Needham Boys Start Strong, Qualify One

The Needham Rockets opened up the 2012-2013 indoor track season with a junior varsity meet at Milton on Wednesday and a varsity meet at the Reggie Lewis Center on Thursday.

The JV meet at Milton was highlighted by performances from Lucas Jacobs (So) in the 300m dash,Giulian Trabucco (Jr) and Greg Liacopoulos (Sr) in the shot put, and from the 4x160yd relay team. Jacobs turned in a personal best time of 43.4 to finish with the top time of the day in the event. Similarly, Trabucco and Liacopoulos took the top two spots with throws of 35' 4" and 31' 8" respectively. The relay, run by James Cataldo (Jr), Niall Butchart (Fr), Ben Mesnik (Fr) and Jacobs, brought home a strong performance at the end of the evening.

Thursdays varsity meet saw the Needham Rockets picking up a win against the Braintree Wampatucks. The boys got off to a strong start with the Rockets sweeping the mile, lead by Adrian Amaya (Jr) and followed closely by Tommy Kelley (Jr) and John Benner (Fr). Amaya qualified for the Division II Championship with his time of 4:42.40. In a controlled effort, Needham took first and second in the next event, the 1000m run. Dan Alpert (Jr) out kicked teammate and captain, Tyler Hagen (Sr) for an additional 8 points towards the Rockets' cause. The 600m run saw captain Ned Connolly (Sr) come back strong for a second place finish and a personal best time of 1:29.72. Derek Howes (So) chipped in a third place as well.

With the injury to captain Kevin Walsh (Sr), Jack Strollo (So) has taken the opportunity to step up for the team. The 300m dash had Strollo finishing first followed by a third place finish from Aaron Maslow (So). In the straightaway events, Harry Hall (Jr) brought home 5 points for his first place finish in the 55HH, and the Rockets added another 4 from second and third place efforts from Colin Riley (Jr) and Alex O'Donnell (Sr) in the 55m dash. Both PR'd by nearly a third of a second, finishing at 7.15 and 7.17. In the 2-mile, the trio of Zak Heier (Sr), Liam Walsh (So), and Drew Khalaj (Fr) took the three scoring spots in a metronomic effort.

The field events were highlighted by yet another sweep of an event, this time in the shot put. Connolly turned in a PR for first place, followed by a PR by Ian Stewart (Sr) and then a third place from Trabucco pulling double duty on the two days. Needham also received a pair of third place finishes from Hall in the long jump and from Sid Yadav (Jr) in the high jump. With the meet already in hand, the Rockets closed the night with a win in the 4x400 relay, run by Strollo, Alpert, Howes and Hall.

The final score Thursday night was tallied at 61-34. Needham continues this week with the JV meet at Newton North on Wednesday and the varsity meet at the Reggie Lewis Center. The varsity team will take on the Weymouth Wildcats in what will no doubt be a close meet.

For full results from the Milton and Braintree meets, please visit Athletic.net

Lady Rockets Fly Past Braintree in Season Opener

Thursday evening December 13th, the Rockets opened up their season against the Braintree Wampatucks at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury and did not disappoint.  The girls' team outscored and outdid their opponents in nearly every event to win the meet scoring 64.67 points to Braintree's 30.33.  From the first shot of the starter's pistol, Needham gained control by sweeping the one mile and 1,000 meter runs won by sophomore Kaleigh Hughes (5:46.66) and senior captain Hallie Armstrong (3:22.22).  Finishing strong behind the victors, were Sarah Armstrong and Sammy Lerner as well as Rachel Blaustein and Julianna Donovan.

Meanwhile in classic three ring circus style, the high jump and shot put were being contested in different areas of the arena.  In the high jump, an event that Needham has struggled with in recent years, sophomore Lydia Phung soared to new heights clearing 4' 7" and placing second in the event while captains Christina Smith and Hallie Armstrong placed in a three-way tie with Braintree's Alex Pearse for third giving each athlete .33 points toward their team's total.  The shot put turned out to be another difficult event for the Rockets without their top returner Tasha Desir on the injured list.  The Wamps threw well up front to take first and second but sophomore Shaleah Guild stepped up in her first competition in nearly a year to snag third place with a throw of 28' 11".

Back on the oval, the Rockets looked to be in control again scoring four points in the 600 off the second and third place finishes of junior Kira Oberle and sophomore Isabel Cole.  The 300 turned out even better for Needham with senior captain Robin Kelly winning in a personal best time of 43.62 seconds.  When the gun went off to start the 2 mile, the Rockets were nearly guaranteed another sweep with senior captain Caroline Turner leading the way and getting the win in 12:22.01 with teammates Erica Koljonen and Daria Fortin finishing in second and third respectively.

In the 55 meter hurdles, Smith was no match for her competition winning by a huge margin in 9.87 seconds.  Sophomore Grace Li stepped up to garner third place.  In the 55 meter dash, junior Blessing Ojini got out of the blocks well to snag the win and five more points for the Rockets running 7.87 seconds.  In the final field event of the night, Smith and Kelly combined for a solid one, two punch leaping 14' 10.75" and 14' 2" in the long jump.

