The summer heat and humidity came roaring in last Thursday (June 5), still roughly two weeks away from the official start of the season. Air conditioners were cranking, and those who didn’t have to go outside didn’t. But for many, they had no choice. They had to brave the elements, and that included those participating in the first day of the All-State Meet of Champions at Fitchburg State University, where high school track athletes throughout the state convened to test their abilities against their peers regardless of division.
Marblehead High School distance running star Nate Assa was among them, and being on that big stage was nothing new to him. The enormity of the moment doesn’t faze him that much anymore. It’s the ‘been there,’ done that mentality.
Assa, a senior captain on the Magicians, in back-to-back weeks in late February captured the indoor track state championship (9:05.3) and New England title (9:04.60) in the two-mile. A couple of weeks later, he became an All-American after finishing sixth running a 5K (3.1-miles) in 14:32 during the annual New Balance Indoor Track National High School Meet in Allston.
Even after those accomplishments, track fans knew Assa wasn’t done making history. He had the entire spring track season ahead of him to make more memories.
If one state title wasn’t enough, the Purdue University-bound student-athlete got another one at the aforementioned All-State Meet of Champions in Fitchburg, where he soared to the top in a blistering fast two-mile time of 9:14.52. Considering the conditions, Nate proved he’s the best among distance runners under any circumstances. This recent achievement came after a surprising second place finish during the State Division 3 Meet the previous week.
“Nate battled it out with the best in the state at Fitchburg State on Thursday (June 5),” said coach Nolan Raimo. “The temperature was near 90 degrees, which is a nightmare for any type of distance race. They even set up a water table for the two-mile, which I hadn’t seen at a high school track meet before.”
Raimo acknowledged that Assa had plenty of motivation to do well in Fitchburg after he unexpectedly finished second at the previously mentioned state divisional meet, where an Oliver Ames runner came out of nowhere to run a 12-second personal best to beat him, which included a 4:22 mile to close out the race, despite running another great time of 9:16.33.
“Nate was planning and aiming for the All-State and New England Championship Meets, and so he paced himself in the state divisional meet,” said Raimo. “He was still focused on winning, but unfortunately the Oliver Ames runner closed out the final lap in just 57-seconds.”
Despite that upset loss, coupled with the high temperatures and stacked field last Thursday,
Assa remained the favorite to win the state title, but there were still too many variables to be confident.
“Not taking any chances, assistant coach Will Herlihy was positioned on the back turn shouting splits to Nate throughout the whole race,” said Raimo. “The race opened up incredibly slow with a 75-second first lap, which was on pace for a five-minute mile. Nate eventually took the lead after the first 600, and never looked back.”
Raimo explained that Assa is an elite long-distance runner, and the longer the race is, the better his odds are to come out on top. He learned from his mistakes at the state divisional meet, and rather than stepping on the gas in the last 400, he stepped it up in the last 800, finishing up with an impressive time of 2:04 to close it out, all in the scorching heat. He broke down the competition by establishing the tempo throughout the entire race.
“There were state champion 800-meter runners in this field, who surely had a better kick than Nate, but Nate didn’t give them the light of day as he went full-throttle on the gas pedal to lock up the state championship, once again,” said Raimo. “Everyone executed their race plan, but Nate’s plan was the best.”
Raimo says Assa is now hunting for that sub nine-minute two-mile, which would be unbelievable. “I believe that the Division 5 state indoor mile champion won it in 4:30, and now Nate is attempting to run two miles at that same pace,” the veteran Marblehead coach said. “Unfortunately for Nate, championship distance running is often a tactile race, but I still have full faith in him to come out on top. But at the same time, these races are an ever-long struggle. Nate wants to run his absolute fastest, best race against everyone else’s fastest, but it’s rare, because there is an inherent advantage to drafting and pacing off someone, while it’s a disadvantage to lead the race. But he is hoping to run a strong race on Saturday, June 14 at the All-New England Meet. It will be held this year at New Britain, Connecticut’s Veterans Stadium in Willowbrook Park, where he hopes to break the nine-minute barrier, before heading off to the New Balance Nationals at Franklin Field in Philadelphia the weekend of June 21.”
Raimo went on to say, “we are witnessing an all-time great track year by Nate. He has dominated the conference, state and region. He claimed an All-American title running against the best of the best, and I think he’s going to get faster throughout the rest of this season and also throughout his college career at Purdue. He is making distance running cool.”
And after last Thursday’s heat, that’s not a bad idea.
