Fr/Soph Schedule (Approximate)

Here is an estimated schedule of the events we are competing in tomorrow.

***Reminder that the bus LEAVES at 8 AM, so be at the HS by 7:45. The meet is at Westwood High School.

9:30 - Field Events - Girls first for Triple Jump, Disc, Jav, Boys first for High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put
***For each field event (except High Jump), they take the top 7 athletes and have them take three more attempts in the finals. Your best jump/throw carries over from the trials.
FIRST FIELD  
Girls Triple Jump (Flight 5 of 5 - Snow, Ward)...there's 66 jumpers, about 50 go before you, so you're at the end.
Boys Shot Put (Flight 2 - Wolfson) - only 7 guys in the flight ahead of you, so I'd stay at the shot put area during that flight.

SECOND FIELD
Boys Triple Jump (Flight 2 of 2 - Donovan)....long time for those 66 girls to finish, and there's a flight ahead of you. Probably the latest start of the 2nd field events
Girls High Jump (Ward, Lorenzen) - there's only 8 boys jumping, so they'll be done quickly. I bet they start by 10:15. Get your marks with everyone else, even if you are passing the first height (4'3), since they won't let you get them later.
Boys Javelin (Flight 3 of 3 - Wolfson) - 39 girls and two boys flights before you, so you've got quite a while as well.
Girls Long Jump (Flight 2 of 2 - Lorenzen) - Last flight, boys go first, also have a while.

RUNNING (Girls first in each event, start time I list is thus for the girls race. Races 400m and higher are seeded based on time, slowest to fastest)
10:00 to 10:20 - 400 Hurdles (Bagley)
10:20 to 10:40 - 200 Trials (Demetriades, Bennie)
10:40 to 11:10 - 2 Mile (Mike Glazebrook, Ed Glazebrook) 22 in each gender, with a couple scratches - always happens - I bet they just do one heat of each.
11:10 to 11:35 - 800 (Snow, Salley)
11:35 to 11:50 - 400 (Lorenzen)
11:50 to 12:10 - 100 Trials (Savas, Stering, Bennie)
Mile, finals of the 100/200, and the relays all follow afterward.

Cotto, Mike Glazebrook make states, Lorenzen breaks own record!

The boys lost 75-61, and the girls lost 75-61 as well, but we had several impressive performances. Leading the way were Logan Cotto who qualifed for states in the hurdles (16.1, PR!) and nearly made it in both the triple jump and long jump, despite never having long jumped before. Mike Glazebrook also made states, running 10:23.1 to sneak under the 10:24.0 standard for the 2 mile. And Kylie Lorenzen broke yet another school record, although this time it was one she already owned, as she won the 400 in 60.3, lowering her PR from last year by 0.3 seconds!

BOYS

400h (1) Leonard 62.1
Mile: (2) Boyd 4:48.5
4x100: (1) Fadden, Bennie, Losanno, Donovan, 48.5, seasonal best
400: (1) Snow 54.3 (PR)
110h: (1) Cotto 16.1 (PR by 0.5, qualifies for states!)
800: (1) Harris 2:08.4 (first win!), Leonard 2:08.5
200: (3) Fadden 24.6 (PR)
2 Mile: (2) M. Glazebrook 10:23.1 (15 second PR, qualifies for states!), (3) E. Glazebrook, 10:45.8
4x400: (1) Holliston, Osten/Datz/Doyle/Boyd, 3:48.3
Shot Put: (3) Wolfson, 35'5 (3 foot PR!)
Javelin: (3) Wolfson, 116'0
High Jump: (1) Snow, 5'6 (PR by 2 inches!)
Long Jump: (1) Cotto 19'3 (debut, only missed states by 9 inches!)
Triple Jump: (1) Cotto 39'9.5 (PR!), (2) Donovan 35'11

GIRLS
400h: (2) Bagley 75.0
100: (3) Kerrigan 13.4
400: (1) Lorenzen 60.3 (breaks own school record by 0.3 seconds!), (3) Ward 64.6 (misses states by just 0.6 seconds in debut at the event!)
110h: (1) Waterman 18.1 (PR), (2) Ghelli 19.4 (0.6 second PR!)
800: (3) Salley 2:33.3
200: (1) Lorenzen 26.5
2 Mile: (1) Hanlon 13:12.5 (debut)
4x400: (1) Holliston 4:47.2 Bagley/Salley/Dubin/Snow
Shot Put; (3) Rosati 23'3
Discus: (3) Ahronian 62'10
Javelin: (1) Ahronian 86'5
High Jump: (1) Ward 4'10
Long Jump: (1) Lorenzen 16'2.5
Triple Jump: (1) Ward 33'2.75, (2) Snow 30'6.75

Girls Beat Medfield on Relay!

