Jack Stahl races in the 4×400 relay. The team took first place. (Photos by Kate Wool)
Bromfield’s boys and girls track and field teams distinguished themselves yet again at last week’s May 16 Midland-Wachusett Division D League meet at Gardner High School. It was the last regional meet of the season, with the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s state championships scheduled to begin Thursday, May 23.
The girls placed second among Mid-Wach D’s five schools, winning four of the 18 events in which they competed. The boys placed third, winning five of their events, including the 4×400-meter relay. Littleton won both league championships, earning nearly twice the points of their nearest competitors.
Bromfield had plenty of winners. Junior Wendy Aftosmis and senior Colin Harte each won two of the four events in which they competed. Aftosmis won the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes, while Harte won the 100 and the 200.
“Colin Harte continues to impress every time he steps up to the starting line,” boys coach Marisa Steele wrote the Press. “He is getting dangerously close to breaking the 11-second barrier for the 100-meter dash. He also recorded his longest leaps to date in the long jump and triple jump.”
Christopher Demetros prepares to vault. He would go on to take second place.
Other winners included senior Jack Stahl (400); junior Vasilis Psathas (high jump); ninth-grader Satriah Sikochi (400-meter hurdles); and senior Grace Beckett (pole vault). Bromfield athletes were among the top three finishers in more than two dozen of the day’s 36 events.
Steele praised Sikochi for her “breakthrough” in the 400 hurdles, bettering her previous time by close to 10 seconds and winning the race. “The 400 hurdles is probably one of the toughest races offered in high school track,” Steele said. “Satriah’s strong, smooth running form combined with her hurdling ability makes her a natural for this event.”
The boys victory in the 4×400, one of the most exciting races of the day, was close. When he got the baton, Steele reported, Stahl, running last, was approximately 30 meters behind Gardner’s anchor. But Stahl closed the gap and passed him on the home stretch, winning the race by 3 inches.
Senior Diesel Whitten, running the last races of his high school career, set personal records in both the 2-mile run and the 800, winning his first individual league medal for his sixth-place finish in the 2-mile by beating out a Tyngsboro competitor by .02 seconds. “Diesel has devoted so much to this sport over the past six years,” said Steele. “He always gives his best effort no matter what the circumstances and is truly an amazing role model for the whole team.”
Next up for the team are the MIAA Division 6 state championships set for May 23 and May 25 at Merrimack College in North Andover.
Midland-Wachusett D League championship, May 16
Girls
- 100-meter dash: Wendy Aftosmis, first, 13.26; Ashley Aftosmis, fifth, 14.01 seconds
- 200-meter: Ashley Aftosmis, third, 29.01; Sienna Schulz, sixth, 29.41
- 400-meter: Wendy Aftosmis, first, 1 minute 2.17 seconds; Jackie Wilkins, seventh, 1:12.13; Anna Ivanov, ninth, 1:17.78
- 800-meter: Vivienne Cogan, fifth, 2:46.37; Gabriella Temps, seventh, 2:53.78; Christina Kekis, ninth, 3:06.86
- 1-mile run: Evelyn Wool, second, 5:39.72; Abby Wool, fifth, 6:07.97; Helen Holzmann, eighth, 6:22.69
- 2-mile: Emma Squire, third, 13:51.72; Christina Kekis, fourth, 14:01.27
- 100 hurdles: Laci Ostaszewski, fourth, 19.17; Satriah Sikochi, seventh, 19.85
- 400 hurdles: Satriah Sikochi, first, 1:14.13; Grace Beckett, seventh, 1:32.14
- 4×100 relay: Laci Ostaszewski, Emerson Baker, Caroline Balsis, and Sienna Schulz, third, 57.22
- 4×400: Caroline Balsis, Abby Wool, Evelyn Wool, and Jackie Wilkins, second, 4:45.66
- 4×800: Ruby Farough, Arpi Mirzabegian, Vivienne Cogan, and Gretchen Day, third, 12:48.77
- Shot put: Satriah Sikochi, fourth, 25 feet 7.5 inches; Jackie Wilkins, 14th, 16-10
- Discus: Ashley Aftosmis, fourth, 72-7; Caroline Balsis, fifth, 72-4; Sienna Schulz, sixth, 70-8
- Javelin: Ashley Aftosmis, fifth, 78-3; Sadie Mendez, 76-9; Piper Candon, ninth, 59-3; Molly Jackson, 11th, 58-3
- High jump: Satriah Sikochi, third, 4-6; Sienna Schulz, fourth, 4-6
- Pole vault: Grace Beckett, first, 10-0; Laci Ostaszewski, third, 8-0; Wendy Aftosmis, fifth, 8-0
- Long jump: Anna Ivanov, seventh, 14-3.50; Katie Boutelle, 11th, 12-8.50; Jackie Wilkins. 13th, 10-9.50
- Triple jump: Grace Beckett, fourth, 28-8
Boys
- 100-meter dash: Colin Harte, first place, 11.06 seconds
- 200-meter: Colin Harte, first, 22.69; Julien Legrain, ninth, 25.42
- 400-meter: Jack Stahl, first, 51.34; Cole Maddalone, seventh, 55.37; Owen Balsis, 11th, 56.97
- 800-meter: Christian Johannesen, fourth, 2 minutes 8.01 seconds; Harrison Binnick, fifth, 2:10.30; Diesel Whitten, seventh, 2:15.00
- 1-mile run: Ben McWaters, third, 4:57.21; Liam Kemeza, fourth, 5:00.01
- 2-mile: Harrison Binnick, second, 10:31.03; Christian Johannesen, fourth, 10:38; Diesel Whitten, sixth, 11:05.37
- 4×100 relay: Yonathan Mesfin, Demetrios Kekis, Yaxi Li, and Tighe Crowley, fifth, 54.97
- 4×400: Jack Stahl, Liam Kemeza, Cole Maddalone, and Christopher Demetros, first, 3:39.86
- 4×800: Siwoo Kim, Sahaj Patel, Finnegan Nichols, and Tighe Crowley, fifth, 10:32.08
- Shot put: Ralph Adams, 12th, 26-5; Demetrios Kekis, 13th, 23-10
- Discus: Ralph Adams, ninth, 82-0; Yaxi Li; 10th 81-11
- Javelin: Owen Balsis, 10th, 90-10
- High jump: Vasilis Psathas, first, 5 feet 8 inches; Jack Stahl, seventh, 5-2
- Pole vault: Christopher Demetros, second, 13-6; Isaac Greayer, eighth, 8-0
- Triple jump: Colin Harte, second, 39-6.25
