Newton South's track and field program has a lot to be proud of this season. With a combined 15-1 record, both the boys and girls teams have put together an outstanding run.
The South boys finished the dual-meet campaign undefeated at 8-0 with a sweep of yesterday's season finale at Weston. South took the meet, 101-44, over Weston and raced to an 88-57 victory over Wayland.
In his third year of coaching South track and field, and first as head coach for outdoor track, Matt Capstick is very proud of what his team has accomplished this season.
``The team's been awesome this year,'' said Capstick after the meet. ``We haven't had a well-balanced team like this in a few years. They came together and basically we have the solid guys in every event but we also have depth in every event, which is great. It's awesome to see everybody come together. An 8-0 season is pretty incredible.''
The Lions had a very successful day to say the least. In the 300 hurdles, senior Brad Pruente finished first against Weston and second against Wayland with a time of 41 seconds. In the 2-mile run, South went 1-2-3 as senior Sam Donovan placed first with a 10:16 run. Sophomore John Beck finished second with a time of 10:25, and sophomore Ben Finch was third at 10:48.
Sophomore Senyo Agawu finished first in both meets in the 200 meters in 23.3 seconds. In the 400 meters, junior Gerald Arneaud placed first in both meets in 51.4 seconds. The Lions tied down the top three spots in the mile as well with sophomore Andrew Wortham getting first place in 4:47.4. Sophomore Cameron Fen finished second in 4:48.2 and junior Cliff Bargar placed third in 4:49.2.
Junior James Huth ran the 100 meters in 11.4 seconds to finish first against Wayland and second against Weston. The Lions finished first in both the 4x100 (46.3 seconds) and the 4x400 (3:31.2) relays. Pruente placed first in the high jump reaching 5 feet, 8 inches. In the pole vault, freshman Ross McDonald cleared 11 feet to clinch the No. 1 spot against Wayland and second against Weston.
McDonald also got first in the long jump at 20-2, while senior Boye Akinwande finished first with a jump of 42-9. Senior captain Joe Treff took first in the shot put at 40-8. Junior Joe Needleman finished first vs. Weston and second against Wakefield with a throw of 111-8.
The Lions are very much excited about their regular season success, but are even more excited about their shot of taking first at the Dual County League Championships, which will be held Wednesday.
``So far it's very exciting and I'm very excited about what's to come,'' said Capstick. ``Certainly our job is not done and I'm looking forward to next Wednesday.
Finishing the season 8-0 is definitely a conference booster for our guys. We've got next Wednesday that we're shooting for, so the job's not done yet.''
Pruente, who runs high hurdles, 300 hurdles, and does the high and long jump, is very proud of what he and his teammates have accomplished as well.
``We're going to start peaking now so by next Wednesday I'll be looking to set some personal records and win some events in the DCL,'' said Pruente. ``I'm going for the high jump school record of 6-4. I'm pretty confident I can get that. Our team is unbelievable. We have so many underclassmen that have been working real hard and you don't need to tell anyone to do the work. Everyone will do their workouts all-out and then do their lifts. It's great.''
Donovan, who runs distance races, is also excited about his team and its success.
``I think our team just bonds really well,'' said Donovan, who will be running track and cross country for Brandeis in the fall.
``We have focus, we know what we need to do and we have fun. It feels great to be 8-0. I've been working for this for four years and it's finally come around so I'm so happy.
``It's a feeling you can't explain,'' he added. ``It's great. It's good to come out like this in the end, especially your last year in high school.''
The South girls team is having a stellar season as well.
With only one loss coming against indoor state champion Lincoln-Sudbury, the Lions finish the regular season at 7-1 after a 114-29 victory over Weston and a 92-53 triumph over Wayland.
The South girls qualified for state in the 4x100 in a time of 52.9. In the 300 hurdles, freshman Mary Kate Cronin finished first against Weston with a personal record time of 52.9 seconds. In the 2-mile run, senior Emma Rudie finished first in both meets with a season-best time of 11:52.6.
In the 800, sophomore Bridget Dahlberg finished first overall in 2:15.6 - a school record. Dahlberg now holds a total of seven school records.
Freshman Pebbles Banks won the 200 meters with a personal best time of 26.9 seconds, while Cronin took first place against Weston in the 100 hurdles in 19 seconds and junior Julia Frieze finished first against Weston in the 400 in 53.2.
Sophomore Kelsey Karys took first overall in the mile with a time of 5:25.1. In the 100, junior Candace Bailey took first with a personal record and DCL season-best time of 12.4 seconds.
In the high jump, junior Diana Braver leapt to the number one spot with a season-best jump of 5 feet. Freshman Cora Visnick cleared 7-6 in the pole vault to finish first overall, while Bailey swept the competition as well in the long jump with 16-10« inches.
Junior Elisabeth Jeyaraj took first overall for South in the shot put competition, throwing a distance of 30-7. Junior Hillary Bloom took first place against Weston in the discus with a personal record 79-8, while sophomore Nalis Mbianda finished first against Weston in the javelin at 108-3.
McChesney also had plenty of reason to enjoy the day.
``I was really pleased,'' said McChesney of the girls performance. ``I really respect the two programs we went against today. We were trying to make a last push and get ready for the state at the same time. Every facet seemed to be clicking and we were looking like a complete team today.
``We're completing the regular season as best as we possibly could,'' added McChesney. ``The performances we had today looks like we could be in the position to possibly win the league championship and a medal at the state level.''
Both teams will be heading to Andover High School for the Andover Invitational Saturday at 9:30 a.m. The DCL Championships are Wednesday at Weston High at 3 p.m.
