for the crown of best hurdler,” Plunkett said.
Lucy Flynn ran away with the 50-meter dash with an impressive 6.52. According to Plunkett, she’s already “one of the top sprinters in the conference.” Ryan Corrigan won on the boys’ side and “is on pace for one of the best sophomore sprint seasons in Marblehead history to the best of my knowledge,” according to Plunkett.
In the mile, Marri O’Connell (5:39.7) cruised to another victory, easily hitting the state-qualifying standard in the process. Sarah Munroe (3rd, 5:59.2) and Thea Shaw (5th, 7:06.0) also impressed. Will Cerrutti (4:52.7) won an exciting mile race against Declan Smith, a very
talented runner from Peabody.
“No one closes races like Will and he had plenty in the tank to steal the win on the final turn,” said coach Will Herlihy.
Ava Machado stepped up from the 55-meter to win the 300-meter in 46.1 and remain undefeated in sprints this season. Gabby Hendy (48.6) battled with a Peabody runner stride for stride, but finished narrowly behind her in third.
Maggie Miller (1:53.1) won the 600-meter with “all grit,” according to Herlihy. On the boys’ side, Jacob Szalewicz (1:35.7) and Henrik Adams (1:36.8) grinded out first and second place.
As for the 1,000-meter, Will Cruikshank (2:58.1) placed second after leading for the majority of the race. In the 2-mile, Ruby Assa (13:24.9, 44-second PR) finished second.
“Despite not feeling her best going into the race, Ruby ran awesome, stayed focused, and within her body during the race,” Herlihy said. “It was definitely the best race of her very young track career.”
Nate Assa (10:40) and Jonah Potach (10:58) took home first and second place in the 2-mile. In the 4×400-meter – with the meet on the line – Machado, Hendy, Munroe, and O’Connell battled all the way through, but placed second in 4:32.4.
“It was a gutsy performance by all the girls,” Herlihy said. “They all ran long sprints or distance races before, and even with tired legs, they ran quality splits to barely lose.”