Entering the 4 x 400, the Rockets had already outscored the Wamps and the relay was little more than a formality.  The team consisting of Lerner, Hughes, Blaustein and Hallie Armstrong picked up their final victory on the night finishing in 4:28.24.

Full results can be found at:
http://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/School.aspx?SchoolID=19349#S=12013

Next up for Needham is a dual meet with Weymouth Thursday December 20th at Reggie Lewis.  The meet is scheduled to begin at 4:30 pm.

Welcome to Indoor Track and Field 2012-13!

December is here.  Cross country is in the rear view and indoor track looms large on the horizon.  With practices starting this week and our first meet slated for Thursday December 13th, we turn our attention to the oval.  Both teams return strong contingents and add new talent and for the first time in six years, bring back a complete coaching line-up.  The possibilities for what the Rockets may achieve are endless.  Here is a complete list of our school records.

NEEDHAM HS INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD RECORDS

Girls
55m Dash        Violet King             7.32           2005
300m                Kim Kelly              41.50         2000
600m                Kim Kelly              1:41.11      1999
1,000m             Hallie Armstrong   3:06.17      2012
1 Mile              Emily Lipman         5:13.41      2008
2 Mile              Emily Lipman        11:12.32     2008
55m Hurdles    Christina Regan      8.80          1999
High Jump       Sarah Daoust          5' 5"          1999
Shot Put           Vilavone Simmai    36' 2"        1999
Long Jump       Sari Chang             17' 4"        1980
4 x 200 Relay   Jaclyn Raffol         1:46.96      2000
                         Liz Moderi
                         Kim Kelly
                         Jill Zagami
4 x 400             Kira Oberle            4:06.32      2012
                         Robin Kelly
                         Hallie Armstrong
                         Alison Pildner
4 x 800             Hannah Alpert       9:49.40      2011
                         Olivia Nolan
                         Hallie Armstrong
                         Alison Pildner

Boys
55m Dash        Cope Kharuharat    6.65           1995
300m               Kevin Walsh           36.79         2012
600m               Ben Lueders           1:26.16      2012
1,000m            Ben Lueders           2:35.73      2012
1 Mile              Tom Patterson        4:24.0        1971
2 Mile              Peter Loomis          9:22.0        1984
55 Hurdles       Peter Farlow           7.83           2011
High Jump       Wayne Shields        6' 5"          1981
Shot Put           Chip Huckins         56' 10.5"    1978
Long Jump       Peter Farlow          21' 6"         2011
4 x 200             Brian Hazzard       1:33.50       2011
                         Peter Farlow
                         Kevin Walsh
                         Ryan McGloin
4 x 400             Marc Chafin          3:28.0         1979
                         Brian Annese
                         Barry McMorrow
                         Brian Johnston
4 x 800             Jerry White           8:08.5          1979
                         Brian Annese
                         Brian Johnstron
                         Barry McMorrow

Needham Track Club Finishes High at Nike Cross Regional Championships!

In a late season decision, the girls' cross country program decided to attend the Nike Cross National (NXN) Northeast Regional Championships to test their meddle against the best programs east of New York and North of Maryland and Delaware.  The regional meet is used as a qualifier for the national championships to be held this coming weekend December 2nd in Portland, Oregon.  The NXN meets are not high school sanctioned and therefore the usual Needham Rockets competed under the pseudonym Needham Track Club and were under the watchful eye of Mike Turner as head coach.

Coach Turner had the following to say leading into the meet: "We went to Nike Northeast with the dual goal of having fun and celebrating the season, but also competing and finishing strong.  We knew we were up against the top teams from the eight northeast states including each state champion team.  When talking to the girls the night before the race, we decided that a top 20 finish would be great, and a top 10 finish would be epic."

And compete they did finishing 8th in the Championship race with 246 points, just four points away from 7th.  The team was led as they have been the last three meets by freshmen Margie Cullen, Julianna Donovan and Sarah Armstrong all recording top 40 finishes.  Senior captains Caroline Turner and Hallie Armstrong rounded out the scoring in 83rd and 128th places respectively and senior Erica Koljonen came across the line 198th.  In the girls' Open race, Needham TC also had solid performances from junior Daria Fortin and sophomore Claire Connors finishing in 63rd and 163 place.  In the boys' open race, junior Alex Elman placed 83rd as the only Needham athlete to toe the line.

To illustrate just how much this group of girls has improved over the course of the season as well as come together as a team when the stakes were high we can look to their early season performances as a comparison.
         
          * On September 22nd at the Amherst Invitational, Needham lost to Amherst 99-139. 
            At NXN Needham TC beat the Amherst Polar Cows (17th place) 246-410.
         
          * On October 6th at the Thetford Invitational, Needham lost to Champlain Valley Union
            (Vermont) 70-144.  At NXN Needham TC beat Champlain Valley XC Club (9th place)
            246-251.

