Last year, despite not winning the Herget Title in the Indoor Track Season, Walpole Boys Track and Field still won the Herget Title in the Spring Season — for the sixth year in a row. This year however, their 0-2 start suggests their Herget reign may be coming to close.
Wellesley — a historically strong distance team — defeated Walpole Boys Track and Field by a score of 80-56 at Wellesley High School on April 9. Two days later, an undermanned Walpole team lost to Braintree 96-40.
Against Wellesley, Boys Track got their points largely in the Sprints and the Throwing events. For Sprints, the team captured 18 of 27 possible points. Senior Myles Cofield led Walpole’s only sweep of the day in the 100m Dash with sophomores Akin Street taking second and Sean Perkins taking third. In the longer sprints, sophomore Nick Ricci placed first with a personal record in the 400 meter dash with a time of 54.94. Ricci’s dramatic victory came with some drama: in the final 20 meters, Wellesley’s top runner fell and was unable to catch Ricci.
“It felt awesome to get first place for the first time in my career,” said Ricci. “Considering I am only a sophomore, it was a huge accomplishment for me.”
For Throwing Events, Walpole scored 22 of 27 points with senior Rob Lederman taking first in Shot Put with 38’9” and junior teammate Shawn Sarnie taking second with a throw of 37’7.75”. Senior Mike Williams led the Discus with a throw of 107’5”, and senior Jon Rockwood took second in the Javelin with 130’11 feet.
However, although the teams split relays (Walpole won the 4×100; Wellesley, the 4×400), Walpole could not keep pace with Wellesley’s Jumpers and Distance runners. For distance, Wellesley scored 22 of 27 possible points. While Walpole countered with the Sprinting events, Wellesley’s sweep of the Triple Jump put the meet out of contention for the boys. Mike St. Germain — who tied for first place in the 110 meter hurdles with a personal record of 15.64 — failed to record a jump to break up the sweep. At the end, they lost 85-51.
Because their meet against Braintree was rescheduled due to rain, Walpole missed key point-scorers such as seniors Mike St. Germain, Jon Kelland, and Anthony Divurgilio. Due to their absence, other athletes had opportunities for success. Specifically, sophomore Eamon McCarthy had a successful debut in the 800m where he placed 2nd with a time of 2:07.
“It was tiring; however, it was awesome after hearing the time,” said McCarthy. “I think the Braintree kid pushed me to run faster, and my teammates really encouraged me.”
Unfortunately, Braintree’s field events were too much for the Rebels as they dominated field events (45-9) and ultimately won the meet by a score 96-40. In order to keep their title, they will not only need to defeat some strong Herget teams, but they also need Wellesley to lose.