An absolutely thrilling end to an exciting day, as the girls meet came down to the 4x400 meter relay, and Sydney Snow's surge with 50 meters to go gave Holliston the win!

***Missing a few field event marks, although I think I have all the names of the point scorers.

Freshmen started the day as well, as Eve Bagley (74.0) and Reilly Conroy (80.1) took 1st and 3rd in the 400 hurdles. Up next was the 100 meters, and Nikki Kerrigan ran her 2nd fastest time of the year, 13.2, to take 2nd place behind perennial favorite Kristina Gustafson of Medfield.

In the mile, Katie Salley set a fast early pace en route to a win in 5:41.9, nearly setting a PR. But three more big points also came from Madison Ward, who was in 4th by a full 10 yards with 150 to go, and kicked down the backstretch to move all the way up to 2nd in 5:45.9!

Meanwhile, over at the long jump Kylie Lorenzen won with a jump of16'2, while Morgann McKunes took third at 14'2, beating two girls who had done mid-15 feet this year!

Up next was the 4x100 relay, and Morgann, Lily Stering, Virginia Hanstad (12.4 split!), and Nikki Kerrigan won in 54.25 seconds, holding off Medfield for five crucial points.

In the open 400, Shauna Rockett made her return with a 63.9, pulling away with 120 meters to go and never looking back, and qualifying for states in the process!

In the 100 hurdles, Diana Waterman took second in 19.3, securing three more points.

Kylie and Madison were up against a 4'11 and a 4'8 in high jump, and Kylie cleared every height on her first attempt, finishing at 5'2 before stopping in order to prepare for the 200. Madison, who came back after her mile to jump at 4'6, made 4'8 and 4'10 on her first attempt, tying the 4'11 girl from Medfield for 2nd place, giving us 7 of the 9 points for the event.

Up in the 800, Sydney Snow ran 2:33.9, taking second behind Taylor Worthy (she of the 2:19 PR). It would not be the last time the two would meet...Kiara Hanlon took third in 2:43.4

Amber Ahronian meanwhile had taken third in javelin, and was not done yet adding to our point total as Medfield began to claw its way back.

In the 200, Gustafson faced off against Kylie, and Kylie reminded everyone why she was 7th in the entire state last year in the event, blasting a League Leading 26.3 to win going away.

Meanwhile, having just made states in the mile and cleared 4'10 in high jump, Madison Ward unleashed not one, but TWO jumps of 34'2 at the triple jump, setting a new PR by one foot and moving within 19 inches of the school record, and into second place in the TVL list.

The 2 mile saw Chelsea Dubin win easily in 13:29, but Jess Strzempko pulled away from Medfield's second runner around the mile mark to take a pivotal third place in 14:29.

As the 2 mile was underway, quick count of the score left us needing points from the discus in order for the 4x400 to even matter. Finally, word came back as the girls returned from the throwing area, which was way over on the other side of the school. Rachel Kriegsman and Amber Ahronian had picked up 4 massive points to put Holliston in a position to win the meet on the relay.

Eve Bagley started us out with a 64.7, a PR of over 1 second, to give us an early lead. Katie Salley (68.1) and Kiara Hanlon (68.2) pushed the lead to four seconds before Sydney Snow took the baton as the anchor up against Worthy, the TVL MVP from indoor track. Worthy made her move on the backstretch, and actually passed Snow with 100 meters to go. But with 70 meters left, Sydney willed herself back into the lead, not to be denied as she crossed the tape in 4:24.6, winning by 0.6 seconds!

Final score, if I have it correct, was 72-64 Holliston. I'm missing a few field event marks - most notably throws, I'll add those when I get them.

The boys lost 86-50, but there were several key winners and impressive performances.