The previous two stats really describe the last four weeks of the season beautifully.  The Rockets may not have won every meet they entered but they sure as heck didn't lose them either.  In the words of Coach Turner, "On race day, the girls did what they have done all year; they raced to an epic eighth place finish and then broke into an impromptu finish line dance party"

Full results can be found at: http://www.runnerspace.com/news.php?news_id=65518-2012-Results-NXN-Northeast-Regional

Daria

Claire

Caroline

 

Margie

Sarah and Julianna

Hallie

Erica

Amaya, Hagen Finish Well at All-States.

And they're off!

Qualifying for the All-State Championships is a pretty tall order and no Needham Boys' team has done so since 1984.  But this fall, two individuals accomplished the feat becoming just the 5th and 6th Needham athletes to toe the line at the state meet in the 21st century!  After finishing 2nd and 12th at divisionals, Adrian Amaya and Tyler Hagen competed in the first All-State meet of their high school careers and represented the Rocket program well.

Amaya finishes strong.

Hagen runs tough.

As the gun sounded, 179 of the state's best sprinted toward the bottom of the mountain.  After a conservative first 1,000 meters that saw all runners pack it in with no one wanting to overly exert themselves on the tactical Northfield course, Jonathon Green of Saint John's Shrewsbury took a commanding lead.  Green would run uncontested to the finish line smashing the five year old course record in impressive fashion recording a time of 15:29.  Behind the leader, Amaya and Hagen settled into top 30 positions.  Throughout the race, the Needham athletes stayed aggressive and worked hard to maintain their positions.  Coming off the final bend, both Amaya and Hagen sprinted hard for the line finishing in 24th (16:44) and 36th (16:57) respectively.

Many times an athlete begins a season with a set of goals in mind and sometimes the athlete not only meets those goals but exceeds them and is faced with a quick reevaluation.  It was a true testament to Adrian Amaya's and Tyler Hagen's mental flexibility and strength that they rose to the challenge of a new goal and tackled it with confidence and poise.

Full results can be found at: http://www.mstca.org/Fall_Season/Fall%202012/Results%20div%201%20boys%2011.17.12.htm.

Lady Rockets Finish 3rd in State Championships.

Saturday November 17th, Needham cross country traveled west to Northfield to compete in the MIAA All-State Championships and placed third in the highly competitive field.  After a tough runner-up finish at the divisional meet a week prior, the Rockets were set to face the top four teams from divisions 1, 2 and 3 on the storied Northfield Mountain course.  Included in the field were 2012 division 3 champions and 2011 state champions Whitman-Hanson as well as 2012 division 1 and 2 champions Lowell and Lincoln-Sudbury.  But in the end, it was Peabody who stole the show scoring 110 points and led by individual winner Catarina Rocha.  Rocha ran the first 1,000 meters up the challenging Northfield course sitting comfortably in the front group before pulling away to the second fastest time ever recorded at Northfield 18:06.12 and winning by a massive 45 seconds. 

But behind the wake of Rocha unfolded a hotly contested battle for second place in the team scoring between Lincoln-Sudbury and Needham yet again.  And just like at divisionals it was Needham who set the tone with Margie Cullen racing to an outstanding 8th place finish overall in 19:26 followed closely by Lincoln-Sudbury's Sydney Clary in 9th.  Needham continued their dominance with Julianna Donovan and Sarah Armstrong running stride for stride as they've done all season long finishing 19th (19:52) and 25th (20:02) respectively.  Next across the line were Morgane Butler and Katie LaScaleia from Lincoln-Sudbury finishing in 28th and 32nd.  Caroline Turner rebounded from a tough divisional meet by outkicking her L-S counterpart Sam Cook by one place finishing in 20:28.  With four runners in, the Rockets clearly held the advantage over the Warriors but it was Daniela Hargus who stepped up for her team by placing 76th overall to give Lincoln-Sudbury the edge they needed.  Hallie Armstrong was the fifth runner in for Needham finishing in 93rd place in 21:07.  When all runners were in, Needham and Lincon-Sudbury were separated by one point with the Warriors scoring 117 to the Rockets' 118.  Whitman-Hanson finished 4th (124) and Amherst 5th (135) closing out what had to be one of the closest team finishes in championship history with just 25 points separating the top five.

Full results can be found at: http://www.mstca.org/Fall_Season/Fall%202012/Results%20div%201%20girls%2011.17.12.htm

Saturday November 24th, Needham Girls' XC will close out their season by competing in the prestigious Nike Cross Country Regional Championships at Bowdoin Park in Wappingers Falls, NY.

Turner Named League MVP for 2012 Cross Country Season.

In a post season wrap-up, BSC coaches unanimously voted Needham senior captain Caroline Turner the Most Valuable Player for the conference.  Turner led the Rockets throughout the regular season to the teams' first ever conference title (11-0) and only lost to three other BSC athletes in dual meet competition.  Prior to the conference meet, Turner fell ill and was unable to run at full strength but still managed a gritty 8th place finish.  Turner was also instrumental in creating a competitive yet supportive team atmosphere from day one of the season.

Additionally Turner, as well as Margie Cullen, Julianna Donovan, Sarah Armstrong, Katie Horton, Adrian Amaya and Tyler Hagen were named BSC All-Stars for excellence in competition throughout the 2012 season.  Congratulations to all recipients.