Monday, February 20, 2012

Steven's report on the D1 state meet

from Steven:

Going into the Division I State meet I felt good as a coach getting 9 individuals and all three relays qualified.  As a young team we have made some big strides and have matured a good deal to get to this point.  

As a strategy I wanted to establish that we would be competitive in all three relays both as a reward to our senior team leaders and also because we will return most of our kids in the relays next year and will look to improve on what we have built this year.   We scratched both Mary and Kyra in the dash, Hannah in the 600 and Lucrecia, Emily and Alekhya in the mile for the relays.

Next year we return a great deal of our team on relays and if we grow as much as we did this year thanks to the leadership we could place well.   Hannah Friedman did a great job of providing leadership in both the 4 x 400 and the 4 x 800 and we set team PRs in both events.   Mary Testa took a lot of pride in leading our 4 x 200 and we have now set our team PR by 4 tenths of a second following a 5 tenths of a second PR in the DCL.  That is almost a full second off of our 4 x 200 PR in the past two meets.  We have run 3- 9th graders and 8 sophomores on varsity scoring relays this season so our future looks bright in that area.

We had a nice day across the board. We had 4 girls qualify for the Division championship in the mile and I had planned to run 3 of them while keeping Alekhya Chaparala fresh for the 4 x 800. We ended up running only Anna Rhatigan and she ran just a couple of ticks off of her PR in the mile placing 10th in 5:29.51.  I have noticed that she runs the relay often better coming off of another race so doubling is not an issue for her.  She then ran a thrilling lead of leg in the 4 x 800 in a 3 second PR of 2:21.9.  Anna will not run the mile in All State and I kidded her that I would try to find a race for her in the parking lot prior to her 4 x 800 as she doubles so well.  She was to run the mile with both Lucrecia Aguilar and Emily Caggiano, but Lucrecia who has done such a great job of rebounding from a long illness to post a PR of 5:21 going into this meet had a fever over the weekend.  She really wanted to race and I am sure she would have if I told her to do so.  But she has had such a stellar rebound from lengthy illness and I want her next race to be fully healthy so I scratched her from the mile and the 4 x 800.  Emily Caggiano was now activated in the 4 x 800 to replace Lucrecia so I took her out of the mile to keep her fresh for that relay and also as an alternate for the 4 x 400.  

In the 4 x 800 Anna  followed her race plan to perfection and ran in the 2nd position the entire way and kicked us into 1st coming off of the final turn.  Once I saw how well Anna ran as our opening leg I felt confident that we would place well and advance to All State.   We had noted in our race plan talk that several of the better teams were running some of their better racers on the 2nd and 3rd legs according to the orders listed in the heat sheets so we told Hannah Friedman and Emily Caggiano to pick the right pace in the middle legs and hold steady.  Both did an outstanding job of that.  When Alekhya Chaparala got the baton she gave no doubt that we were going to hold the 4th position in the seeded heat (Lexington ran slightly faster in the 1st heat to take 4th).  She went out like a rocket and put a lot of ground between us and the pursuing teams.
Her first split was 31 followed by a 64 split at the 400.   She did an awesome job of holding on after going out so fast and sealed the deal for us despite getting knocked into and slowed by an official who had stepped on the track in her way trying to move high jump mats with 150 meters to go and that is a crucial point in the race and not a place to have your momentum stalled.  She did a great job of finishing and is a true anchor.   Joe Tranchita came up to me after the meet and told me he was so impressed with Alkehya and how good she looks racing.  He called her the real deal and that was very nice to hear from Joe. 

Kyra Visnick had a great day placing 8th in the long jump just 1.25 inches off of her PR and then gave us a lead in our heat of the 4 x 200.   Lizzie Fineman ran a great 2nd leg and maintained the lead.  Ester Cho a sophomore did not start the season on this relay, but her improvement during the course of the year has been such that she has become a fixture on this relay for us.  She ran the best leg of her improved season and she had to lunge to make the hand off to Mary Testa.  Mary got such a great get off on her leg that Ester had to really reach to make the hand off and then she went diving to the track.  Their hand off was solid, but left no room for error.  Ester got some scrapes, but was in good spirits due to the team PR.  I love working with this relay.   We have had to adjust legs all season due to illness and bumps, but when they come to practice they are very focused right down to our two 9th grade alternates.  It was a good way to end our season with another PR.  Mary could see the time as she finished and a huge smile and a very small hand pump showed that she was proud of her 4 x 200 girls.  We placed 13th and we bettered our seed by 3 places.

We were down a few of our young kids in the 4 x 400 so Hannah Friedman, Emily Caggiano and Lizzie Fineman did extra duty coming back to the 4 x 400 after the 4 x 800 and 4 x 200 respectively.   Our team of Hannah, Emily, Sophia Cen and Lizzie did a great job on little rest besting our seed time by 4 seconds.   As a team we really wanted to complete all three relays and Sophia has worked so hard to earn her way into this meet and I felt it was important for her to get her chance.  Lizzie had to run very tired on little rest, but she had a lot of courage to pull off her leg.  This is a relay that has a lot of potential for growth in the next few years and we set the ground work for the future.