In the 400 hurdles, Ryan Leonard won in yet another PR of 58.9 seconds.
Ed Bennie came out of nowhere to run 12.2 and take second in the 100.
In the mile, Tanner Datz kept alive his Sub-5 streak, running 4:59.4. for third place.
The boys narrowly lost the 4x100 but PR'd in 49.4 (Fadden, Clapper, Donovan, Losanno)
Ryan took second in the 400 in 55.1, a season best.
Logan won the 110 hurdles in a season best 16.9 seconds.
In the 800, up against Sean Robertson (a 4:40 miler), Ryan Moser and Jack Boyd both beat the talented Warrior, running 2:03.7 and 2:05.2.
Isaac Fadden and Ryan Snow took 2-3 in the 200, running 25.1 and 25.7.
The Glazebrooks went 1-2 in the two mile, with Mike winning in 10:55 and Ed second in 11:01.
The boys also won the 4x400 in 3:50, with Ryan Leonard (55.1), Ryan Moser (61), Jack Boyd (56.3) and Cole Osten (57.5).
Ryan Snow also won the high jump at 5'4, and Mike Donovan PR'd by over a foot to take third in the triple jump at 36'6.

Four Qualifiers, Two Medals, Everyone Gets Top 10!

First, my humbles of apologies to this site's loyal readers, who have now viewed the blog over 20,000 times as of Tuesday. In light of forgetting to post the Hopkinton meet results, please accept this ridiculously lengthy, over-the-top recap of today's Div. 3 State Relays meet.

Enjoy.

Up first was the Girls 4x100. While going in, we certainly knew they had more than enough talent to break 54 seconds, Fate always lingered with the inevitable fear of All It Takes. As in, All It Takes is one bad handoff and the team could be DQ'd, and miss entirely, or lose enough time that 54 seconds became a formidable barrier, rather than a mere hurdle.

Morgann McKunes led off, having only recently returned to racing, and a strong first leg (13-high, from a non-running start) and solid handoff to Nicole Kerrigan gave Holliston good position. Nikki flew down the back straightaway, and found Virginia Hanstad waiting on the turn. Another clean handoff kept the girls in a very large pack of 2nd-6th place behind the leader. Virginia tore around the turn, and Fate quickly posed her with the problem of the Early Missed Pass. Having just barely missed on the first attempt, Virginia instantly forced the baton forward into Kylie's hands, an absolutely savvy veteran move from someone who's still relatively new to the 4x1. It's harder than it sounds, especially considering how fast the person she's handing off to is.

Speaking of which, for the second straight year, Kylie Lorenzen absolutely stormed down the final straightaway. It was a virtual tie for 2nd-6th, but up against anchor legs from other teams that probably have run under 13 seconds, Kylie pulled away by over 10 meters, splitting what was believed to be anywhere from 11.6 to 12.2 seconds for the final leg.

For a relay to qualify for states requires quality depth. But for the same relay to qualify without the use of not just any leg, but its normal anchor? That requires extraordinary depth, as well as the ability of those assigned to the task to step up and accept the challenge.

With Sydney Snow a last-minute switch into the 4x400, whose glory was soon to come in its own right, the quartet of Katie Salley, Maggie Naughton, Chelsea Dubin, and Madison Ward were left to attempt a sub-10:48 and possible top-10 finish without their usual 2:29 ace.

Fate can also play tricks on the mind, and tried one when Katie lined up, realizing that there were only nine teams in the heat, but more to the point, she was in a barrel that had more runners (5) than the inside start (4). Potential last-minute distractions were disregarded like a common housefly, as once the gun was fired, she took off and quickly grabbed the lead. Her first 400 made short work of two-thirds of the field, as a lead pack of three was soon established. She made the first baton pass at 2:36, in seconds place, to Maggie Naughton.

Fate decided to go after Maggie Naughton weeks before the race, as she was one of many juniors posed with the question: Scavenger Hunt or Relays? While the rest of her class was driving about town picking up various items, one thing Maggie got that they most certainly did not was a sub-2:40 800, also known as a PR to our Devoted Trackie. She maintained our spot in the top-three pack, which had separated considerably from the chasers, and handed off to Chelsea Dubin.

Chelsea Dubin was presented with another one of Fate's cruel ironies. The "PR or Team?" Dilemma. Starting out running stride for stride in 2nd/3rd place just behind the leader, Chelsea's opponent shot out the first 200 at an absolutely blistering pace. While under normal circumstances, she probably wouldn't go out quite that fast the first 200 if she were running for time, Chelsea clearly realized that the alternative would've meant letting herself get "gapped" and potentially losing critical places. She gamely shadowed her Eager Beaver foe, and came through in 2:43, within striking distance for anchor Madison Ward to finish off the task.

