As much as track is about athleticism, it is a sport based around numbers: whoever runs faster, throws further or jumps higher is the winner.
Individual athletes from the Silver Lake high boys and girls track teams had an opportunity to see how their numbers matched up against runners from across the state on Saturday, May 13 at the MSTCA Coaches Invitational Outdoor meet. The boys competed at Boston College High School in Dorchester while the girls’ meet was held at Sharon High School.
While there were no team winners at the meet, it presented teams with a unique opportunity to gage their performances, especially with freshman and sophomore events in addition to varsity ones. The Lakers major success in a pair of sophomore events.
On the girls side, Alison McDonough placed fifth in the sophomore 100 meter dash (13.13 seconds) while the sophomore boys 4×100 meter relay team–featuring Tristan Arendt, Ryan Tierney, Kevin Donohue, and Marshall Roy finished their race in 47.07 seconds, which was good for a third place finish.
On varsity, senior Ali Gavigan had a strong performance in the 2-mile run, finishing 21st as she finished the race in 12:06.09. She broke her previous personal-best mark by over 20 seconds. In shotput, junior Madeline Schlagar’s best throw was 32 feet 8.5 inches, which was gave her a 10th place finish in the event.
For the varsity boys, junior Max Shirikjian had the highest placing in an event: 14th in the long jump with his 20-foot 2-inch leap.
Junior Nathan Thacker had a strong performance throwing javelin; his best throw of the day was 132-09.00, which earned him a 24th place finish overall.
Albeit no team scores were kept, the meet can serve as a preview to the State Championship meets because it is geared toward individual performance and features a wide array of schools.