Published in the Boston Globe on Feb. 18, 2013
With their coach acting as meet director, the girls from Notre Dame of Hingham wound up clinching their first MIAA Division 2 indoor track title Sunday at Reggie Lewis Center.
“It’s because I wasn’t coaching, that’s why they did so [well],” said Cougars coach Rick Kates, whose team finished with 49 points.
Marshfield (42) finished second and Winchester (41) third.
Notre Dame picked up an early 20 points with wins in the dashes. Amanda Reilly ran the 55 in 7.33 seconds for first, while Isabelle DiMare (41.64) finished comfortably ahead of Needham’s Robin Kelly (42.26) in the 300.
The two teamed up with Shauna Owens, who also placed fifth in the long jump (16 feet 1¼ inches), and Gabby Kenyon to win the 4 x 200, to create a gap in the standings. The quartet’s time of 1:45.91 broke the school record.
“I knew these girls gave me a big lead, so I kept my knees up, kept my arms going, and crossed the finish line,” Kenyon said.
In the 1,000 meters, Dracut’s Karina Shepard destroyed the meet record by three seconds, finishing at 2:55.40. In the 4 x 800, Shepard made a final lap move from midpack to shatter the meet record by seven seconds, crossing the finish line in 9:38.82.
Marshfield’s Ellen DiPietro set a personal best in the high jump, clearing 5 feet 8 inches to earn 10 points.
“I wasn’t really worried about beating [Winchester’s Carrie Abraham], I was worried about [making] it for myself,” DiPietro said.
DiPietro teamed with Olivia Gaeta, Kate Spitler, and Kelsey Sullivan to finish second, two seconds behind Mansfield (4:03.48), in the 4 x 400.
On the boys’ side, a win in the final relay, the 4 x 400, gave Reading the title.
“They showed the 4 by 4 is what we are made of,” Reading coach Hal Croft said.
With less than 10 meters to go, Marshfield attempted to steal the race, but the Rockets’ JD Greenfield nosed ahead, crossing the line at 3:27.68.
“Knowing the win was on the line, it makes running the anchor leg of the 4 by 400 a lot easier, because I just need to finish,” he said.
The Rockets picked up another first place by Greenfield in the 600 (1:23.79) for 10 of their final 49 points. But they got off to a perfect start, winning the day’s first event — the 55-meter hurdles — with a 7.81 from Ryan Maney.
“That was the plan, it’s the way to start a meet,” Croft said.
The 4 x 200 team of Robert Federico, Maney, Dorian Johnson, and Aaron LeLacheur finished third behind Woburn (1:31.99) and Dartmouth (1:33.21).
Chicopee’s Alex Niemiec pulled off a remarkable double. In the long jump, he set the state record with a leap of 23 feet 4¾ inches. And in the high jump, he cleared 6-4 for the win. He had officials raise the bar to 6-9, but was unsuccessful.