Relay teams help Northampton boys tie for western Massachusetts track title
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WESTFIELD - The Northampton boys got strong performances by their relay teams to tie Holyoke for first place Saturday at the Western Massachusetts Track and Field Championship.
A win in the 4x800 meter relay and a second place in the 4x400 meter relay gave the Blue Devils 57 points to match the Purple Knights at Westfield State University.
Northampton coach Jim Clayton said he knew that his team would need that strong performance in the relays to challenge for the title.
"I thought that there were going to be (multiple) teams over 50 (in total points) and it was going to come down to the last couple of races," Clayton said. "We're strong in the relay so I was very pleased that they did well.
"Overall the program has done very well and the kids really pulled together," he added.
The Blue Devils needed to place second in the last event of the day, the 4x400 meter relay, while Holyoke went pointless for the two to share the championship. That happened when Northampton won the silver with a time of 3:35.30.
"We weren't really sure throughout most of the event how we were doing as a team," said Northampton junior Alex Sullivan, who ran the third leg of the 4x400 relay. "But we knew that if we got at least second in that one we would get the win so we were really happy to be able to do that."
Sullivan was also involved in a battle with South Hadley senior Jon Horstman the 800 meter run, which was one of the most exciting events of the day. Horstman led fairly comfortably for most of the race, until Sullivan turned it on down the stretch to nip Horstman by less than 1/10 of a second with a time of 1:57.55 to earn the Blue Devils 10 points.
"We had scripted that," Clayton said. "We told Alex that the one way he would win was in the last five meters and that's exactly what he did. He came over afterwards and said, 'I can't believe you guys were right.'"
Sullivan and Hortsman have competed regularly in the 800.
"I knew it was going to be a good battle," Sullivan said. "We've raced a few times and it's always been close."
Horstman acknowledged the competition between the two.
"I've beat him in the past. He's beaten me in the past. We're just rivals I guess," Horstman said. "I give him credit. He got me at the line and it's anyone's game there."
The rally for Northampton started with a victory in the 4x800 meter relay with a time of 8:26.36 which earned the Blue Devils arguably their most important 10 points of the day. One of the contributors to that win was senior Ian Lutz who also earned his team three points by finishing sixth in the two-mile run with a time of 9:57.73.
"We knew we were going to have to have a good showing from all of our relays so it felt really good to go out there and win that race," Lutz said.
Like many of the Northampton boys, Lutz considered his team an underdog for the overall title, which made tying for the championship sweeter.
"We weren't really sure what we were going to be able to do," Lutz said. "Our field events came through, our relays came through. A bunch of people stepped up today, so it's exciting."
"We were fighting for every point," said Blue Devil senior Harrison Hunter, another member of the winning 4x800 relay group and a fourth-place finisher in the 400 meter hurdles at 58.95. "It was a stressful day because it was close the whole time. I'm glad we could come out with a share of the victory."
Northampton sophomore Samuel Shanky placed fifth in the one-mile run with a time of 4:39.09, and Alex Cahillane finished eighth in the 400-meter dash at 53.24 earning Northampton a point. Shanky was hurting all week and Cahillane had an ailing foot, Clayton said. Cahillane also ran in the 4x400 meter relay.
Shanky and Cahillane "are limping around right now and can hardly walk," Clayton said. "They really put it all out there today mentally and physically."
Other scorers for the Blue Devils were senior Tyler Church, third in the 200-meter dash at 22.99; junior Sam Coates-Finke finishing just one second behind Lutz in the two-mile in seventh; junior Ives Fisher, sixth in the shot put with a distance of 43 feet, 4¼ inches; and junior Jared Murphy throwing the javelin 147-02 which was eighth best.
Northampton also placed fifth in the 4x100 meter relay.
