Realizing the team championship was within reach at Wednesday’s MIAA Division 2 indoor track championship at the Reggie Lewis Center, Needham girls’ track coach Chris Van Cott inserted senior Margie Cullen — slated to compete in the 2-mile and 4-by-4 relay — into the mile race. Not only did it help give the Rockets the title, it turned into a record-setting day.
Cullen set meet records in the mile and 2-mile races, the latter setting a standard that stood unparalleled for 32 years as Needham earned its first team title since 1999, edging out Wellesley, 60 points to 54.33. margin.
“The way that I saw it, we had the second seed in the 4-by-4 [relay] on paper,’’ said Van Cott. “Taking her off that relay and putting her into an individual event was just going to provide that opportunity to get another 10 points.’’
Cullen ran 4:51 in the mile to break Beverly’s Monica Adler’s record set in 2010. Cullen ran 10:44 in the 2-mile, besting a mark that stood since 1984, when Swampscott’s Katie Toner ran 10:46.
“It definitely made me more nervous,’’ said Cullen of the audible called by her coach. “But I just sucked it up, I was going to be running two races anyway.’’
Cullen wasn’t the only record-breaking Rocket on Wednesday evening. Sarah Armstrong became the meet’s standard-bearer in the 1,000 meter run, running 2:53.
“[Cullen and Armstrong] are great training partners, they push each other in training and in meets,’’ said Van Cott. “They’ve just been so solid for the entire season.’’
On the boys’ side, Needham was led by Will Ashenfelter, who won the 600-meter run, and got top-three finishes from Davonte Burnett (55-meter hurdles), Steven Flanagan (2-mile), and Trevor Schofield (long-jump) to give the Rockets its first division title since 1971.
“Last year we put together points but we didn’t have a great day,’’ said Needham boys’ coach Joe Karasch. “This year, to finally get over the hump is very satisfying.’’
Needham lost the 2014 division title in the final event to Mansfield, which accounted for five of the previous six Division 2 titles entering Wednesday. But the meet was decided well before the gun went off for the final race, the Rockets finishing with 73 points, 31 more than Reading, which had 42.
