What can Marblehead High boys indoor track star Nate Assa do for an encore after winning the state championship in the two-mile during the annual All-State Meet of Champions at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Roxbury on Feb. 22?
Nobody had to wait too long for the answer, because one week later back at Reggie Lewis the MHS senior boys captain is now the New England two-mile champ. And he did it in style by setting a new personal best time of 9:04.60, which also bumped him up to 10th place among all scholastic two-milers nationwide.
“Entering this event, Nate was a significant favorite, according to the seeds, but there were still some impressive distance runners competing against him, who had not yet ‘peaked’ yet this season,” said coach Nolan Raimo. “For example, the second-place finisher — Matthew Giardina of New Hampshire’s Bishop Guertin High School — was seeded 13th with a qualifying time of 9:31.81, despite not yet running a competitive race this season. This past fall, he was seventh at the Foot Locker National Cross-Country Championships, which earned him All-American honors.
“Sean Gray of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, was another elite runner running in this event, who has a personal best time of 9:11, but last Saturday he ended up eighth in 9:18.92,” added Raimo. “So, while Nate had confidence in winning this event with the 11th best time in the nation, he still had to face some serious competition in order to do so.”
It all started off with Assa taking the lead immediately. He was able to open the race by running a casual 400-meters in 70-seconds, while the rest of the field stuck together, even with the strong pace. After the initial 400-meters, however, Giardina took the lead, before both he and Nate crossed paths again around the 800-meter mark, running at a 2:18 clip. They crossed the first mile mark at 4:36, as everybody else started to fall back. Giardina continued to lead the race with Assa and Connecticut’s Owen Martin of Xavier High School right on his heels, prompting Raimo to remark, “I think Giardina believed that his best chance of beating Assa was through exhaustion, and while Nate has an incredible kick, Giardina is stronger in the longer distances.”
With 800-meters to go, the clock was at 6:53, and at that point Assa passed Giardina to take the lead. The race then turned into a duel between Assa and Giardina, as they separated themselves from the pack. With 200-meters to go — the final lap — Assa went full throttle to run away from the All-American Giardina with ease. The Marblehead product then closed it out with a 2:11 in the last 800-meters.
“The scariest thing is that there’s evidently more in the tank for Nate,” Raimo said. “He has been working for this opportunity for over three years. It has been an arduous journey for him, but he has had incredible coaching and care from his running coaches Will Herlihy in track and Brian Heenan in cross-country. He has run thousands of miles along the Marblehead streets in the morning, as well as throughout the day and night. He has also put together a running portfolio step-by-step that has put him on track for meets like this.
“The success that Nate is experiencing now was unimaginable three years ago when he first started running for the Marblehead track team, and yet without hesitation or worry he invested thousands of hours into the sport with no idea where it will take him, and now he stands on the mountain top of running greatness after toppling an All-American to boot (in the All-New England Meet),” added Raimo.
Not to be outdone in this regional meet, Jacob Szalewicz, a transfer student from the Hall School in West Hartford, Conn., finished third in the 1,000, while also setting a new personal best time of 2:30.38, which is the 35th best in the nation this season.
“This race opened up fast, with Jacob crossing the 400-meter mark in 59-seconds amid a lot of bumping and pushing,” said Raimo. “Cole Francis of Narragansett High School in Rhode Island opened up a huge lead to start the 1,000-meter stretch after beginning the race in the barrel – upper section of the track where the group is divided into two. He was able to get a five-meter lead when the barrel group joined the pack, and then opened it up in his first 400-meters in just 57-seconds.
“(Szalewicz) and Alex Rogers of Lowell, meanwhile, were able to put in a Herculean effort to get closer to Francis, but Rogers did not have the legs, and as a result Jacob was boxed-in at the 500-meter mark with 500-meters to go. At the 800-meter mark, Francis was running at a 1:58 clip, while Jacob, in third place at the time, crossed it in 2:00.5, where he then sprinted the final 200-meters in 30-seconds flat with his legs now locked-in with lactic acid. It was unreal to witness,” added Raimo. “You can see the pain and suffering on Jacob’s face, but somehow, he wills his legs to keep moving. If you talk with Jacob about track, it’s evident within the first few sentences just how passionate he is about the sport and competing in it. No matter if you are a coach, spectator or teammate, it’s inspiring to see someone time after time put every ounce of effort they have into running.”
On the girls side, Paige Tredwell (5-1) was 17th in the high jump, just ahead of Elise Burchfield (5-1, 21st).
“Tredwell and Burchfield have seemingly endured the longest week in track, with the All-State Meet taking place the previous weekend, followed by the Pentathlon (five events in a single meet that includes the 55-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put, high jump and 800) just three days later, and now here they are in the All-New England Meet,” said Raimo. “That’s three meets in seven days against the best of the best, and Paige and Elise cemented themselves as two of the best athletes in Marblehead High girls track history. For the record, they competed on the state and regional levels in the hurdles, long jump and high jump.
“Paige is now beginning her final prep as a high jumper for the New Balance Nationals at its Allston complex in two weeks, while Elise begins to prepare for the spring season, where she’s positioned to be one of the best long jumpers in the state, not to mention New England.”
