Poulin, Lanois And Girls 4x800 Relay Team Move On To New England Meet

By the time the All State Track & Field Championships roll around, it is no longer about finishing in first place.

Against stiffer competition and usually very little chance of the team scoring enough points to be crowned champion, it comes down to setting personal bests and doing well enough to extend the season by qualifying for the New England Championships meet.

Two athletes and one relay team did just that with season-best performances at the June 4 meet at Bridgewater State University. All qualified for this weekend’s New Englands in Burlington, Vt.

Leading the way was the girls 4x800 meter relay team. Fresh off , the foursome of junior Kerry Phelan, sophomore Meg Blatchford, senior Alison Lanois and junior Emily Senning bettered their mark by six seconds, setting a new school record with at 9:32.18, good for second place. The winning time was 9:16.11 by Lincoln-Sudbury.

Coach Steve Sawyer said he wasn’t shocked with the time. He explained that when they set the mark the previous week they had many factors against them: heat, running early in the day, and most of the relay team only running in that one event.

“I wasn’t surprised,” he said. “They’ll be shooting for the 9:20s on Saturday and I expect them to get there.”

That wasn’t the only highlight for Lanois. She finished third in the mile – in one of the most exciting races of the meet – with a personal best 5:01.45. She not only qualified for next week’s meet – which she won’t compete, in order to concentrate on the relay – but she will be running in the event in the Nationals on June 18 in Greensboro, N.C.

She lost out on first place by a mere 1.02 seconds as the top three runners were neck-and-neck for the most of the race.

“It was a mad scramble to the finish line,” Sawyer said. “It was basically 100-meter sprint to the finish.”

Lanois had the lead in the first, third and final laps, but was out-legged at the end.

“I don’t think anyone is disappointed. To be able to run that fast against the top runners in state is a good accomplishment,” Sawyer added.

Sawyer said Lanois opted for the mile – she holds the 2-mile school record – because she was hoping to break her sister Emily’s school record.

The boys weren’t shut out at the New England meet.

Kendrick Poulin, a senior who will be joining the Marines, qualified for the upcoming meet with a personal best and seventh-place finish in the pole vault. His 13 feet, 6 inches set a personal best, 2 ½ feet behind the winner.

“I knew he had a shot at (placing),” Sawyer said. “I figured he needed 13 feet to be competitive. It was a nice jump. He competed with composure.”