Published: 6/12/2016 8:00:08 PM
The weather made Saturday’s New England Interscholastic Track & Field Championship feel more like an April meet than a June meet.
And some of the performances reflected that feeling at Willow Brook Park in New Britain, Connecticut.
Sprinters like the weather hot so muscles stay loose. That wasn’t the case Saturday for Northampton junior Nik Smith.
“I felt good about my placing, performing well under the conditions,” Smith said. “I’m disappointed with the times. And our relay didn’t come together how I wanted.”
Smith finished runner-up in the 200-meter dash and was fifth in the 100.
Mark Doyley, of Weaver (Connecticut), won both events. He finished the 100 in 10.82 seconds to Smith’s 11.10.
Doyley won the 200 in 21.60. Smith finished in 21.96.
“I didn’t run the race the way I really wanted to,” Smith said the 200. “I worked a little too hard on the first 100, but overall it was a strong race. It could have been better.”
Smith anchored the 4x400 relay to a seventh-place finish in 3:22.10. Jeremy Doele led off and was followed by Marcus Peterson and Cole Lavalle.
“It could have been better but we had a strong showing,” Smith said. “It was a good performance.”
Northampton’s 4x800 of Ben Gorden-Sniffen, Ethan Milsark, Liam Flynn and Liam Sullivan finished 13th in 8:07.27.
The colder weather may have proved beneficial for Amherst Regional freshman Sophia Jacobs-Townsley. Distance runners tend to like colder weather and Jacobs-Townsley set a personal best in the 2-mile. She finished 11th in 10:58.91.