The Marblehead High boys and girls spring track teams are just coming off their most successful indoor seasons in recent memory after winning the aggregate NEC championship, where both squads combined to beat their conference foes. The Marblehead girls did win the NEC regular season crown outright.
The girls also won the State Division 3 Relay Championships and the NEC Championship Meet, and were runners-up at the Division 3 State Championship Meet.
According to coach Nolan Raimo, the spring season is a significant change of pace compared to indoor track. For instance, the spring season is two weeks shorter. They were scheduled to open up on April 5 against host Gloucester, but multiple days of inclement weather wiped out that meet. The last regular season meet is scheduled for May 13 against Salem. The championship season extends late into May and early June.
The spring season has also expanded from nine events to 16. which means depth and versatility are incredibly important to succeed in the regular and championship seasons.
Sophomore Marri O’Connell, the Magicians cross-country sensation, returns to track after playing basketball in the winter.
“Marrietta was a state champion in cross-country, and was also a star last year as a freshman in spring track, qualifying for nationals in the two-mile,” said Raimo. “The sprinting quartet of junior captain Ava Machado; sophomore Sadie Halpern, senior captain LeDaisha Williams and junior Charlie Roszell are coming off a state championship in the 4×400, while ending up third in the 4×200, which positions them well for both the 4×100 and 4×400 relay this spring.
“Juniors Paige Tredwell and Elise Burchfield look to continue successful campaigns in the hurdles and jumps within the conference. Senior captain Cat Piper looks to continue her momentum from a great cross-country campaign to an equally impressive indoor track season in both the mile and two-mile.
Senior captain Kate Twomey will be a force in the long sprints and mid-distance events, keying primarily on the 800. The throwing squad is led by senior captain Rachael Albert, who was a Top 25 thrower in the state during the indoor season. She’s accompanied by two great throwers in Lillian Reddy, who is making her spring shotput debut as a sophomore after two successful indoor seasons, and junior Hannah O’Brien, who is a discus specialist.”
Hersey, Carlson will once again lead the way
On the boys side, senior captain Alex Hersey will be featured in the long jump, triple jump and 110-meter hurdles. He’s one of the best among his conference and state foes in the later event.
Thomas Carlson was crowned one of the fastest NEC runners in the sprints during the indoor season, and is excited about running the 100 and 200 this spring, according to Raimo.
The foundation of this spring’s boys team lies in its distance squad that will include the likes of senior captains Isaac Gross, Xavier Grazado and Will Cronin, juniors William Cerrutti and Nate Assa, senior Ryan Blestowe and sophomores Henrik Adams and Will Cruikshank. They all figure to score a ton of points this season.
There is also much potential in the longer sprints. Juniors Ethan Horgan, Jacob Bobowski and Joseph Proulx will be holding down those events.
Sophomore Slater Johnson and Hersey will get help from a talented group of underclassmen hurdlers to add considerable depth to these events. They will include the likes of sophomores Nate Jendrysik, Quinn Scheib, Isaac Brenneman and Colin Hart, and freshman Noah Jackson.
“We have a few new additions to the teams this spring,” said Raimo. “On the boys side, there’s
freshman Ryan Corrigan and junior Owen Newburg. They should score points in a variety of events. They both have already impressed the coaching staff early on in practice. On the girls side, sophomores Sydney Ball and Greta Sachs, and freshmen Maggie Miller and Sydney Faris look to score points in the short sprints and jumps.”
The Peabody boys are once again the team to beat in the conference. “We look forward to facing them at the NEC Championship Meet in mid-May,” said Raimo.
“On the girls’ side, we remain motivated to bring home more hardware from the state championship meets, while the boys strive to compete against two very solid opponents in Beverly and aforementioned Peabody at the NEC Meet. Starting back in December, we tirelessly chased our potential, which resulted in a tremendous indoor season. We will continue to strive to be our best this spring,” added the veteran coach. “There’s a confidence floating around the team that I think is contagious. It’s not cocky, but more so a lack of fear. I hope it persists throughout the season. To have that belief in yourself and your teammates is extraordinary. It’s a fun environment to be around for a coach.”
The Magicians will begin the spring season against host Swampscott Friday, April 12, starting at 4:30 p.m.
