Wisnaskas and Pietrasiewicz Reach the Podium at the Coaches Invite

In split-squad action, the Lancers took on the field at the MSTCA Small School Coaches Invitational on Sunday at the Reggie Lewis Center. The non-scoring event brought a small group of qualifiers to Roxbury while the rest of the squad was poised to wrap up TVL league action in Hopkinton against Bellingham later in the afternoon. But the Coaches Invite squad still brought the fire despite the small crowd.

Boys

The hurdlers got the long day started in the infield with the duo of Paul Wisnaskas (8.27) and senior captain Corey Stalters (8.32) narrowly missing the finals. Though just off their season bests, the two still managed to finish 10th and 11th respectively out of the field. And fortunately for Wisnaskas, he was not done for the day as he laced up with senior captain DJ Nihill for the 600 meter run. With both running out of the second to last heat, the two were destined for quick times. Wisnaskas seized the lead, after starting from the outer lane. He controlled the race from the front with Nihill in hot pursuit. The pair came through 400 meters at a near 4x400m-like split, leaving the last 200 meters to fend off competitors and lactic acid. Sure enough, Wisnaskas and Nihill did just that. Wisnaskas won the race, leading wire-to-wire, running a personal best of 1:25.87 with Nihill placing fourth in the heat, also grabbing a solid PR of 1:28.15. Overall, the tenacious start and fight through the finish earned Wisnaskas fourth in the event and Nihill ninth, missing the podium by just a second. But the two solidified two state-qualifying performances in the process.

Wisnaskas building up his MSTCA medal collection

The last boy to compete was senior captain Austin Carroll in the 1,000 meter run. Following a similar strategy as Wisnaskas and Nihill, Carroll attacked the race as a shorter equivalent and then held on and fought through the final lap, rather than sitting to kick with 200 meters to go. And sure enough, his grit won it out for him. Crossing through 800 meters at just over 2:07, Carroll utilized his upper body strength through the final 100 meters to earn himself a new personal best of 2:39.49. His time earned him seventh place overall and, aside from improving his state-qualifying standard, also put him just under a third of a second off the school record in the 1,000 meter run.


Girls

Senior captain Julia Newell led off the Lady Lancers day with a solid run through the 55 meter hurdles. Perfecting the three-step halfway through her heat put her in great position but a small misstep disrupted momentum and slowed down her clearance, earning her a 9.95 time on the day. She finished 41st overall following the conclusion of the preliminary heats while she came back in the long jump, with only a small foul ruining an otherwise PR jump, forcing the senior to settle for 15'-7.5" for 20th place.

Newell was not the only athlete competing in the infield as Eve Rodriguez continued to show her consistency in the short sprints. Rodriguez sought to improve her PR but ended up approaching the meet standard, crossing the line in 8.01 to place 40th overall. She would later join senior captain Kirsten Loring in the 300 meter run. There, Rodriguez had better luck in grabbing a personal best after attacking the field following the cut-in, finishing in 45.63 seconds. Loring, on the other hand, was left in no man's land with hardly any competition to chase, fighting through tired legs to break the finish line in 45.87 seconds. The two Lancers finished 45th and 47th respectively in the 300.

The lone lady middle distance runners of the day were Kylie Dion and Isabella Pietrasiewicz. Dion came through strongly in the first two laps of her 600 meter race but locked up in the finish, just missing her seed time by clocking 1:50.57 to place 32nd overall. Pietrasiewicz, on the other hand, claimed the second podium finish for the Lancers on the day. Much like Carroll, Pietrasiewicz stuck on the chase path through 800 meters on relay-split pace, and was rewarded with a massive personal best in the 1,000 meter run. Her time of 3:05.95 was over five seconds faster than her previous best and her improvement on her state qualifier earned her a fifth place finish in her heat and in the event field.

The only underclassman on the podium!

Up Next: The Lancers quickly returned to action later in the afternoon as they finished TVL duel meet action against Bellingham at Hopkinton HS.