'Most Important Meet of Year:' Clipper boys double up competition at Div. 4 relays after winning CAL Kinney title last week

Kyle Gaudette, The Daily News of Newburyport, Mass.
·6 min read

Jan. 23—BOSTON — What an incredible last week-and-a-half it's been for the Newburyport boys indoor track team.

It started last Wednesday, when the Clippers beat Pentucket, 56-44, in the team's final dual meet of the regular season to finish a perfect 3-0. That clinched the program's fourth CAL Kinney championship in the past five years, further cementing the stranglehold the Clippers have had on the conference.

As senior quad-captain Nolan Ellrott explained: "The team has been doing really well. Our coaches always tell us to have a positive mindset heading into each meet, and that's something we've all tried to live by."

But, while the team was certainly happy with another CAL title, Saturday's result was a bit more special.

The Division 4 state relay meet, held at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, is not only a test of a team's top-end talent, but its depth as well. It's the truest team test that any program will face all year, and the Newburyport boys won two out of the 10 total events to dominate their way to the Division 4 crown against 18 other scoring teams with 61 points.

Second-place Austin Prep had 30 points, and the Pentucket boys came in a tie for fifth with 24 points.

"This is the most important meet of the year for us because it's truly a team meet," said Newburyport coach Brian Moore. "The final D4 State Meet is great, but the scoring weighs individual performance very heavily. This is the one meet where every event requires 3 to 4 athletes to work together. That's what makes it so special."

And, as you can see from the final tally, Newburyport didn't just win.

Besides winning two races, the Clippers finished inside the top-4 in all but one event, and also had their "B" team score in two events to double up the entire Division 4 field.

"Yeah, I think this was a statement of our work and our depth," said fellow captain Will Acquaviva. "Anybody can win an individual event, but it takes a team to win a relay. And I think the entire team just really stepped up to the challenge today and did a great job."

The Clippers wasted no time getting started Saturday morning.

In the first event of the day, the shuttle hurdle relay, the team of Wyatt Hastings, Ean Hynes, Evan Armano and Andrew Connelly raced to first overall in 27.32, beating out a team from Pentucket. The Clippers then won the 4x800 relay when Sam Walker, Bradford Duchesne, Aimon Fadil and Nathan Barry finished in 8:48.62.

In fact, the Clippers basically dominated the distance events.

Their "B" team of Jalen Wise, Aidan Hoidal-Bui, Owen Roberts and Matt Murray took sixth in the 4x800 in 9:07.83, and both their "A" and "B" teams took second and fourth, respectively in the Distance Medley relay. Barry, Walker, Fadil and Wise were the "A" team in second in 11:30.10, and Duchesne, Murray, Roberts and Hoidal-Bui were the "B" team in fourth in 11:52.99.

"This was a good way to show how good and how deep our team is," said Walker, a fellow quad-captain. "I think, especially since we had some people out with COVID today, there were a lot of guys on the team who stepped into new roles and did really well."

While it was an incredible team effort for the day, the Clippers did have a handful of other multi-event athletes.

Acquaviva also ran on the third-place 1600 SMR team with Hynes, Ryan Miles and Ethan Downs (3:47.02), and Acquaviva, Hynes and Miles also ran with Elijah Contrino on the third-place 4x50 team (22.87). Acquaviva then finished his day on the third-place 4x400 team (3:41.74) with Caelan Twichell, Downs and James Forrest-Hay. Contrino also threw on the fourth-place shotput team with Eamonn Sullivan and Patrick Walker (111-4.50).

"We're also so fortunate in Newburyport to have such an experienced coaching staff," said Moore. "Two of my assistants, Coach Hennigar and Coach McCormick, are head coaches with over 30 years of experience in cross country and outdoor track. As a result, we have a lot of diversity from the longer distances to the dash, hurdles and field events."

Pentucket girls 3rd, Clipper girls 7th

The Pentucket girls indoor track team broke two school records on its way to a third-place finish at Saturday's Division 4 state relays.