Madison had run exactly one 800 in her entire life prior to today, and with "Sub 10:40" still looming as merely a Possibility, and not a Lock, her work was cut out for her. She made up part of the gap early, and with her trademark long-strided kick, finished in 2:38.6, also a PR, as the team took eighth in 10:37, easily qualifying for states.

Fate has lost to Kylie Lorenzen before. Freshmen weren't supposed to be named League MVP's, or break three school records, but that didn't stop her last year. With her versatile skill set, Fate's only option of late has been the Overlap. Meaning, she'll wind up doing one event at the same time another one is about to occur.

And of course, in a meet that took 7 hours, our long jump relays' flight would not only be checked in, but actually jumping during the exact heat that our 4x400 relay was running.

Sydney Snow started the 4x400 with a vengeance, running 63.7 in her first race in two weeks. Handing off to fellow Freshman Phenom Eve Bagley, the hurdler extraordinaire clocked a 68 before handing off to Nikki Kerrigan. Having already run the 4x100, and still a bit under the weather, Nikki nevertheless ran a 66 before handing off to Kylie, having maintained the lead. Much like the 4x100, this anchor was plummeting to depths in the ocean that other boats simply could not reach. Kylie torched a 60.3, gapping the gasping chase pack by over 30 meters, as the girls not only won their heat, but displaced all but three teams in the seeded section, taking fourth in 4:18.

While all this was going on, Morgann McKunes and Madison Ward had started the Long Jump Relay. Fate was the most upfront with its attack on these two, using an ally known as Ten Mile An Hour Headwind to attempt to dissuade our young jumpers. Undaunted, the two broke 14' on their first attempt, then each went 14'high (I had 14'8,14'7) despite jumping into the constant wind. After their second attempts, Kylie jogged over, having finished the 4x400 literally three minutes earlier. After one run-through to check her mark, she popped 15'1 on her first attempt, then soared into the sky on her second one with a 16'4. As they were the second flight of five, it wasn't until the end of the meet, when the boys 4x400 was running, that we learned they had also taken fourth place.

Just before this, a caravan of talented junior boys had made their way down Route 495, and arrived at Pembroke with visions of States looming before them. The Boys 4x800 team was in the fast heat, up against schools like Hingham (Indoor All-Americans), Pembroke (15 sub 5-minute milers), Bishop Feehan, etc. Ryan Leonard led off with a 2:12, keeping the team in range as the top three superteams pulled away. Ethan Harris, who wasn't even on the team until two days ago when he popped a 2:08.9 at Hopkinton and announced to the league that he was Someone To Reckon With now, nearly PR'd with a 2:09.5, weaving his way in a pack that was still congested at that point. Jack Boyd took the baton, and having run just one 800 ever prior to today, hung close and split 2:09 before passing the stick to anchor Ryan Moser. Sub-8:40 was looming, much like the girls sub-10:40, as more of an obstacle than originally thought, with the heat rising and Pembroke High's sun-scorched track absorbing the rays. Moser gained ground on the other anchors, and came through the final tape in 2:05, as the boys placed eighth in 8:37, qualifying for states.

The 4x400 team had found Fate dealing them two of its previously used weapons. The Unavailable Usual Runner (indoor mainstay Logan Cotto, gearing up for Monday), as well as the Double (Jack Boyd, gamely volunteering to run just 40 minutes after his 800). Undeterred, Liam Doyle led off with a 55-high, before passing off to Jack, who gritted and beared down and came out with a 55-mid split. Cole Osten took over, and despite being in a bit of No Man's Land, pulled through a 56-high before handing off to Ryan Snow. Ryan wasn't just in a bit of No Man's Land, he was in the center of it, but still pushed through for a quality time, running 56-mid as the boys ran 3:43, just missing states.

Athletes often dream about Destiny. They envision the perfect race, with perfect conditions, opponents who go out at paces conducive to their own goals, and perfect feelings, mentally and physically, before the race starts. In reality, none of this ever occurs. Anchors get switched, winds go against you, jumps occur right after a race, state relay attempts happen when you've already raced hard earlier in the day, and opponents do unusual things that you are forced to respond to.

But that's the thing about Fate. Instead of the day you feel your best, or when your opponent is weakened, or the winds are in your favor, sometimes its the day you feel like garbage when you wake up, or a day when you've had to double back (Jack had the fastest 4x4 split, for instance), when you wind up running your best.

