The annual New Balance Indoor Track National High School Meet was held at its Allston complex last weekend, and several Marblehead High stars took part among their nationwide peers.
Leading the way for the Magicians was once again boys senior captain Nate Assa, who finished sixth in the 5K — equivalent to 3.1-miles — with a time of 14:32. For his efforts, he earned All-American status to complete his scholastic indoor track career with the highest of honors. Nate usually runs the 2-mile, where he was the most recent state and regional champ, but the New Balance national meet doesn’t include this event, and the closest one to it is the 5K. As his time would indicate, that extra mile-plus didn’t faze him in the least.
Assa first joined the Marblehead High track team as a transfer from New Jersey, when he was a sophomore. It was his first year running track.
Despite the late start, he was able to capture All-American status with only three years of running experience, competing against many distance runners who have been running since elementary school.
“Nate is technically young enough to be a junior, too. Yet, even though his profile looks like an underdog story, he dominated locally, regionally and nationally in one of the most grueling competitions in sports: distance running,” said head coach Nolan Raimo.
Raimo added, “Since running his 9:04 two-mile at the All-State Championship Meet, Nate has been contacted by a wide range of college track coaches. His ascent from a 9:24 2-miler to a 9:04 was an instantaneous rise to fame in the running world, especially considering this was on a 200-meter indoor track, which is slower than a traditional 400-meter outdoor track. Yet, through all the exposure, Nate has remained level-headed and calm, always appreciative of this opportunity he has earned.”
Assa running at the New Balance Nationals last weekend was a final interview for college coaches across the country.
“Without a sign of worry or fear, he dueled with multi-time All-Americans over 17 laps under the brightest of lights,” Raimo said.
Assa spoke at the team’s winter track banquet on March 10. He mentioned, among other things, the delicate balance of hard work in his intense workouts with the need to recover through rest.
“Distance running is obviously physically taxing. A runner puts in 35 to 40 miles per week, and the mental toll is just as immense,” said Raimo. “As Nate also said at the banquet, ‘If you run all-out every day, you will eventually plateau and/or injure yourself. You have to align with a training regimen that is crafted with thought and care, and you have to trust the process. Coach (Will) Herlihy (track) and Coach (Brian) Heenan (cross-country) have created incredible training plans for all their athletes over the years that have led to incredible success for both boys and girls distance runners.’”
Raimo added, “Overall, I’m incredibly proud of Nate as a running phenom, and he deserves the accolades and success he has accrued during this indoor season. At the same time, I’m proud of the person he is. It’s hard to imagine a better representative for Marblehead track and the Marblehead community at large than Nate, and it’s all because of his dedication, determination and humble nature.”
Relay team competes with the nation’s best
Senior captain Jacob Bobowski (200 meters), sophomore Ryan Corrigan (200 meters), senior Jacob Szalewicz (400 meters) and junior captain Henrik Adams (800 meters) ended up 97th — that’s nationwide, don’t forget — in the boys sprint medley relay (SMR) championship heat with a combined time of 3:48.48.
“This relay team ran their SMR peak time back in January, and now almost two months later they competed again to celebrate a great indoor season, rather than training in anticipation of it,” said Raimo.
Raimo added, “For most runners, they finished their indoor season a month ago. They had since taken a couple of weeks off to rest before ramping up for this meet, which is essentially the opener of the spring practice season that’s scheduled to begin on Monday, March 17.”
Jacob Szalewicz was the star of the relay, running a 50.90 400, Raimo noted.
“He typically runs the 800-meter leg, but with his own individual 800 scheduled for the next day on Saturday, we decided to keep him in the 400-meter leg, so he’ll be fresh,” Raimo said. “Overall, it was a great season for all four runners, with both seniors — Bobowski to Springfield College and Szalewicz to UMass-Lowell — now heading off to run college track next year after completing their upcoming spring season.”
Tredwell celebrates outstanding season at the nationals
Paige Tredwell also participated in the national elite meet as a high jumper, where she capped a remarkable season with a leap of 5-0.25 to come in 42nd.
“Paige last competed at the New England Championship Meet on March 1,” said Raimo. “She then took a week off to rest up for the upcoming spring season. In years past, the national meet was held the week before the start of spring practice, which gave us a break between seasons. But this year, we had to take a rest between the New England Championships and Nationals. Otherwise, we would have jeopardized the spring season.”
Raimo added, “Paige was able to compete alongside the best in the nation as a celebration of her remarkable indoor season, which had personal bests in all of her events (8.85 55-meter hurdles, 17-0 long jump, 5-4 high jump), which placed her among the Top 25 in the state in each of them.”
Tredwell will look to continue her track dominance this spring before heading to South Carolina to further her academic career.
“She won’t compete in track on the next level, even though she had options to do so,” Raimo said.
