Longmeadow boys dominates WMass Division I track championships for fourth straight title

HOLYOKE — The Longmeadow boys track and field team left no doubts in the Western Massachusetts Division I Large School Championships on Friday.

Piling up points across nearly every event, the Lancers captured their fourth consecutive regional title, finishing with 194.5 points as a team— nearly double the total of runner-up Ludlow (98). Amherst took third with 74.

“The senior class that we have, there’s over 20 of them, and they have never lost a Western Mass championship,” Longmeadow coach John Pantuosco said. “So, this crew right here is well deserving of four straight and the best group that I’ve ever coached.”

Whether it was a dominant sweep in the 2-mile or a school-record sprint in the 400, the Lancers were consistently ahead of the other 13 teams throughout the competition.

Despite winning by a large margin, Pantuosco made sure to acknowledge the strength of the competition and the effort it took to stay on top.

“There’s some great teams out there, Ludlow, Amherst, West Springfield, all these teams are really good,” Pantuosco said. “We just have everything clicking at the right time and the right events. And we’re very, very fortunate that everybody’s been healthy. So, yeah, it’s great to win by a lot of points, but doesn’t mean we don’t take our foot off the pedal, though. We continue to work hard.”

O’Connor breaks school record in 400m

Longmeadow’s Shane O’Connor had a signature moment in the 400 meters, clocking 49.84 to set a new school record.

“It feels like I got over a hump,” O’Connor said. “I came out of last year stuck in the 51s. All it took was for me to race someone that was faster than me one time, because the way I raced is I didn’t do anything to win, so just being able to chase someone down, do anything to take that win, chase him down, and come through that finish line. I knew that was sub-50. I knew that was the record.”

Just a year removed from joining the team, the junior has quickly become one of Longmeadow’s most reliable point-scorers.

This year, he helped the Lancers lock up yet another title.

“To be able to contribute for the second year in a row, scoring points at these championships, it’s a great feeling,” O’Connor said. “I’m very proud of myself and my teammates and super thankful to my coaches.”

Walsh leads the way for Ludlow

While Longmeadow ran away with the team title, Ludlow quietly put together an impressive day of its own, finishing second with 98 points thanks to standout performances in both distance and hurdles.

At the heart of that success was Logan Walsh, who turned in one of the meet’s most impressive individual doubles — winning both the 800 meters (1:57.47) and the mile (4:24.53).

Ludlow’s strength extended into the hurdles and sprints, where Devyn Skiba nearly pulled off a win in the 110-meter hurdles (14.70) and took the 400-meter hurdles title in 57.34.

The Lions also claimed gold in the 4×800-meter relay, clocking a season-best 8:15.58 to edge out Amherst and Longmeadow in a competitive race.

Below are the team results and top three finishers from each event. Full results can be viewed here:

Team results

1. Longmeadow – 194.5
2. Ludlow – 98
3. Amherst – 74
4. Springfield Central – 56
5. Minnechaug – 46
6. Chicopee – 45.5
7. West Springfield – 41
8. Westfield – 34
9. Agawam -28
10. Chicopee Comp – 27.5
11. Holyoke – 22
12. East Longmeadow – 15.5
13. Northampton – 10
14. Putnam – 9

Boys running events

2mile

1. Jacob Abebe, Longmeadow (9:48.59)
2. Gregory Keane, Longmeadow (9:48.94)
3. Ethan Halpern, Longmeadow (9:49.71)

400mH

1. Devyn Skiba, Ludlow (57:34)
2. Ryan Kennedy, Holyoke (57:35)
3. Justin Menzie, Central (1:00.59)

200m

1. Lucas Doben, Longmeadow (22.28) – broke his personal record of 22.37
2. Rayzaiah Ocasio, Chicopee (22.81)
3. Joshua Moret, Ludlow (23.23)

1mile

1. Logan Walsh, Ludlow (4:24.53)
2. Calvin Miller, Amherst (4:25.95)
3. Nicolas Lisle, Amherst (4:26.69)

800m

1. Logan Walsh, Ludlow (1:57.47)
2. Sean Johnson, Westfield (1:58.11)
3. Jaisyn Fasser, West Springfield (2:01.07)

400m

1. Shane O’Connor, Longmeadow (49.84)
2. Joshua Moret, Ludlow (50.53)
3. Miles Jeffries, Amherst (50.60)

110mH

1. Stephen Pryor, Westfield (14.47)
2. Devyn Skiba, Ludlow (14.70)
3. Carmelo Harrell, Central (15.79)

100m

1. Rayzaiah Ocasio, Chicopee (11.13)
2. Lucas Doben, Longmeadow (11.33)
3. Jayden Rodriguez, Central (11.50)

4x800mR

1. Ludlow (8:15.58) – season best
2. Amherst (8:19.21) – season best
3. Longmeadow (8:40.34) – season best

4x100mR

1. Central (43.78)
2. Chicopee (44.67)
3. Amherst (44.95)

4x400mR

1. Longmeadow (3:33.52)
2. Central (3:33.84)
3. Agawam (3:34.92)

Field events

Triple jump

1. Stephen Pryor, Westfield (44-04.00) – broke his personal record of 43-02.75
2. Sean Hamel, Longmeadow (42-10.25)
3. Elian Cepeda, Putnam (41-07.50)

Javelin throw

1. Nate Tyson, Longmeadow (148-03)
2. Brody Harrison, Minnechaug (142-07)
3. Christopher Clark, Chicopee Comp (140-05)

Discus

1. Griffin Bergeron, Longmeadow (188-05)
2. Logan Alfandari, Amherst (168-08)
3. Moniha Krouch, Amherst (146-02)

High jump

1. Brandon Rosas, Minnechaug (5-10.00)
2. Brady Bolduc, Longmeadow (5-08.00)
3. Dan Fanor, Minnechaug (5-08.00)

Long jump

1. Devyn Skiba, Ludlow (21-00.00)
2. Sean Hamel, Longmeadow (20-09.00)
3. Shane O’Connor, Longmeadow (20-00.00)

Pole Vault

1. Brandon Rosas, Minnechaug (12-00.00)
2. Nick Rauseo, Longmeadow (11-00.00)
3. Joseph Keroack, Ludlow (11-00.00)

Shot put

1. Logan Alfandari, Amherst (56-05.50)
2. James Kaylor, Longmeadow (56-07.00)
3. Jabari Sifrin, Central (44-03.00)

This post was originally published on this site