February 15, 2022- Story and photos by Joshua Ross
The only way to describe a meet at Reggie Lewis Center is organized chaos. There are people running, jumping, and throwing everywhere. Eleven teams with hundreds of participants on, in, and around the track, but somehow, everything goes off without a hitch.
The Patriot League Championships for both girls and boys were held on Thursday night at the famed home of Eastern Massachusetts’ winter track meets. This meets is always the highlight of every season due to the tough competition and heated rivalries. It’s also the first time in two years that they are back inside the Reggie for this meet.
In an extremely close final tally, the boys edged out Marshfield 91-71 to take the title. The girls, with a much closer margin, beat Pembroke by just 4.5 points, 78-73.5.
“What a great overall team win,” says boys head coach Fred Jewett. “Because eight places scored in each event, we were able to use our depth to build a strong lead going into the relays. This season has been one adjustment after another. We told the team that they have to be flexible and adapt to change all the time and tonight really paid off. WE had the most personal best and season best performances that we have had all season. The competition brought the best out in all of us.”
Each person is allowed to participate in up to three events. Given the versatility and conditioning of the team, Jewett had the luxury of adding some runners into races as he deemed necessary. One example of that was having senior captain Steve McDougall, who earlier PR’d in the one mile, run the two mile at the last minute. McDougall finished third, PR’d that race, and got much needed points for the team.
“Avery Warshaw, Steve McDougall, Tom Shetzline, Jared Salem, Bryce Botelho, Sam Benham and Matt Hall all scored in their regular events then delivered in the relays,” Jewett went on to say. “That is why we beat some very good Patriot (League) teams.”
Here are some other notable finishes for the boys:
Bryce Botelho - 6th place 300 meters
Matt Hall - 4th place 600 meters
Sam Benham - 5th place 1000 meters
Jake Monti - 8th place 1000 meters
Steve McDougall - 4th 1 mile, 3rd 2 mile
Brendan Burm - 6th 2 mile
Jared Salem - 1st 55 meter hurdles, 2nd high jump
Thomas Shetzline - 2nd 55 meter hurdles, 7th long jump
Arthur Barrett - 6th 55 meter hurdles
Dale Harris - 7th 55 meter hurdles
Avery Warshaw - 1st high jump, 1st long jump
The girls were just as impressive in their win. Many athletes participating in both track and field events. In some cases, literally running between events to get there on time.
"I was really proud of how well we competed at the League Meet," Coach Todd Deely said. "Most of the meets this year were Jamboree style and did not have any team implications so I don't think any of us really knew what to expect with the league title on the line. Marshfield is a really strong program and we tried to emphasise how we would need to be at our best to come away with the win. Thanks to some great senior leadership we had our best meet of the season at the perfect time."
Like the boys, the girls also benefited from having such quality and quantity in many events.
"Our depth really helped us out in this meet," Deely went on to say. "In many events we scored two or even three athletes which really helped our team score."
Also with notable finishes for the girls:
Francesca Candelieri - 8th place 55 meter dash, 8th place long jump
Kelsy Tarby - 1st place 300 meters
Margaret Lowther - 3rd place 800 meters
Cara Chiappinelli - 8th place 800 meters
Maureen Koenen - 3rd place 600 meters
Sydney Driscoll-Gannon - 6th place 1000 meters
Clare Lowther - 2nd place 2 miles
Emma Mills - 2nd place 55 meter hurdles, 7th place long jump
Elizabeth Blackwood - 5th place 55 meter hurdles
Katharine Van Buskirk - 7th place 55 meter hurdles
Sarah Bryden - 8th place shot put
Camille Boer - 4th place high jump
Catherine Sweeney - 5th place high jump
Catherine McCann - 7th place high jump
Many of the girls qualified for the Massachusetts D2 State Championships this weekend as well as the National Championships in March on Staten Island, NY.
D2 State Championship participants with seedings
HURDLES: Emma Mills (1) Elizabeth Blackwood (8) Katharine Van Buskirk (20)
DASH:Francesca Candelieri (26)
300: Kelsey Tarby (6) Margaret Lowther (8)
600: Maureen Koenen (8) Sydney Driscoll (33)
Mile: Clare Lowther (3) Sarah Burke (30) Delaney Coppola (35)
High Jump: Catherine Sweeney (23) Camille Boer (24) Catherine McCann (26)
Long Jump: Emma Mills (15) Elizabeth Blackwood (16)
4 x 200: Mills, Candelieri, M Lowther, Tarby (2)
4 x 800: Driscoll, Coppola, Burke, Cara Chiappinelli (14)
4 x 400: Koenen, M Lowther, Tarby, Sarah Kelly (3)
National Championship qualifiers
4 x 200: Mills, Candelieri, M Lowther, Tarby (2)
4 x 400: Koenen, M Lowther, Tarby, Sarah Kelly (3)
Shuttle Hurdle: Blackwook, Van Buskirk, Mills and Katie Mulflur
Frosh Mile: Clare Lowther
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