Sports
Poli Leads TMHS Boys Track Team To First Win
Poli's big day leads Tewksbury to a 60.5-25.5 win over Lawrence; Tewksbury girls also win big, 69-17.
It took two solid months of tinkering and fine tuning, but coach Bill Meuse's finally came out running on all cylinders Thursday, and the result was the team's first dual meet victory of the season, 60.5-25.5 over Lawrence.
"I'm just happy for the kids, they've been running hard all season and it paid off today," said Meuse after recording his first career victory as Tewksbury's head coach. "They've been competing every time out, it just hasn't been the right match-up. But we got it done today."
Tewksbury got in both the high jump and the 50-yard hurdles, contributed an unexpected eight points by finishing first and second in the 300 meters. Jacobs and Hartnett both ran personal bests while Poli topped his previous best effort in the high jump by six inches (winning at 5-feet, 6-inches). Poli also had a PR in the hurdles finishing second in 7.4 seconds.
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"The 300 was huge, getting 1-2 there," Meuse said. "Zach Jacobs and Ryan Hartnett are two kids who work hard all the time. They've been paying their dues and it's starting to show.
"Poli had a coming out party today," Meuse added. "He cleared 5-foot-6 in the high jump and ran his best time ever in the hurdles. He's going to be a force to be reckoned with if he keeps it going."
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Sophomore Eddie Matovu got Tewksbury off to a strong start by winning the 55-yard hurdles in 6.8 seconds, with Poli taking second.
Lawrence responded with a sweep in the 50-yard dash but senior distance specialist Brendan Blair answered by leading a 1-2-3 sweep in the two-mile. Blair took his first-ever varsity two-mile victory in 10:54.6 followed by Tim Conklin in second and sophomore Anthony Darrigo in third. Darrigo's bronze represented his first career varsity points. All three Tewksbury athletes ran personal bests.
Tewksbury's ever-dependable shot put crew widened the TMHS lead with a sweep in that event. John Fiorello grabbed his fourth victory in five meets with a winning toss of 43-feet, 11.5 inches. Christian Taylor took second and sophomore Steve DeFrancesco was third with a personal best 42-feet, 2-inches.
Things looked good for Tewksbury after five events, but the 300 and 600 meter runs have been Tewksbury's downfall this season, and Meuse was apprehensive as those two races approached. Thanks to Jacobs and Hartnett in the 300, and CJ Sutherland (second) and Tim Martel (third) in the 600, Meuse's worries were over.
The Redmen sealed their victory with strong showings in the 1000 and the mile. Kip Horahan took first in the 1000 and Brian Amaral led a sweep in the mile. Freshman Mike Famiglietti and sophomore Joe Darrigo (personal best, first varsity points) were second and third in that event.
"It was a good day," Meuse said. "These kids have been working hard. They deserved this. We had 11 personal bests today, which says a lot about how hard these kids competed."
TMHS GIRLS ROMP OVER LAWRENCE, 60-17.
The Tewksbury High girls track team improved its record to 3-3 in dual meets with a convincing win over Lawrence.
Tewksbury swept the first three races of the day to jump out to a 27-0 lead and never looked back. Sophomore Kelly Quigley started things off by qualifying for the state meet while winning the 50-yard hurdles in a personal best 7.6 seconds. Ashley Callahan took second and Cassidy Russell was third, each running personal bests.
in the 50-yard dash, leading a TMHS sweep in that event with a wining time of 6.6 seconds. Paige Winn and Kelsie Bradley were second and third.
in the two-mile, winning the race in a personal best 13:38.8, knocking 14 seconds of her previous PR. McCabe ran away from the rest of the field and won the race by 22 seconds. Grace Canavan and Sam McGouldrick took second and third for TMHS.
Freshman Alyssa Zurowski won the high jump for the third time this season, matching her personal best at 4-feet, 8-inches. Quigley and Jess Amedee finished in a four-way tie for second.
Sophomore Amanda Schiavone got her first varsity points taking second in the 300, and junior Rebecca Davies was victorious in the 600 meter run with a winning time of 1:51.2. Allison Giles took third.
Sophomore Olivia Boudreau took second in the 1000 with Hannah Kuegler (first varsity points) in third. Sophomore Rachel Eatherton ran another strong race in the mile, winning the race by over six seconds in 6:12.1. Courtney Graffeo (personal best 6:18) and Caitlyn Leary took second and third for Tewksbury.
Senior Lisetta Jacintho won the shot put for the fifth time in six dual meets with a winning throw of 34-feet, 9-inches. Matilda Matovu took second.
Tewksbury's relay team of Jackie Giasullo, Canavan, McGouldrick and McCabe took first in the final event, as Tewksbury won by its biggest margin of the year. The Tewksbury coaching staff was able to rest superstars Jess Bridle and Sarah Hogan (for the upcoming league and state meets) and still come away with an impressive win.
"We've been talking to the kids about how they were primed to break out today and to a kid, they did," said TMHS head coach Peter Molloy. "It's not the fact that we won that I'm happy about. It's the fact that we PR'd in just about every event. That's what I'm proud of the most."
Both the boys and girls teams have wrapped up the dual meet portion of the 2011-2012 schedule and will compete at the Merrimack Valley Conference championships on Friday, Feb. 10 at the Reggie Lewis Center at Northeastern University in Boston.
