Tewksbury's Arbogast, Santos Sign With Div. I Track Programs

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury Memorial High School held a signing ceremony on Dec. 6 for senior track athletes Alex Arbogast and Jayani Santos, who both inked National Letters of Intent with Div. I programs.

Arbogast, who signed with the University of Rhode Island, is the rare athlete who may have benefitted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just a freshman when the spring 2020 spring season shut down, Arbogast used the time off from competition positively, according to boys and girls indoor track coach Fran Cusick.

"Alex had been a very good runner his freshmen year, but he used that time when the world was shut down to turn himself into a great one," Cusick said. "He really put a ton of effort into not only improving himself as an athlete but also learning about the sport as a whole. He has been on an upward trajectory ever since. I am excited to see how he does at the college level."

In March, Arbogast won the 55-meter dash (6.46) at the New England Indoor Track-and-Field Championship Meet, becoming the first male from TMHS to win an individual event at the meet.

Arbogast already is the school record-holder in the 55 indoor and 100-meter outdoor.

Santos signed with UMass Lowell after only joining the track team as a junior. But in her first season last spring, Santos finished 4th in the 200 meters (26.26) at the Division 4 State Meet. She also was part of the 400-relay team that finished third (51.12) at that competition.

"Jayani has had a meteoric rise in her brief career," Cusick said. "We originally had her as a hurdler and high jumper, and she didn't actually run her first 200 until about four weeks into the season. The first time she ran it, it became obvious that we had a special talent on our hands."