In the most competitive Invitational meet in Massachusetts, the Newton South girls track team scored an impressive victory, scoring 120 points to second-place Reading's 54.
Junior Bridget Dahlberg set the school and meet records, leading a sweep of the 2-mile in 10 minutes, 46.72 seconds, a six-second personal record. Classmate Kelsey Karys followed in second (10:53.34), while sophomore Madeleine Reed was third (11:17.2; 25-second PR). Nalis Mbianda won the javelin (PR 116-9) and shot put (34-8«), while sophomore Ezra Banks was second in the 100 (PR 12.96) and third in the triple jump (35-6†; 7-inch PR) in addition to running the lead leg of the second-place 4x100 relay. Katie Sandson, Azeezah Gray and Candace Bailey followed Banks, clocking a time 50.13. Bailey also won the long jump (17-0) and was seventh in the 200 (27.13).
The 4x800 team of Juliet Ryan-Davis, Julia Frieze, Kathy O'Keefe and Dahlberg placed second (8:51.65), as did O'Keefe (mile, PR 5:13.61) and Diana Braver (800, 2:21.34) in their events. Christie Lee took third in the long jump (16-7†; 10-inch PR), Andrea Braver was fourth in the 400 (PR 61.46), Sandson was fifth in the 100 (PR 13.60), Frieze was fifth in the 800 (2:24.8), Melanie Fineman was fifth in the mile (5:21.75) and the 4x400 of Dani Pensack, Andrea Braver, Emily Epstein and Diana Braver was fifth (4:12.51). Pensack finished sixth in the 400 (62.56), Elisabeth Jeyaraj was sixth in the shot put (32-9) and Gray was seventh in the high hurdles (17.36).
The undefeated Lions look to wrap up the Dual County League regular-season title with a win at Lincoln-Sudbury Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Boys Tennis
Hollender moves on to quarters
As she has the past two seasons on her home court at Newton South High, Lion junior Lauren Hollender advanced to the quarterfinals of the North section of the State Individual tennis tournament thanks to three wins yesterday.
The Lion doubles tandem of Marissa Mamon and Stacey Eisenberg also won thre matches to move on to next weekend's quarterfinals, which will begin Saturday at Lexington High (9 a.m.).
Hollender first beat Emma McGowan of Melrose, 6-0 6-0, then defeated Bridget Schelzi of Concord, 6-1 6-2, before taking down Shannon Murphy of Hopkinton, 6-2 6-1. Mamon and Eisenberg, having received a bye, had to win two matches yesterday, defeating Sara Gavin and Julie Frank of Melrose, 6-1, 6-2, and Masconomet's Heather Nelson and Kerri Dunn, 6-0, 6-4.
``Lauren had to demonstrate great patience because none of her opponents hit with much pace,'' said South coach Bob Jampol. ``Thus, she got lots of practice attacking midcourt balls and trying to put them away. And Marissa and Stacey were virtually the only team all Sunday to play in parallel and to consistently and aggressively attack the ball.''
Sophomore Mika Braginsky fell just shy of the second weekend, winning two matches before falling to fifth seed Suzana Deronjic of Melrose in a tough 7-5, 6-4 match. First, she defeated Rebecca Minton of Arlington, 6-0, 6-2, before beating Colleen West of Hopkinton, 6-0, 7-6 (5)
Jilli Schwartz defeated Vanessa Poirier of Bishop Fenwick in impressive style, 6-1, 6-1, before falling to Lauren Davis of Gloucester, 6-2, 6-2.
The Lions host Bedford today and Westford Academy tomorrow, both at 4 p.m.
Boys Tennis
Kofman/Albert tandem advance
Mike Kofman and Julian Albert, South's No. 1 doubles team, advanced to the second weekend of the state tournament doubles competition yesterday, beating a team from Arlington, their second round against the No. 1 Lexington doubles team (6-3, 6-4) and their third round against the No. 1 doubles team from Acton-Boxboro, 6-2, 6-2.
In the singles competition, South's top player Alex Fromson, the seventh seed, had a bye the first round before defeating Jeff Davis of Winchester, 7-6, 6-2, in the second round. Fromson then beat Andy Dougherty of Dover-Sherborn, 6-2, 7-6, in the third round before losing to No. 2 seed Cameron Ghorbani, 6-1, 6-2, in the fourth round.
South's Alex Man lost in the first round to Andy Dougherty of Dover-Sherborn 6-3, 6-1, while fellow Lion Tyler Epstein lost to Christian Heaney-Secord of Westwood, 6-3, 6-2.
Girls Lacrosse
South 11, Waltham 10
Facing an 8-3 deficit at halftime, the South girls lacrosse team stormed back in the second half to claim an 11-10 win over Waltham High at Winkler Stadium Saturday afternoon.
After dropping a 15-7 decision to the Hawks at Harding Field last month, the Hawks gained a home-and-home split with their future Dual County League rivals. Jesse Leuchtenburg had four goals and an assist, while Angela Xu and Natalie Starkey each had two goals and an assist. Karina Berenbaum added two goals, Laura Crowe had a goal and an assist and Alicia Jacobson added an assist.
Defensively, Jacobson had three turnovers and intercepted five clears, keeping the ball on offense, while Katie Wan turned in strong work in the midfield, helped the Lions cause turnovers and get possession off the draw.
Leuchtenburg was great at center with five draw controls and three interceptions, while Julia Lewis and Estie Martin each had two turnovers. Laura Glick saved 14 of 24 shots in net.
