Published January 10, 2020
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The future looks bright for the Melrose High boy’s and girl’s indoor track teams, who earned some top spots at the 2020 Red Auerbach Freshman & Sophomore Race at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
On the boy’s side, Melrose saw some spots on the podium earned by the Red Raiders. They include Ryan Cutogno, who medaled with a 6th place finish in the 1000m and a time of 2:54.99. Teammate Will Duggan also cracked the top ten in the event with a 9th place finish and time of 2:55.97.
Melrose’s relay team of Ryan Cotugno, Will Duggan Brady Pitcher and Matt Whelan also earned a medal with a 4th place finish of 3:56.89. Whelan enjoyed a strong day, placing 10th in the 55 dash with a time of 7.33 and a 13th place finish in the long jump with a reach of 17-00.
Brady Pitcher proved a name to remember when he placed 14th in the 300 dash in a time of 40.11 and reached 15.07 in the long jump. Melrose freshman JD Barbera looked sharp in the boy’s shot put with a throw of 29.05.50.
MELROSE RELAY team of Brady Pitcher, Matt Whelan, Will Dugan and Ryan Cotugno celebrate their spot on the podium. (courtesy photo)
Girls team medals, are 3-0 after Wakefield win
Melrose High female underclassmen were well represented at the Auerbach Meet and earned a few spots on the podium. It was a big day for sophomore Julia McAree, who earned silver with a second overall place in the high jump (5’0) and 41st in the hurdles. Hailey Keegan also wowed in the 55 dash with a third-place finish at 7.70. And Anna Mackey also landed on the podium with a 5th place finish in the 1000 meter run.
Melrose’s distance running was well represented. Sophomore Charlotte Tsyall placed 14th in the 1 mile and was joined by freshman teammate Kate McAndrews. Freshman Jillian Bakey cracked the top ten in the 2 mile with a time of 13.19 and was joined by sophomore teammate Tobey Russell. Rory Kirby represented Melrose in the 55 hurdles with a finish of 12.35 and also competed in the long jump along with teammate Charlotte Tysall. Representing Melrose in the 300 dash were Yasmeen Fuentes and Anna Wong. Running the 600 was freshman Megan Maher. In the 1000 Melrose saw sophomore Molly Lytje compete.
Their performance comes on the heels of Melrose’s clinching of their third league win with a victory over rival Wakefield on Jan. 2. Pulling off wins were Nora Daly and Hailey Keegan in the 55 dash, Alyssa Champagne and Ella Flemming in the 600, Anna Mackey and Jenna Fracasso in the 1000. Wakefield earned the top spots in the distance races but depth prevailed for Melrose with them taking the 2-3 spots in the 1 mile (Alex Cotugno, Katie Duffy respectively) and Jillian Bakey and Marissa Zelton in the 2 mile.
Relays proved big for Melrose thanks to the running in the 4×200 of Hailey Keegan, Nia Kovacez, Nora Daly and Grace Donahue. Melrose also prevailed in the 4×400 thanks to Ava Palumbo, Ella Flemming, Alyssa Champagne and Charlotte Tysall.
Coming up victorious in the shot put were Chelsea Otaluka and Jocelyn Skane.
Stay tuned. The Melrose High girls’ track team only needs another win to take their second straight Freedom title. We will have a look at that probability in next week’s edition.
