Magicians capture second-place finishes in NEC meet Boys, girls complete conference seasons with top performances

BY JOE McCONNELL

The Marblehead High School indoor track teams finished second during the annual Northeastern Conference Meet at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Roxbury on Feb. 4.

The boys ended up with 80 points, second only to Peabody’s 138. Beverly was third with 69 points.

The girls were also second to Peabody after compiling 77 points. The Tanners accounted for 135. Beverly secured third place with 74.

Girls 55-meter hurdles

Devin Whalen continued her impressive season in this event with a time of 9.24 that was good for a second-place finish behind one of the best NEC hurdlers ever, Beverly’s Meredith

Pasquarosa (8.63).

Claire Davis ran a personal best in both the trials (9.37) and finals (9.35) to finish fourth overall. Elise Burchfield was seventh overall with a time of 9.89, setting herself up as a top seed going into next year, according to coach Nolan Raimo.

Boys 55-meter hurdles

Alex Hersey finished second with a time of 8.58, and Errol Apostolopoulos (8.61) was fourth.

“Alex had a tough start in the final, but he still finished second with an 8.58, while Errol fell out of the blocks in the prelim, but after a gargantuan effort he was able to scramble back to run a personal best (8.84) to qualify for the finals, where he ran another personal best (8.61) to earn a fourth-place finish,” Raimo said.

Marc Grazado (9.65) narrowly missed the finals, coming in ninth overall.

“Alex, Errol and Marc have all made significant progress, and it will be exciting to see their remaining postseason performances this month,” added Raimo.

Girls 55-meters

Cate Trautman led the way with a new school record of 7.62 in the prelims, followed by a 7.63 in the finals to finish third.

Ava Machado stumbled out of the blocks in the prelims (7.74) but still secured a spot in the finals, where she set the second fastest 55-meter time in school history (7.63) to end up fourth.

Sadie Halpern put together an incredible prelim to run a 7.73 (11-second personal best), placing fifth on the all-time freshman list.

“It’s unbelievable that three of our top five performances ever happened (this year in the NEC meet),” said Raimo.

Gabby Hendy ended up 14th with a personal-best time of 8.03.

Boys 55-meters

Thomas Carlson (6.85) had quite the day with a 14-second

MHS VarSIT y SCHeDu Le

Thursday, Feb. 16

7 p.m. Girls basketball vs. Swampscott at Marblehead High

7 p.m. Boys basketball vs. Swampscott at Swampscott High

7:10 p.m. Boys ice hockey vs. Shawsheen at Billerica Memorial High

Friday, Feb. 17

TBD Wrestling Varsity state finals at Methuen High

7:30 p.m. Girls ice hockey vs. Peabody at Salem State O’Keefe Center

Saturday, Feb. 18

TBD Girls swimming/diving Varsity state finals at MIT

TBD Wrestling Varsity state finals at Methuen High

6 p.m. Girls ice hockey vs. Newburyport at Graf Skating Rink, Newburyport

7:30 p.m. Boys ice hockey vs. Beverly at Ray Bourque Arena, Beverly

*TBD Boys swimming/diving Varsity state finals at MIT

1 p.m. Boys and girls indoor track Varsity state sectionals at Reggie Lewis Center, Roxbury

3 p.m. Boys ice hockey vs. Lowell at Graf Skating Rink, Newburyport

6 p.m. Boys basketball vs. Bedford at Marblehead High

Monday, Feb. 20 TBD Boys basketball vs. TBD at Marblehead High

Tuesday, Feb. 21

TBD Boys ice hockey vs. TBD at Graf Skating Rink, Newburyport

*2 p.m. Girls basketball vs. Ipswich at Ipswich High

7 p.m. Girls ice hockey vs. Woburn at O’Brien Ice Rink, Woburn

Track

From P. A9 personal best in the dash to finish fourth. That time is now the sixth fastest in school history.

“Tommy has been in the weight room lifting with the team since July, and as a result his success in this event was inevitable,” said Raimo. “I look forward to seeing his progress in the coming years with the work ethic he has displayed.”

Harrison Curtis (6.92, personal best) finished sixth.

Jacob Bobowksi (7.30) was 21st and Matt Mahan (7.35) 24th.

Girls mile

Maren Potter (6:00.75, four-second personal best) had the best race of her career to finish eighth, but she still knows she could go faster.

“Maren was averaging in the low sevens last year, so to see her on the precipice of breaking six minutes is a testament to her hard work in training and drive to improve,” said coach William Herlihy. “Abbie Goodwin (7:17.35, 11 second personal best) also had her best race of the year, finishing 13th.”

Boys mile

Everybody knew it was bound to happen for Will Cruikshank, Nate Assa and Ryan Blestowe, who finally broke five minutes together at the conference meet.

Cruikshank (4:55.38, fivesecond personal best) was the first Marblehead runner to cross the finish line, 10th overall. Assa (4:57.32, three-second personal best) came in right behind him, 11th for the record.