Anna Laurence has held down the 2 mile all season long and our 3-1 DCL season record is in large part due to her leadership.  She ran a very solid race and led the pack at times in her heat.  She was still near her season best with 800 to go and was giving a good effort. 

Massachusetts All State Meet


MASSACHUSETTS INTERSCHOLASTIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
27th ANNUAL ALL STATE INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS BOYS' AND GIRLS'
MIAA All State Meet Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center, Roxbury, MA Sunday, February 26, 2012 @ 1:00 PM

QUALIFIERS    FIRST THREE (3) PLACE WINNERS (DIVISIONS 1, 2, 3, 4) and the next top 12 performances in the finals - INCLUDING THE RELAYS

Unofficial qualifiers for the all state meet are:
- girls 4 x 800 meter relay; Newton South

- boys 300 meter; Youssef Elkorchi
- boys 2 mile; Allen Shiu
- boys 55 meter hurdles; Jung Park
- boys 4 x 400 meter relay; Newton South

Sunday, February 19, 2012

MA Division 1 State Meet

The MA division 1 state meet was today at Reggie Lewis Track.
Click here for full results
Click here for photos by Dave Fineman

Newton South participants from the results:
girls 1 mile
10 Anna Rhatigan 10 Newton South 5:29.51
girls 2 mile
19 Anna Laurence 12 Newton South 12:27.66
girls 4x200 meter relay
13 Newton South 1:51.73
1) Kyra Visnick 11 2) Elizabeth Fineman 10
3) Esther Cho 10 4) Mary Testa 12
girls 4x400 meter relay
26 Newton South 4:27.02
1) Hannah Friedman 12 2) Sophia Cen 10
3) Naomi Eisenberg 10 4) Elizabeth Fineman 10
girls 4x800 meter relay
5 Newton South 9:50.78 4 pts
1) Anna Rhatigan 10 2) Hannah Friedman 12
3) Alekhya Chaparala 10 4) Emily Caggiano 11
girls long jump
8 Kyra Visnick 11 Newton South 16-02.75 1 pts
boys 300 meter dash
7 Youssef Elkorchi 12 Newton South 36.49 2 pts
boys 600 meter run
17 Cary Potochnik 12 Newton South 1:28.52
boys 2 mile
7 Allen Shiu 10 Newton South 9:46.61 2 pts
boys 55 meter hurdles
3 Jung Park 11 Newton South 7.80 6 pts
boys 4x200 meters
24 Newton South 1:37.95
1) Jung Park 11 2) Marini Lopci 11
3) Andrew O'Hagan 12 4) Youssef Elkorchi 12
boys 4x400 meter relay
4 Newton South 3:29.12 5 pts
1) Andrew O'Hagan 12 2) Cary Potochnik 12
3) Brooks Remy 12 4) Marini Lopci 11
boys long jump
19 Youssef Elkorchi 12 Newton South 19-05.25
girls team:
23) Newton South 5 pts
boys team:
11) Newton South 15 pts

Special congratulations to Newton North taking 1st place team with 66 points and the boys 2nd place with 40 points
It's also hard to miss Newton North junior superstar Carla Forbes winning the 55 meter dash in 7:21 and the long jump with a new div 1 record of 19' - 9"! 
DCL teams also did very well with LS taking 2nd for the girls and AB taking 3rd for the girls and AB boys winning with 45 points. LS boys were 6th with 24 points. 

Sunday, February 12, 2012

DCL Championships at Reggie Lewis

The DCL Championships were held at Reggie Lewis Track on Saturday 11 Feb.
Click here for full results
Click here for photos by Dave Fineman
Click here for photos by George
From lack of sleep I used the wrong settings. The dash, hurdles and relays came out OK. Sorry for all those I missed.
NSHS DCL individual champions:
boys 300 meters: 1. Youssef Elkorchi SR, 35.99
boys 2 mile: 1. Allen Shiu SO, 9:43.87
boys shot put: 1. Ryan Kim SO, 48' - 1"
boys 4 x 400 meter relay: NSHS, 3:32.60
From DCL Indoor Championships

Friday, February 10, 2012

DCL league meet Saturday, 11 Feb, Reggie Lewis, 12 - 3

A little nothing snow tomorrow shouldn't hold up the DCL league meet at Reggie Lewis from 12 to 3 - but since we've had so little it might seem like a lot. I'll be there with camera.

Monday, February 6, 2012

Steven's report on the girls team for AB and last chance meets

report from Steven:

We had a super weekend  with a victory over Acton-Boxborough on Friday and a great showing at the MSTCA Last Chance meet on Sunday.  Over the two days we had 25 varsity season bests which is a great sign this late in the season and going into the championship meets.  As a coach I have learned to set goals and expectations that are reasonable for each new season and I am not afraid to think big.  Our girls have overcome a lot of challenges such as illness and a few injuries and have exceeded my expectations this season and that does not happen often.  This team has become what I hoped it could and I am proud of each and every girl.

