Girls
Heading into the meet as the lone freshman in the field, Michaela Whiteside concluded her stellar first-year campaign with a dominant showing in the shot put. Although she did not hit her PR, she demonstrated that her improvement has moved her standard to a higher level, continuing to consistently through upwards to 29-30 feet in the shot put. On the evening, Whiteside threw 29'-0.25", matching her seeding placement of 22nd place. The TVL 2nd-Team thrower will continue into the spring, looking to master the javelin and discus in addition to the shot for the Lancers Outdoor Track team.
Also rounding out the field events for the Lady Lancers, senior captain Mary Diestel wrapped up her single-event campaign this season by jumping her season's best of 4'-10". Like Whiteside, Diestel matched her seeding placement, finishing in a five-way tie for 10th place in Division 4. Diestel will still have one more competition left as a Lancer, as she plans to compete in the MIAA Pentathlon on February 27th.
Claiming the first points of the night for Norton, freshman Isabella Pietrasiewicz took to the track in the girls mile. Having ran a personal best in earning TVL 2nd-Team honors last week, Pietrasiewicz looked to earn a New Balance Indoor National qualifier for the freshmen mile. Needing to run six seconds off of her PR run less than a week ago, she left nothing to chance. Slightly under pace through 800 meters, Pietrasiewicz turned on a second gear, closing her last 400m in 1:13 and last 200m in 35 seconds. Her efforts were rewarded with a finishing time of 5:12.76, good enough for 4th overall in the meet. Not only did her time set a new school record by just under three seconds, but it currently stands as the 14th fastest freshmen mile time in the country, effectively qualifying her for the New Balance Indoor Nationals, to be held on March 11th in New York's Armory!
Following Bella's race, senior captain Katie Bradley took to the oval for a hotly contested 600 meter run. Though initially out slow, Bradley quickly caught back up to pace with a speedy and gutsy second lap. Holding onto a solid position at the bell lap, Bradley's quick second lap caught up to her as she had to settle for third in her heat and 12th overall. Her time of 1:44.16 was only a second and a half out from scoring. But she still had one race left in her legs later in the night.
The Lancer's first state champion of the night came on the heels of another record-breaking performance by senior captain Julia Palin. Being patient through 400m of the 1,000m run, the TVL Champion and NBIN qualifier went through in 1:11, closely following Burlington's Julia Hovasse. While slightly being challenged for the first time this season in the 1,000, Palin bided her time and began her move with roughly 500 meters to go. The back-and-fourth race through the first two laps quickly faded as Palin took control with 400 meters to go, splitting 35.85 heading into the bell lap. With nothing but the clock to beat, Palin kicked to a 33.5 final 200 meters to win the 1,000m run in a time of 2:58.10. In winning by nearly five seconds, Palin bettered her NBIN seed and school record by just under a second, claiming the 7th and 32nd fastest time in the state of Massachusetts and the nation respectively, according to MileSplit.com.
As the lone individual sprinter for the Norton squad, Kylie Dion represented the Lancers well running to a quick 45.04 to claim a 19th finish in the meet. She would later close out the meet with Diestel, Carly Murphy, and Hannah Kubinski as the quartet ran in the 4x400m relay. In just missing their seed time by a few seconds, the four ran stellar splits with excellent handoffs to place 14th overall in a time of 4:24.30. Not to be outdone, a young Lancer 4x200m relay showed that the future is bright for the Lancer sprinters. Sophomore Eve Rodriguez joined juniors Julia Newell, Alexa Sousa-Shumosic, and Kirsten Loring in another display of flawless handoffs and quick splits. Finishing a close second in their heat, the girls ran to a 17th place finish in the field of 23 schools, crossing the line in 1:54.84.