“It was an incredible performance from both underclassmen,” said Herlihy.

Blestowe (4:58.54, foursecond personal best) also managed to reach the milestone while running by himself as the lead runner in his heat. He ended up 12th.

“This group works so hard in practice, and I’m ecstatic to see their hard work get rewarded,” Herlihy said.

Girls 600

Grace Mortensen (1:46.86, three-second personal best) was eighth and also qualified for the Division 3 Meet on Feb. 19.

Juliet Burchfield (1:48.34, four-second personal best) ran her best race in her young career, finishing 11th. Running in only her second 600, Isabelle Mortensen (1:54.75, twosecond personal best) was 15th overall.

“The 600 was easily the deepest and most competitive event in the conference this year, and all three ran amazingly well,” Herlihy said. “For context, the winning time in this event last year was 1:46.24. Grace’s time would’ve seen her finish fourth last year, and Juliet’s would’ve put her in sixth place.”

Boys 600

Despite having an illness sideline him for most of the preceding week, Ryan Thompson ran an amazing race to finish second in a blazing fast time of 1:25.35, a two-second personal best. He’s now second on the alltime MHS track list.

Xavier Grazado (1:33.18, two-second personal best) was 12th. Freshman Henrik Adams (1:39.92) was 17th to cap off a successful season.

Girls 1,000

Running in only her second 1,000, Ada Merrigan (3:36.49, two-second personal best) ended up ninth. Maya Mahoney (3:41.23, 11th place) deserves all the credit in the world for racing as well as she did after being tripped at the start.

“The officials ordered a restart, but Maya was still determined to run despite the fall,” Herlihy said. “It takes a lot of mental and physical toughness to get back up and race under those circumstances, so hat’s off to her.”

Sofia Grubor (3:46.14) finished 13th overall, second in her heat. Right on her heels was Savannah Caruso (3:48.70, four-second personal best), who ended up 15th overall, fourth in her heat.

Rounding out the Marblehead runners was Sienna Velandry (3:53), 17th overall. She matched her personal best, despite not racing at 100-percent efficiency.

Boys 1,000

Gabe Bayramian (2:45.42, two-second personal best) ran his best race ever to finish fourth overall. His time qualifies him for the Division 3 Meet later this month.

Peter Sullivan (3:05.07, eight-second personal best) finished 15th, and David Alpert (3:16.73) was 19th.

Girls 300

Cate Trautman (42.64) went undefeated in the 300 this season after winning the conference title. It’s the third fastest time in school history.

Le’Daisha Williams continued her fantastic running in this event to finish fourth overall with a time of 44.33.

Sadie Halpern (44.79) was sixth overall. Cora Gerson (46.05) nearly matched her personal best time for a 10th-place finish.

Boys 300

Harrison Curtis (37.30), running in his fourth 300 ever, captured the NEC title. “Harrison’s dad and I have nudged Harrison toward the long sprints for years, and reluctantly he caved this year and as a result has strung together a memorable run in this event,” Herlihy said.

Sebastian Pantzer (37.70) was third overall with his best days still ahead of him.

Girls two-mile Cat Piper (14:24.56) was eighth and Anne Simcoe (14:26.4) ninth in this very tough indoor event, so props to this group for sticking with it, Herlihy said.

Angie Fischer was on pace to smash her personal best time, but the officials miscounted the laps of two Beverly runners that Fischer had been running with, and as a result all three competitors stepped off the track with still one more lap to go.

Boys two-mile

Isaac Gross (9:51.51) continued his NEC dominance in the twomile, cruising to a first-place finish. After going undefeated in the conference, Gross is looking forward to his first big test at the Division 3 Meet, where he will face solid competition.

Jonah Potach (11:41.51) finished 14th overall.

Girls high jump

Keira Sweetnam finished third overall with an impressive clearance of 5-2. Elise Burchfield (4-6) was eighth overall. Ava Machado (4-6) was ninth.

Boys high jump

Errol Apostolopoulos (5-6) was on a mission, and he ended up finishing fourth overall. Graham Tips (5-2) finished 12th.

Girls long jump

Claire Davis (15-8) soared to a second-place finish. She was followed by Ana Vina de Garnica (15-3) in fourth place. Charlie Roszell (14-8) ended up seventh. Burchfield (14-3.5) was eighth.

Boys long jump

Alex Hersey (19-5) led the way for Marblehead with a third-place finish overall. He was followed by Apostolopoulos (18-4) in fifth place. Carlson (17-2) was 11th, and Claudio Gusmao Gonzalez (16-11, personal best) 12th.

Elian Colon had a great day of jumping despite being narrowly fouled on three jumps.

From P. A9

Isabelle Ferrante

How long have you been playing basketball? Did you play any other s ports, and what did you like about basketball over the other sports? I have been playing basketball since the fourth grade. I started in the town league and continued to play it every year.

