Two Weston Runners Place at MIAA All-State Meet

The following information is from Emerging Elites:

Each of the eight athletes below trained together last summer in the Emerging Elites Summer Program — an 8-week training program that brings together some of the best public, private and prep school athletes in eastern Massachusetts.

After a record breaking weekend at the MIAA Division meets, when five Emerging Elites athletes won their respective division races, a total of eight Emerging Elites qualified for the MIAA All-State Meet held on Tuesday, June 5, at Fitchburg State University.

Two mile run

• Olivia Brackett – Senior, Weston High School, second place, 10:57.23, Weston School Record, 4-second personal record, All-State Runner-Up
• Tina Keiran – Junior, Ipswich HS 20th place, 11:45.2

In the first race of the afternoon, Olivia Brackett, the Division 4 two-mile champion, ran a smart and controlled race, going through the mile in 5:27 with the lead pack of five girls. She then moved up to second and gained separation from the chase pack en route to breaking 11 minutes for the first time and breaking her own Weston school record.

Special congratulations to Tina Keiran on her first All-State meet appearance. Entering the spring season, Tina had a two-mile PR of 12:01. Tina managed to lower her two-mile PR five times this spring, dropping an amazing 25 seconds with her 11:35 run at the Division 2 meet.

One mile run

• Charlotte Walmsley – Senior, Weston High School, sixth place, 5:06.47, 4-second PR
• Sarah Keiran – Junior, Ipswich HS, seventh place, 5:08.54, 3-second PR
• Lexi Buonfiglio – Junior, Lynnfield HS, ninth place, 5:11.37, 4-second PR

Charlotte, Sarah and Lexi executed smart races. Charlotte, the Division 4 one-mile champion, put herself into contention early in the race, settling in with the lead pack and staying focused. Sarah and Lexi ran a controlled and relaxed first half, going through in 2:35-6 and then moving through the field in the last 800m to close hard and run past several girls who went out too fast. All three girls had big PRs.

• Ben Groleau – Senior, Framingham HS, third place, 4:14.53, 2-second PR
• Michael Wyman – Sophomore, Old Rochester Regional HS, seventh place, 4:19.84, 4-second PR

After last weekend when Ben won the Division 1 one-mile and Mike won the Division 4 one-mile, these guys were eager to mix it up with the other top milers in Massachusetts. With an opening lap of 61 seconds, this race started with a fury. Ben and Mike jumped on the blistering pace and settled into the top 5. Ben ran a gutsy and hard-fought race and was rewarded with a 2-second PR in the mile. In the past year, Ben has dropped 9 seconds off his mile PR, going from 4:23 to 4:14.
Mike ran himself onto the podium as a sophomore and ran sub-4:20 for the first time. Mike went from a 4:48 mile PR as a freshman to 4:19 as a sophomore, chopping 29 seconds off his mile PR.

800 meter run

• Taylor Worthy – Junior, Medfield HS, sixth place, 2:17.40, 1-second PR

Taylor won the Division 3 800m title last weekend and showed that she was ready to roll in the seeded 800m section. Running from the barrel, Taylor ran an aggressive race that featured lots of pushing and jostling bodies. Taylor found space along the rail and used her speed to power herself to a new 800m PR.

The Emerging Elites team has posted more than 100 photos from the All-State meet. View them online at: http://tiny.cc/allstate-12-photos