And in the second state championship performance of the evening, the trio of Bradley, Pietrasiewicz, and Palin doubled up to join Hannah Delea in the 4x800m relay. Knowing that they had the second seed heading into the race, it was certain to be a close contest between the Lancers and Grafton HS. The same team to edge them out at Division 4 State Relays weeks earlier, the Lady Lancers were ready for their rematch. With Katie Bradley splitting her strongest 800m of the season, the Lancers were out in front at 2:27.9 at the exchange of the baton. Handed off to Bella Pietrasiewicz, the young Lancer was tested right from the handoff by Grafton's second leg. Staying with in reaching distance of Grafton, Pietrasiewicz pulled off her fastest split of the season, handing off to Delea after 2:28.8 in a close second place. A back-and-fourth leg for Delea came down to the wire. Fed up with passing and being passed, Delea fought hard to close the gap leading into the anchor leg. Her 2:34.9 season's best was all the Lancers needed with Palin receiving the stick. Patiently reeling Grafton's fourth leg back into range, she excellently maneuvered her kick to coincide with the drafting of a lapped runner. With 300 to go, Palin passed Grafton, who was caught behind a slower runner, leaving all but the curve and the bell lap to go for the title. Heading into the final curve, the Lancers rejoiced as Palin's 2:23.2 final split brought the Lady Lancers a second state championship on the evening. The final time of 9:54.76 also set a new NHS record in the process.
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| Delea, Bradley, Pietrasiewicz and Palin celebrate an NHS State Championship! |
With an equally strong contingency on the boys side of the track, the boys quickly took off to a quick start on the inside oval. TVL 2nd-Team honoree Paul Wisnaskas led the hurdles crew to a respectful showing. Running out of the very quick third heat (where three individuals qualified for the finals), Wisnaskas ran to a strong fourth place finish. His time of 8.54 seconds led him to a 15th place finish overall. Following suit, junior Corey Stalters ran a hard-fought race finishing in 9.16 seconds, good enough for 29th place overall. Immediately following the hurdles, junior captain Peter Rivard also competed against an equally strong heat, ultimately finishing in a time of 7.07 seconds for 23rd place overall.
Hitting the oval, senior captain Pat Bingel led off the distance events portion of the evening. Having just squeezed into the Division 4 State Meet with the last automatic-qualifying time, Bingel again patiently ran his own race, not being caught up in the hoopla of athletes turning over too quickly. Although running most of the race from behind, Bingel fought back in the closing lap to split an unofficial 29.9 in catching several athletes and leaving them in his wake, as he closed to a 4:48.55, bettering his seed position for a 17th place finish in the field. The TVL 2nd-Team honoree would later go on to match that finish in the high jump, again bettering his seed position and earning a tie for 17th place in jumping 5'-8".
In the next event, DJ Nihill lead off the Lancer 1,000 meter showing in the first heat. In a back-and-fourth race, Nihill once again came through at the bell lap, splitting an unbelievable 28.43 last lap to pass roughly six athletes in the last 200 meters. His valiant effort brought him to within fractions of a second of his personal best, as his 2:47.75 finish earned him an 18th place showing. Following Nihill's lead, TVL 2nd-Teamer Austin Carroll went out to a very odd 1,000m race. With each one of his five splits ranging from 32.0-32.4 seconds, Carroll ran a very rare consistent race, fighting through a crowded pack of runners hesitant to make any dramatic move. Though his 2:41.33 was off his goal of 2:39, it still helped claim the Lancer's first point on the evening, as he finished in 8th place overall.
Joining up for the boys 4x800m relay, Carroll, Nihill, Bingel, and Ethan Tetrault all ran on tired but inspired legs in facing the quick field. With each athlete running slightly off their personal best splits, fatigue became the clear factor to overcome in the race. Still, the Men of Norton managed to put together one of their top times this season. Their collective 8:46.97 ended up claiming them a 9th place finish out of the field of 23 teams.
As the lone representative in the 300m run, senior TVL 1st-Team sprinter Ian Pereira rose to the occasion and still delivered a noteworthy time. Though not his best, his 37.30 was still strong enough for an 8th place finishing medal. Pereira would later close the meet with Wisnaskas, Rivard, and Aidan Lerner. With tired legs and Lerner battling a cold, the Lancers still managed to produce their second fastest time of the season. Their splits all showed tremendous determination in grit in producing the final medal performance of the meet, as their time of 3:39.28 earned them an 8th place finish to cap off the majority of their seasons.
UP NEXT: The Lancers continue their post-season competition heading into the MIAA All-State Meet, with the girls' 4x800m relay and Julia Palin (1,000m) having qualifying times for February 24th's all-Massachusetts contest. Following the All-State Meet, a select group of Lancers will compete in the MIAA Pentathlon, to be held through February 27-28.
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