When I ended up going to a private middle school, I also played for the school team, along with the town team. Those two teams helped me get ready for Paul’s (Moran) team and be prepared for what was coming.

I also play field hockey and lacrosse, but what I like about basketball is how fast it is, and it is almost like Ping-Pong, where the score keeps going back and forth. It’s like a game of catch-up.

What is it like to play for Coach Moran?

Over the past four years, basketball has been so fun. Playing for Coach Moran is almost like taking a basketball class. Coach knows so much information about the sport, so when you ask him any question, he knows it off the top of his head.

Girls shot put In an extremely competitive field, Lillian Reddy (29-2) finished ninth overall. Rachael Albert (2511) was 16th overall.

Boys shot put Riley Schmitt (38-11) finished ninth overall.

“Riley injured his shoulder halfway through the season, and for him to rally and throw a near personal best after missing a few weeks of training is a testament to his drive and work ethic,” Raimo said. “Beyond this performance, Riley has played a significant role in mentoring teammates in the weight room all season long that will have an enduring impact on our team for years to come.”

Girls 4x200 Trautman, Machado, Whalen and Davis (1:49.28) finished second overall, while the Peabody girls set a conference championship record with a time of 1:48.18.

Boys 4x200

Curtis, Pantzer, Carlson and Thompson (1:34.64) ended up second, narrowly missing a personal best.

“With limited recovery time between the 600 and 300, Ryan, Harrison and Sebby were gutting it out on tired legs, just like their counterparts on the girls team,” Raimo said.

Girls 4x800

The team of Kate Twomey, Burchfield, Mahoney and Mortensen (10:57.49) finished third.

“Most of these runners were doubling up, which is very challenging especially when it’s two middledistance events like the 600 and 1,000,” Herlihy said.

“Huge props to this group for their efforts, and their time qualified them for the Division 3 Meet.”

Boys 4x800

Similar to the girls team, most of these runners were doubling up, as well. The team of Bayramian, Assa, Regnault and Cruikshank (9:25.45) finished fourth.

Girls 4x400

Halpern, Williams, Sweetnam and Roszell (4:23.7) ended up second, which secured second overall.

Boys 4x400

Grazado, Graydon Waller, Tips and Burke (3:59.92) teamed up for a fifth-place finish.

“It was an exceptional field this year for this relay, and Xavier, Graydon, Graham and Jack put together great performances to crack four minutes and score points for the team,” Herlihy said.

My favorite memory is before we start every Sunday morning practice, Paul will ask us what we did on our Saturday night. I think this helps so much for team bonding, and it’s something I look forward to hearing every weekend.

Do you play any other sports at the high school? I also played field hockey the past four years, and this spring it will be four years on the lacrosse field.

Have you decided on a college and a possible major? I haven’t decided on a college yet. I have gotten accepted into a few colleges in their psychology programs. The Ferrante Files

Full name: Isabelle Ferrante

Age: 18

Parents: Mark and Heidi Ferrante

Siblings and their ages: Emma Ferrante (20)

Favorite TV show: “Friends”

Favorite movie: “High School Musical 3”

Favorite book: “It Ends With Us”

Favorite subject: Science

Favorite athlete: David Ortiz, because he always shows so much love for the city of Boston.

Stella Monaco

How long have you been playing basketball? Did you play any other sports, and what did you like about basketball over the other sports? I have been playing basketball since the second grade, and I started with the intramural leagues before moving up to the travel and middle school teams. I had a lot of familiarity with the sport, which helped me get ready for high school basketball.

Additionally, by playing basketball growing up, I was able to meet some of my closest friends. I also grew up playing soccer and lacrosse.

But I prefer basketball because I like the fact it has a smaller roster, so everyone is able to have strong bonds. I also enjoy the quickness and intensity that comes with the sport.

What is it like to play for coach Paul Moran? It has been great playing in the program. I have enjoyed getting to know all of the players who have now graduated and those who are younger than I am. I also think the program is very lucky to have such great coaches on the JV2, JV and varsity levels. Paul Moran is a great guy who is very passionate and knowledgeable about the game. There is never a dull moment with him.

I would have to say my favorite team and individual memories would have to be during our Florida trip in December. We had never done something like this before, but it was very fun. I have never had a closer team than we do this year, and I think it is because we all truly respect each other and enjoy each other’s company.

Do you play any other sports at the high school? I played soccer all four years and tennis for two.

Have you decided on a college, and a major? I recently have been accepted to Boston College and will be heading there in the fall. My major is undecided, but I have future ambitions in business or law.

The Monaco Files

Full name: Stella Monaco

Age: 18

Parents: Courtney and John Monaco

Siblings and their ages: Crew Monaco (16)

Favorite TV show: “Stranger Things”

Favorite movie: “Pitch Perfect”

Favorite book: “It Ends With Us” by Colleen

Hoover

Favorite subject: Math

Favorite athlete: Alex Morgan, because I have always been inspired by her and will continue to look up to her well after my soccer career is over.