Because in reality, none of the things you envision when you dream about perfect races, or perfect jumps, are within your control. You can't control the weather, your opponents, your body's temporary illnesses, or the time that Fate turns to you and says, "Today is the day."

The one thing all of these athletes had control over was their choices prior to the meet. The juniors, as Maggie pointed out, chose to be with their teammates rather than go on the Scavenger Hunt. Morgann and Madison chose not to be bothered by headwinds, Sydney chose not to be apprehensive about her first race in a while, Jack chose not to let his 800 affect his 400, Kylie chose not to let her 400 affect her long jump.

Destiny is Your Choice.

First Alumni Post of Spring!

It's early, but we have big news on the alumni blog...

What school record holder finally started doing track in college, and nearly won his first meet?

What girl broke not just the hallowed 60-second barrier for the 400, but got under 59 seconds?

Check hollistontrackalumni.blogspot.com for those answers...and more!

Athletes in State Relays this Saturday

Boys: Moser, Snow, Leonard, Boyd, Harris, Osten, Cotto, Doyle
Girls: Savas, Stering, True, Hanstad, Rockett, Bagley, Kerrigan, Salley, Snow, Ward, Naughton, Waterman, McKunes

More details regarding who is in which event, and who the alternates are, at practice Monday. Teams we are sending are 4x4, 4x8 on boys side, 4x1, 4x4, 4x8, triple jump, long jump on girls side. We already spoke to most athletes about who was in town that weekend, so we are assuming that those of you listed are available.

Meet is at 9:30 on Saturday, girls run in the morning, then do field in the afternoon, boys run in the afternoon and do field events in the morning.

New State Qualifiers in two wins over Millis

Well, technically the state qualifiers we had today were kids that had already made it in other events. But it was still a great day, the girls won 115-20, boys won 89-46.

GIRLS
400h: (1) Bagley 73.3, (2) Conroy 80.8
100: (1) Kerrigan 13.4, (2) Savas 14.1, (3) Stering 14.3
Mile: (2) Meltzer 6:20.7, (3) Grinder 6:34
4x100: (1) Savas, Stering, Rosati, True, 57.9
400: (1) Snow 64.2, (2) Hanlon 68.7, (3) O'Reilly 73.8
100h: (1) Waterman 18.9, (2) Ghelli 20.4, (3) Gross 21.3
800: (1) Salley 2:33.0 - qualifies for states!, (2) Kelly 2:45.4, (3) Smalley 2:49.8
200: (1) Lorenzen 26.7 - qualifies for states!, (2) Rockett 28.2, (3) Hanstad 29.8
2 Mile: (1) Ward 12:48.9, (2) Naughton 13:30.9
4x400: (1) Rockett, Kelly, Hanstad, Bagley, 4:35.0
Shot Put: (1) Kerrigan 22'1, (2) Rosati 21'0
Discus: (1) Kriegsman 60'7, (2) Rahim 41'8.5, (3) Latifi 37'4.5
Javelin: (2) Kriegsman 72'10
High Jump: (1) McKechnie 4'4, (3) True 4'4
Long Jump: (1) Ward 15'1, (2) McKunes 14'7, (3) Kerrigan 13'8
Triple Jump: (1) Snow 32'2, (3) Waterman 29'11.75

BOYS
400h: (2) Leonard 60.5 - had qualified for states earlier but I failed to mention it, this is his PR! (3) Osten 68.4
100: (1) Waddell 12.4, (2) Bennie 12.7
Mile: (1) Datz 4:57.6, (2) Doyle 4:57.9
4x100: (1) Fadden, Bennie, Losanno, Donovan, 51.7
400: (1) Moser 55.2, (2) harris 56.8, (3) Osten 57.9
110h: (1) Cotto 17.1
800: (1) Boyd 2:06.7, (3) Snow 2:09.1
200: (1) Moser 25.2, (2) Fadden 25.3
2 Mile: (1) M. Glazebrook 10:39.4, (2) E. Glazebrook 11:03.4, (3) Murphy 11:22.9
4x400: (1) Leonard, Harris, Doyle, Boyd, 3:53.9
Shot Put: (2) Wolfson 31'7
Discus: (2) Leonard 90'2
Javelin: (3) Wolfson 111'0
High Jump: (1) Snow 5'4, (2) Boyd 5'4
Long Jump: (2) Donovan 15'4
Triple Jump: (2) Cotto 38'0, (3) Donovan 34'4