Pietrasiewicz Qualifies for All-States as Lancers Compete at D4 States!

A runner-up performance by Isabella Pietrasiewicz and dual podium finishes by Paul Wisnaskas welcomed the Lancers into the bright lights as they competed at the Divisional Championships. Though the team experienced a mixed bag of performances, they did not disappoint by showing up and putting a valiant effort forward in the process.

The States crew (minus Meg and Heather)

Boys: 33rd place (2 points)

Running in the first preliminary heat, Wisnaskas placed second to Medfield's Ryan Eng, running 8.16 while senior captain Corey Stalters took a hard first hurdle and finished in the field of the third preliminary heat, crossing the line in 8.56, 20th overall in the preliminaries. In the finals, Wisnaskas faced a less-than-preferential first lane assignment and could not shake it from the start, unfortunately. Though still the only underclassman in the final, Wisnaskas finished in eighth overall in a time of 8.23.

The lone Lancer in the mile, sophomore Sean Wynne looked to capitalize on his PR performance from the TVL Showcase Meet. His heat began to split forcing Wynne to hold onto the pack. As it wavered forward, Wynne fought back and made up ground, ultimately passing several athletes in the final 200 meters to claim an 18th place performance, outpacing his seed by five spots, and still grabbing an impressive 4:50.94 clocking.

One event later, Wisnaskas was back at it on the oval looking to reclaim his spot. Joined by senior captain DJ Nihill, the pair took on the 600 meter run. Though both fatigued, they still ran hard to put an exclamation point on their seasons. Nihill, battling health issues the entire season, came back after a shaky middle 200m to dominate back to a 1:29.58 placing as he finished 16th overall. In the seeded section, Wisnaskas found himself in the unfamiliar territory of being outpaced from the gun. Facing tired legs in the last third of the race, Wisnaskas ran through the lactic acid to earn his second podium finish of the day, running 1:26.38 to earn an eighth place finish, again, as the highest finishing sophomore in the event.

Wisnaskas brings youth to the 600m podium

Unfortunately, the Lancers faced more challenges as the meet went on. In the boys 1,000m, junior Ethan Tetrault had to face the field despite facing illness throughout the week prior. Taking his section out quick, Tetrault put caution into the win in an attempt to PR. However, he ran out of steam with a little over 300m to go, running to a formidable 2:53.10 for 19th place. Likely so, a quick start to the seeded section put senior captain Austin Carroll into a precarious position in attempting to break the school record he narrowly missed earlier in the season. Though in the thick of the field, Carroll was thrown off rhythm as the race drew on and the field splintered. He ultimately broke the tape in 10th place in a time of 2:41.87.

The Men of Norton wrapped up the state championships in the day-ending 4x400m relay. Comprised of tired legs from Nihill, Carroll and Wisnaskas, the Lancers did their best to rally up an All-States qualifying performance. However, competing out of the second-fastest proved too much of a task, even with a fresh CJ Liebherr. The Lancers competed valiantly and aggressively to finish a close fifth in their heat, finishing 13th overall in the field in 3:41.20.

Girls: 23rd place (8 points)

The 55m dash started off the day for the Lady Lancers with senior captain Julia Newell and junior Eve Rodriguez taking on the field. Newell fought through her heat to finish 17th overall in the preliminaries in a time of 7.81 seconds while Rodriguez was not too far behind her in a PR of 7.88 to grab 21st place. Upon the conclusion of the infield events, Newell moved onto the long jump where she grabbed 18th place with a leap of 15'-1.5". Though she was not the only Lancer competing in the field as sophomore Michaela Whiteside qualified for the shot put. A near personal best of 31'-1.5" moved her up from her 21st seed to finish in 17th place overall and the top underclassman in the field.

On the track oval, underclassmen Isabella Pietrasiewicz and Megan Cross took on the field in the 1,000m run. In the first section, Cross positioned herself comfortably in the field and seized control of her pack when it began to break. Heading into the final lap, she kicked it back in hard, leading with her arms, to a 19th place finish and a narrow personal best of 3:20.74. Pietrasiewicz took over the seeded section seeded at third overall. After Burlington's Julia Hovasse ran away from the field, Pietrasiewicz took control of second as the chase pack fell off. With two laps to go, the chase pack began to make up ground on Pietrasiewicz, but with 60 meters to go, she held off a late charge by Pentucket's Pheobe Rubio and North Reading's Grace Hadley to claim a runner-up finish in a new personal best of 3:04.31.

Second place in D4; onto All-States!

Finishing up the day, the girls 4x400m relay ran in the second to last heat. Leading off her first state championship experience, sophomore Heather Kurland fought through ankle issues to put the Lancers in the mix of their heat. Senior captain Kirsten Loring came out hard and gave the baton to Kylie Dion in control. Battling with the top two teams in the head, Dion passed on to Pietrasiewicz to anchor home the four. Finishing second in the heat, the Lady Lancers wound up 10th overall, only a fraction of a second off the podium, in a season's best 4:18.63.

Up Next: Pietrasiewicz will compete in the 1,000m at the MIAA All-State Meet on Saturday at 11:50 am. Following All-States, Pietrasiewicz and Carroll will compete in the BU Last Chance Meet.