At the very last Herget meet of this season, Walpole Boys track knew they were looking at a tough test when they competed against Natick, the Second Place team in the Herget behind Wellesley, whom the Rebels had lost to in their previous meet. The boys ended up losing to Natick by a score to 58-42, which brought their Herget record to 2-2-1.
The loss was disappointing for Walpole because it cemented them as third in the Herget Conference. Natick swept Walpole in high jump and took 1st and 2nd in multiple events, including the 300m and the 1 Mile.
“It was another week of missed opportunities,” said Head Coach Kevin Butera. “When you face good teams, it is time for people to rise to the challenge and we just did not have the people step up we needed to in order to win.”
However, the meet was not a total failure for the boys. The 55m dash team came up big, sweeping the race against Natick. Most notably was sophomore Luis Yumet, who — in his first varsity race — took 4th place with a time of 7.05 seconds.
Additionally, the shot putters played a key role at the meet. Always consistent in getting points, the Natick meet was no exception. Senior Captain Robbie Lederman took 1st with his throw of 38’8.25”. This throw was not a personal record for Lederman, but it clinched 5 varsity points for Walpole and was a crucial event in the meet. Sophomore Nick Campobasso also claimed varsity points for Walpole, throwing a 1 foot personal record, which was good enough for 3rd place to give Walpole another key point.
On the track, Natick is known for their speed. Several of the their athletes were 1st overall in Bay State races like the 300m and 600m. Despite this daunting competition, several athletes pushed themselves to claim points for Walpole. Junior Brendan Wohler claimed one of Walpole’s few 1st place wins in the 1000m. With a new personal record of 2:43.55, Wohler claimed 5 points against Natick.
Following Wohler’s excellent race was senior Captain Jon Kelland’s 2nd place finish in the 600m against Natick. Kelland raced against tough competition in the form of Natick junior Mike Maichen, who won the race overall.
In the final event on the track, two of Walpole’s 2 Milers came up clutch for the team. Senior Pat Connell fought a hard race, managing to take the lead and finish in front of Natick’s top runner in the race with a time of 10:24. Although he did not place, junior Billy Heiberger also aided the team, according to Butera, finishing 4th and running a 12 second personal record from his previous race.
However, even with strong performances in some races, Walpole did not win. “Realistically, this meet did not showcase what the team can truly do. I thought this was a very subpar meet for us,” said Butera.
