Robinson Gaps the Field

Rebecca Robinson knew exactly how she felt on Friday.

"I'm happy," she said.

The Arlington High sophomore sprinter, Robinson, had reason to be. She had just won the 200-meter dash at the Eastern Massachusetts Division II Track and Field Championships at Cawley Stadium in Lowell in a personal-best time of 24.92 seconds. She had gapped the field by an astonishing .58 seconds and would run faster than anyone at the Division I meet in Somerville.

Robinson's time should make her the favorite to win the state title next week, but she said she's never content, even after a great race.

"I always try to go faster, try to go faster," she said.

The top four competitors in each event from each Division across the state, along with the next 15 best performances overall, will face off at the All-State Meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 5, at Westfield State College to determine the state champions.

In the team competition, Robinson's first gave the girls' team a 17^th place finish, tied with Norwood High and Monument High in South Boston. Mansfield High won the girls' meet with 86 points, while Central Catholic in Lawrence, 71 points, took home the boys' crown.

Later in the meet, Robinson anchored the 4x400-meter relay team, which finished seventh in 4:09.78. She got the baton in third place in her heat but ended up winning it with a blistering 57-second split. Teammates Hannah Struever, Sarah Cassidy and Kate Taylor, all underclassmen, put her in position for the heat victory.

Struever, a sophomore, and Cassidy, a freshman, finished 13^th and 15^th in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, respectively.

Sophomore Megan Hourican tied for eighth in the high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 10 inches. Senior Amanda Granato finished 19^th in the discus.

On the boys' side, senior distance-standout Antony Taylor, coming off an injury, finished eighth in the mile in 4:34.86.

Sophomore Quentin Stipp was 13^th in the 2-mile, and senior David Simard was 15^th in the high jump.