Track athletes compete with state peers

BY JOE MCCONNELL

The Marblehead High spring track teams traveled to Norton on Saturday, May 13 to participate in the annual Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association Invitational

Meet.

Girls 2-mile

A sure sign of excellence in sports is when someone makes something very difficult look very easy. That’s exactly what freshman Marri O’Connell did in her 2-mile run, according to coach William Herlihy.

“Marri finished second with an incredible time of 11:23.10, which comes with a series of impressive accolades: a 46-second personal best that ranks her seventh in the state and a time that beats the autoqualifying standard for the Meet of Champions (to be held on June 1, 3) by 20 seconds, which also puts her second behind only Shalane Flanagan in the MHS record books,” Herlihy said.

Herlihy added, “Marri elevates her game against the best competition in a way that very few athletes can, and it’s a blast to watch her compete at this level.”

Boys 2-mile

“Isaac Gross finally got the chance to race this season, and he did not disappoint,” said Herlihy. “His 9:40.88 finishing time was good for fifth place. It was a nine-second personal best, ranking him 15th in the state. He also hit the Meet of Champions auto-qualifying time, and is also second all-time in the MHS record books. The current record holder A.J. Ernst was

SOFTB a LL also a prodigious runner, who had a successful college career and still competes at the highest level.”

Herlihy added, “Hats off to Isaac. This race was masterfully run by him, and since he’s only a junior we may not even have seen his best just yet.”

Girls 400-meter hurdles

Devin Whalen was in the seeded heat against the best hurdlers in the state, and she cruised to a sixth-place finish with a personal best time of 70.05, good for 23rd in the state.

“Devin’s new focus in this event has been incredible to see,” said coach Nolan Raimo. “She has trimmed five to six seconds off her time from last