Published in the Boston Globe on Feb. 15, 2013
It was a photo finish.
The Hingham boys’ 4 x 200 team went into the race aiming to finish in about 1 minute 34 seconds and set a school record.
The group was a step slower than hoped.
Instead, the win at 1:35.45, went to the Marblehead quartet of Connor Green, Chris Wiley, Brett LeBlanc, and Josh Beloff, based on the finish-line camera at the Reggie Lewis Center.
“It was a frustrating race,” said Hingham junior Andrew Bolze, who ran the anchor leg.
But the meet was not.
Going into that relay, the Harbormen had a 35-point lead. Roughly an hour later, the boys from Hingham made it official and raised the wooden Massachusetts-shaped trophy as the MIAA Division 3 indoor champions. The Harbormen finished with 75 points, far ahead of Marblehead (30) and Westwood (28).
No camera was required.
“I am so pleased by the depth and hard work and courage of our athletes,” Hingham coach Fred Jewett said. “I can’t believe we scored as many points as we did, but, again, it’s a testimony of our depth and their desire to do a good job.”
After the last handoff, Bolze was boxed into third place, preventing a move until the final straightaway. But with a lean at the finish line, he sent the result to the officials.
“Coach came into the gym [before the relay] and said, ‘You guys won the meet, just run the race,’ ” Bolze said. “To have something like that, we didn’t have any pressure on us. It was just great to run out there with my friends.”
Bolze, Chris McDowell, Kevin O’Neill, and Ryan Aidan picked up 8 points with their second-place finish.
Earlier in the meet, Bolze earned 18 points for the Harbormen with the top finish in the 300 (35.81) and second in the long jump (21 feet 7½ inches). O’Neill finished fourth in the 300 (37.12).
Bill Lumbert won the 600 in 1:23.54 for another 10 points for Hingham, and Nick Neilsen did the same in the mile, winning in 4:26.28.
It was a great all-around afternoon for Hingham, as the girls used five top-three finishes to defend last year’s title. Hingham finished with 59 points to top Bishop Feehan (49) and Hopkinton (48).
“I’m so, so happy for the girls,” said their coach, David Jewett, who is also Fred’s son. “They worked so hard for this, they deserve it.
“It’s nice to see really good kids rewarded for working really hard.”
The win was highlighted by Julie McConville’s record-shattering performance in the 2 mile.
The Dartmouth-bound runner clocked a 10:38.46 to knock off 19 seconds from the meet’s previous best. Bishop Feehan junior Abby McNulty finished second (11:02.27).
“She is not only our most talented athlete, but also the hardest-working athlete I’ve ever coached,” David Jewett said.
The same duo flipped positions in the mile. McNulty finished in 5:00.92, barely ahead of McConville (personal-best 5:01.14).
“That was one of the best races I’ve ever seen, her and McNulty, in all my years of coaching,” David Jewett said.
Hingham picked up additional second-place finishes in the 600 by Morgan Sullivan (1:38.88) and 1,000 by Julia Noble (3:01.39). Sierra Irvin scored points by coming in third in the 300 (42.05).