Seniors PJ Hayes and Connor McCarthy have had quite the Track and Field Season, for both Indoor and Outdoor. The fastest runners in Massachusetts had very little competition in their events at the Division II Championships; at All-States, Hayes won 1st place by a hair, while McCarthy placed fourth.
Hayes and McCarthy are Walpoles’ best Track and Field athletes, setting numerous school records, including the 200 meter dash and the 110 meter hurdlers, respectively. Both athletes were crowned 2013 Division II Champions—Hayes in the 200 meter dash with 22.03 seconds and McCarthy in the hurdles with 14.56 seconds.
Hayes was the favorite to win the 200m dash at the All State Meet. He cruised to victory with nobody on his shoulder in the prelim run with a time of 21.81 seconds, setting the school record. This prelim run was Hayes’ fastest time so far for his season, even faster than the Division II final. With only an hour’s rest, he came back to win the 200 meter dash final with 21.68, smashing the his own previous school record from the earlier prelim. However, this win was not taken for granted, he had company his final 50 meters and struggled to the line. In order to take the win he leaned into the wire, tripped and rolled onto his hip. The second place time was only .03 seconds difference—Alex Mayhew of Haverhill. Hayes said, “Without my lean and fall at the finish I probably would have lost.” Hayes’ time was the closest to the meet record Massachusetts has ever seen since 2009. In 2009, Tewksbury High School’s Evan White ran 21.66 — the MIAA All State Meet record for the 200 meter dash.
Although McCarthy competed at the All State Meet, he showed more success a few days later at the MSTCA South Decathlon Meet. All male athletes competed June 3th and June 4th at Bishop Feehan High School in North Attleboro. A Decathlon consits of 10 events—100 meter dash, 110 meter hurdles, 400 meter dash, 1500 meter run, long jump, triple jump, high jump, discus throw, shot put, and javelin.
McCarthy had strengths and weaknesses throughout the days of competition, his specialties being the sprints, hurdles, and jumps. He won two of the ten events which included the 110 hurdles, and the triple jump. He received a total of 1,489 points just for those two events, a huge factor in his overall total score. Later, he placed fourth in the 100 meter dash and third in the 400 meter dash, accumulating a total of 1,437 points. McCarthy placed seventh in the high jump with 602 points, received 506 points in shot put, and took 5th place in the long jump with 600 points. All together McCarthy was the top scorer for both days, taking home the win with 5944 points.
Both successful athletes will continue to make big strides as they enter college next fall. Hayes will attend the University of Connecticut, while McCarthy will attend Northeastern, and both plan on doing track at their respective schools. Both athletes will be missed at the Rebels’ track, and the younger athletes will have to fill in for their missing gaps. Luckily for him, McCarthy has one more race to compete in: The New England Championships June 8th 2013, as he tries to set one more lasting impression on the Walpole High School record book.