We defeated Acton-Boxborough 57 - 43 to give us a 3-1 DCL Large School season record with our only loss coming to LS.  Acton-Boxborough was missing some key girls and they were short handed, but that did not distract from our efforts. Our improvement over this seasons has been stellar and we have gone from a young team with little returning experience into a very competitive team.  Our kids have improved in all events across the board and our depth is now a strong point compared to starting the season with so many question marks.  

 Highlights in the NS vs AB meet:
Kathleen Garrity scored points in the high jump with a PR and she placed 3rd in the 55 hurdles.  Mary Testa and Kyra Visnick tying in the dash was huge boost.  Kyra Visnick has improved her start and she joins Mary Teasta as one of the faster 55 runners in the DCL.  Hannah Friedman moved down to win the 600 and Sonya Nair took 3rd in that event.  We had a great  effort in the long jump with Mary and Kyra going 1-2 in their 2nd event and both were over 15 feet.. Our distance kids continue to improve to the point of being good state level athletes.  Alehkya had a nice PR in the 1000 and Anna R. and Anna L. went 1-2 in the two mile and Leda Olia got the 3rd place point.  Lucrecia and Emily ran 1-2 in the mile.

During both days of this weekend we moved a lot kids around in both meets to try new events to gain experience in possible future events and to allow them to have a mental break from the events they will compete in during the championship run.  In the MSTCA Last Chance meet Alekhya Chaparal took to the mile like she was made for it thanks to the pacing of Lucrecia Aguilar who has come off of 7 weeks of illness and little training to post mile PRs in 5:21.  That is an amazing pair of marks when you consider Lucrecia's illness and that it was the mile debut for Alekhya.  Both set PRs on both Friday and Sunday.  Hannah Friedman moving down to the 600 on Friday was a good find as she ran a very fast state mark and she came back and set a mile PR on Sunday.   

I think one of the highlights of the weekend was our 4 x 400 on Sunday in which we qualified for the State Division I Championship running three 9th graders and a sophomore.  I called this relay our 4 x young and they ran great making states in 4:34.04.  That team was Caroline Delheim 9, Julia Lee 9, Sophia Cen 10, Sonya Nair 9.   Jonee Harrison continues to put well in the shot put. with a PR.

Marks from the AB Meet.   Place / Name / Grade / Mark  PR = Personal Record  SB = Season Best

55  Tie 1. Mary Testa 12    7.68 (one hundreth of a second off of her best)  1. Kyra Visnick 11   7.68 PR  
Also Katherine Cullen 9  8.11

55 Hurdles  2. Kathleen Garrity 12    10.78   Ester Cho  10    10.84 PR

300  Yuriko Fukumura 9   49.50 PR

600  1. Hannah Friedman 12     1:44.54 PR  3.  Sonya Nair 9   1:50.26 PR   4. Julia Lee 9   1:51.37 PR

1000 1. Alekhya Chaparala  10  3:13.24 PR   3. Naomi Eisenberg 10 3:22.46 PR  
Also Yasime Hashemi  10  3:30.93   Leah Abercrombie  11  3:39.07 PR

Mile  1. Lucrecia Aguilar  10  5:29.58  PR   2.  Emily Caggiano  11 5:44.81  
Also Sarah Moskowitz  9  5:57.83  PR  Laura Cotter  6:10.80 PR  Sara Wang  6:14.33

2 Mile  1.  Anna Rhatigan 10  12:06.66   2. Anna Laurence  12  12:30:52   3. Leda Olia  10  13:04.04 PR

4 x 400   1. Alekhya Chaparala 10  63.90,  Hannah Friedman 12  64.24,  Sonya Nair 9  67.09  Lizzie Fineman 10   64.26     4:19.87 PR

4 x 200 Did not Race

High Jump:   3. Kathleen Garrity 12    4’4” PR

Long Jump  1. Kyra Visnick  11  15’11.5”   2. Mary Testa 12  15’2.75”

Shot Put  1. Jonee Harrison 11  28’11.5”

Varsity Level Results Last Chance Meet:

600 Sonya Nair 9   1:50.03  PR     Julia Lee  9  1:53.40

1000   3. Anna Rhatigan  3:09.03 PR     Sarah Moskowitz 9   3:25.20 PR
Laura Cotter  10  3:33.50 PR

Mile  4. Lucrecia Aguilar  10   5:21.26 PR  
5. Alekhya Chaparala 10   5:21.56 PR
Emily Caggiano 11   5:37.18 SB    Anna Laurence 12    5:42.02 SB
Naomi Eisenberg 10  5:45.03 PR   Hannah Friedman 12 5:48.19 PR

Five our girls were in the fastest heat together and our girls heard a lot of talk about our team depth in that event.  In the past we have been called things like a mile factory and this group of kids enjoyed strength in numbers in this event.

Shot Put   6. Jonee Harrison  30’4”  PR

Jonee has had some big throws in practice and that is starting to show in meets now.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

NS v AB dual meet at Reggie Lewis

Newton South ran against Acton-Boxboro last Friday.
Click here for photos by Dave Fineman
The results are not posted on coolrunning.