It is impressive for any school to be able to send one stellar athlete in track and field to the New England Championship, which requires athletes to finish within the top six of their event. This year Walpole was able to send two, one boy and one girl. On Friday, March 2, Walpole’s sophomore Gina Conti and junior Connor McCarthy went to the Reggie Lewis Center to run their races.
In her first trip to the New England Championship, Conti was ranked tenth with a time of 3:01:30. However, she did not get a PR, as she narrowly came up short with a time of 3:02.11. Conti said, “Even though it wasn’t a PR, a 3:02 wasn’t bad, only a second off my best. I’m still happy with this time, and I still have room to improve over my next two years.” The top six girls received medals and were all under three minutes, from 2:59.08 to the winning time of 2:50.11.
McCarthy, also on his first time to the New England Championship, ran the 55m hurdles. He was seeded seventh with a time of 7.81. In the preliminary round, McCarthy placed sixth with a time of 7.89 and moved on to the finals with seven others including Liam Cross of Falmouth. Cross had been competing against McCarthy for the last three weeks at states, all-states, and now the New England Championship. Cross placed first overall and again beat McCarthy who got a time of 7.98. McCarthy said, “I was a little mad because I did better in the prelims and then in the finals I didn’t run my best race so I was a little bummed. However, I still ended up 8 in New England, which is a lot better than I was last year.”
Though neither Conti nor McCarthy PRed, both athletes did very well overall and are going to the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York on March 9. Conti will run the open 800 along with running the sprint medley. The sprint medley consists of a 200, 400, and an 800 in which Conti will be joined by senior Erin McCarthy, junior Maddy Shea, and fellow sophomore Savonna Small-Brown. Connor McCarthy will run the 55m hurdles. Those competing in New York have shown excitement about the event and look forward to improving on their New England Championship times.