The Green and White finished with 32 points, which was behind both North Reading (47) and Wilmington (38). The Newburyport girls were right behind in seventh with 21 points.

But two Green and White relays were the local story of the day.

Emily Rubio, Reese Gallant and Delaney Meagher collectively high jumped 14-11.50, which both won the event and broke the old school record of 14-6.25. Gallant and Rubio then teamed up with Sydney Trout and Sage Smith to finish fourth in the Shuttle Dash relay in 25.23, which also broke the old school record of 25.38.

The Newburyport girls also had plenty of highlights on the day.

Most notably, the 4x400 team of Elizabeth Downs, Devin Stroope, Morgan Felts and Annie Shay finished first in 4:15.05.

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Division 4 Relays (Boys)

Meet results (18 teams scored): 1. Newburyport 61; 2. Austin Prep 30; 3. Dracut 28; 4. Pembroke 26; 5. North Rading 24; 5. Pentucket 24

Area placers:

1600 SMR: 3. Newburyport (Will Acquaviva, Ean Hynes, Ryan Miles, Ethan Downs), 3:47.02; 4x50: 3. Newburyport (Hynes, Miles, Elijah Contrino, Acquaviva), 22.87; Shuttle Hurdles: 1. Newburyport (Wyatt Hastings, Andrew Connely, Evan Armano, Hynes), 27.32, 2. Pentucket (), 29.30; 4x400: 3. Newburyport (Acquaviva, Caelan Twichell, Downs, James Forrest-Hay), 3:41.74; 4x800: 1. Newburyport (Sam Walker, Bradford Duchesne, Aimon Fadil, Nathan Barry), 8:48.62, 6. Newburyport (Jalen Wise, Aidan Hoidal-Bui, Owen Roberts, Matt Murray), 9:07.83; DMR: 2. Newburyport (Barry, Walker, Fadil, Wise), 11:30.10, 4. Newburyport (Duchesne, Murray, Roberts, Hoidal-Bui), 11:52,99; HJ: 1. Pentucket (), 16-7, 3. Newburyport (Grayson Fowler, Nolan Ellrott, Jonas Kenny), 16-0; LJ: 3. Pentucket (), 53-6; SP: 4. Newburyport (Eamonn Sullivan, Elijah Contrino, Patrick Walker), 111-4.50

Division 4 Relays (Girls)

Meet results (19 teams scored): 1. North Reading 47; 2. Wilmington 38; 3. Pentucket 32; 3. Pembroke 32; 5. Medfield 30; 6. Holliston 26; 7. Newburyport 21

Top area placers:

1600 SMR: 3. Newburyport (Devin Stroope, Morgan Felts, Annie Shay, Annabel Murray), 4:34.20; 4x50: 4. Pentucket (Sydney Trout, Emily Rubio, Sage Smith, Reese Gallant), 25.23, 6. Newburyport (Caity Rooney, Shay, Julia Schena, Stroope), 26.57; SHR: 5. Newburyport (Molly Webster, Tuala Sullivan, Hannah Steinberg, Maria Mutis), 33.61, 6. Pentucket (Delaney Meagher, Wynter Smith, Riley Bucco, Hannah Linehan), 33.83; 4x200: 3. Pentucket (Kayla Murphy, Gallant, S. Smith, E. Rubio), 1:51.54; 4x400: 1. Newburyport (Elizabeth Downs, Felts, Stroope, Shay), 4:15.05; 4x800: 3. Pentucket (Lia Alsup, Ella Edic, Libby Murphy, Phoebe Rubio), 10:36.51; DMR: 3. Pentucket (L. Murphy, Alsup, Edic, P. Rubio), 13:45.02, 5. Newburyport (Bristol Banovic, Violet Moore, Anna Affolter, Hailey LaRosa), 14:02.06 HJ: 1. Pentucket (E. Rubio, Gallant, Meagher) 14-11.50;