Going out in style

The Waltham girls could not have scripted their final Greater Boston League Outdoor Track & Field Championships any better.

Trailing by four points heading into the final event - the 4x800 relay - the Hawks not only finished first in the race, but looked on as Somerville placed fourth, giving them a dramatic 128-126 victory yesterday afternoon.

Senior captain Jessie Booher-Hendrick fittingly ran the last leg and was quickly swarmed by her teammates, who later ran a victory lap together around their home track to celebrate the victory.

``It all worked out great,'' said coach Francois Joseph. ``As a captain who's done it for me forever, it was a great way to send (Booher-Hendrick) out.''

Although Waltham's roster consists primarily of talented freshmen and sophomores, Joseph attributed the team's undefeated season and first GBL title in his seven-year tenure to his seniors.

``These seniors have run indoor and outdoor with me for the past four years and this was all very well-deserved,'' Joseph said. ``It was also good for the underclassmen to experience this and hopefully it will motivate them to work even harder as we move into a difficult league (Dual County League) next year.''

Given how well the underclassmen performed, the future certainly looks bright.

Freshman Kara Walsh won the 800 meters with a personal record of 2 minutes, 26.79 seconds, freshman Ivy Watts took first in the 400 meters (61.09 seconds) and freshman Erika Shay (48.75 seconds) captured the 300-meter hurdles.

In addition, freshman Nadja Kern and junior Stephanie Ducas finished second and third, respectively, in the 2-mile, and sophomore Sabrina Zottola came in second in the triple jump, while sophomore Paula Le placed third in the 400-meters and freshman Alysa Gladman finished third in the 300-meter hurdles.

Still, in a meet where every point mattered, the Hawks would not have prevailed without their seniors. Trisha Vasquezi and Courtney Keefe took second and fourth, respectively, in the 100-meter hurdles and Booher-Hendrick finished second in the mile (5:55.80).

And, of course, Booher-Hendrick anchored the 4x800 team that clinched the championship. She was joined by Walsh, Kern and junior Crystal Phillippeaux.

On the boys' side, Waltham finished second behind Somerville (155-91) and like Joseph, coach Dan Keohane had high praise for his senior class.

``The seniors have given us great leadership,'' Keohane said. ``We lost a lot last year and these guys stepped up. To only lose three times in four years is quite the accomplishment.''

Keohane added that the field events carried the Hawks, just as they had done all season.

Janis Wollenweber won the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches), Mike Doucet captured the shot put with a throw of 43-11, Dan Maynes took first in the discus (126-7) and Nico Zayas cruised to a victory in the javelin with a PR of 150-1. Dion Watts and Jean Leger placed second and fourth, respectively, in the triple jump and Jeremy Grossman-Greene took third in the 110-meter hurdles.

Wollenweber also placed second in the 800 meters with a PR of 2:03.36 and helped lead the Hawks to a third-place finish in the 4x400 relay.

``I think everybody did a great job pushing themselves today,'' said Wollenweber, a foreign-exchange student who is set to return to Germany on June 24. ``I had a great time here, the sports were amazing and I know I will have to continue to work hard when I go home.''

With Waltham moving on to the Dual County League next fall, it certainly went out of the GBL in style.