Natick’s goal was to break the 4:10 barrier.
But when sophomore Nikki Frail crossed the finish line in the sprint medley relay at the MSTCA Division 1 Relays in Braintree, the Redhawks realized they had done much more.
The team of seniors Grace Connolly and Abby Gerdes, junior Kylie Langan, and Krail won the race in a meet-record time of 4:06.36.
“Our was goal to just get under 4:10,” said Langan, who ran the second leg in the relay. Langan also ran in the winning 4x100-meter relay (50.83) and the 4x200 (fifth, 1:47.67).
The sprint medley relay victory was key in Natick’s run to the girls’ team title. The Redhawks 54 points edged Andover (50) and Newton North (47).
Natick followed up its sprint medley victory with a win in the distance medey relay, posting a time of 12:09.23, more than 37 seconds faster than Cambridge (12:46.58).
The Redhawks also placed third in the 4x1600 (22:28.65). Their depth across several events played a pivotal role in the team’s title.
“We had the supporting cast step up big time,” girls’ coach Mike Russo said.
It was a close contest for the boys, too. Lowell (55 points) prevailed over Newton North (47), Acton-Boxborough (46), and St. John’s Prep (46).
Lowell recorded victories in the discus (404 feet, 2 inches), triple jump (129-7½), and long jump (64-8¾). Senior Ben Kyeremeh threw 168 feet in the discus, senior David Ajama reached 45 feet in the triple jump, and junior Richmond Kwaateng long jumped 22-8 and was on the 4x100 squad.
The Raiders placed second in the 4x100 (42.72) and 4x100 hurdles (1:04.25). Lawrence set the meet record in the hurdles, hitting a time of 42.14.
“It’s funny, we go to these meets — people see the track events, but they don’t really see the field events. Those guys in the field events performed amazing,” Lowell head coach Dave Casey said.
Lowell avoided any poor field conditions, as the boys competed in the field events before the rain began in the early afternoon.
MSTCA Division 4 Relays — The East Bridgewater boys’ team and Amesbury girls’ team took home titles for the second straight year in a meet held at Apponequet High School.
Finishing with 54 points, East Bridgewater topped Dover-Sherborn (47) and Triton (42). A first-place finish in the long jump (56-7½) spurred the Vikings to victory, aided by top-five finishes in nine of the 15 events.
Amesbury (62 points) finished ahead of Triton (49) and Weston (42). Amesbury took first place in five events, including a thrilling win by one hundredth of a second in the 4x100-meter relay. The Indians (51.31) edged Ashland (51.32). They also won the 4x200 (1:46.86) and 4x400 (4:11.12) relays.
Baseball
Bishop Fenwick 13, Essex Tech 2 — Senior Angelo McCullough went 3 for 3 with three runs scored and two RBIs, while senior Keegan O'Connor had three hits in four trips to the plate with two runs and two RBIs for the Crusaders.
Brookline 11, Latin Academy 4 — Senior Charlie Brown struck out six in six innings to earn the win the for the Warriors (3-5).
Swampscott 7, Snowden 6 — Junior Tyler Marshall pitched 4.2 innings and freshman Pierce Freedman finished the game to get the save for the Big Blue (2-3).
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