Newton North came away with a clean sweep at the MSTCA Division 1 outdoor relays at Lincoln-Sudbury on Saturday.
The girls’ team won its seventh straight outdoor championship, while the boys’ side placed in all 15 events.
The girls’ meet came down to the last relay, the 4 x 400. With Andover close behind, Newton North needed a strong performance to secure the title.
“They did exactly what we had expected them to do,’’ Newton North girls’ coach Joe Tranchita said.
Carissa Stots — who was involved in a botched handoff during the 4 x 200 — ran a leg of just under a minute to help the Tigers place fourth in the 4 x 400, and that gave Newton North (57) enough points to hold off Andover (53).
“I was happy that Carissa came back the way she did,’’ Tranchita said. “It can be pretty devastating when you drop the baton and know you may have just taken your team out of the title. She ran a brilliant leg.’’
The Newton North girls also had strong performances in the field events, winning the high jump (14 feet 11 inches), triple jump (98-2), and discus (237-11), and placing second in the long jump (48-5½).
Weymouth and Acton-Boxboro tied for third with 36 points, and Lexington and Newton South shared fifth with 32 points.
The Newton North boys ran away with the title by finishing with 89 points, 49 ahead of second-place St. John’s Prep.
“It isn’t that we just had good sprinters,’’ coach Jim Blackburn said. “It is a real true measure of a team to win the relays.’’
The 4 x 400 was a turning point in the boys’ event, too. The Tigers ran a scorching 3:24.04, pushing their overall lead to 10 points.
From there, Newton North kept its foot on the pedal in securing the sweep.
“The support of the whole [Newton] community is what motivates these athletes,’’ Blackburn said. “They want to keep up the tradition that has been here a long time.’’
Needham (39), Newton South (31), and BC High (30) rounded out the boys’ top five.
Division 4
The North Reading girls’ team used four first-place finishes in Bellingham to capture the school’s first MSTCA Division 4 outdoor relays title.
Shortly after the girls’ results were announced and the Hornets were awarded their trophy and T-shirts, the North Reading boys’ team secured its first outdoor relays title as well, winning three events en route to the crown.
“It says a lot about the kids in the town, their love of the sport,’’ said North Reading boys’ coach Ryan Spinney.
“They want to continue to obviously be the best that they can be but most importantly it just tells you that they’re excellent kids who work extremely hard.’’
North Reading racked up 67 points on the girls’ side. Norton (54) finished second, just edging Hamilton-Wenham (52).
“It’s a full team effort, we’re not that big a squad,’’ said Sotirios Pintzopoulos, the North Reading girls’ coach. “There wasn’t a bad event for us today and we almost scored in everything.’’
“We’ve got 44 on the whole team, including JV, varsity. Here maybe we have about 25, 30, and they all factored in for us. There wasn’t a bad event for us today and we almost scored in everything.’’
The North Reading girls’ shuttle hurdles squad qualified for nationals with a first-place time of 1:05.26. The Hornets also won the triple jump (99-¼), long jump (49-6¼), and pole vault (27-6).
“First time in school history and I’m very proud of these girls,’’ Pintzopoulos said. “And I went to North Reading High, so it’s always cooler when you come from the school.’’
Norton captured the 4 x 200 (1:49.27), 4 x 400 (4:15.26), and 4 x 800 (10:02.71).
Weston (51.44) took the 4 x 100, Bellingham (4:17.20) won the sprint medley, and Millis (13:20.37) took home the distance medley title.
Seekonk grabbed wins in the discus (280-2) and shot put (97-6¼), Old Rochester (14-10) won the high jump, and Millis (269-10) won the javelin.
On the boys’ side, North Reading collected 79 points. Norton took second with 54 and Newburyport (36) took third.
The Hornets won the shot put (128-1), the long jump (58-3), and the pole vault (26-6).
“[The win] makes us realize what our real potential is,’’ Spinney said. “We have the potential to do something really special at the state level. This is just one stop along the way, but our depth really came through today.’’
Norton, which was without Abu Ceesay, who is still recovering from an injury, won the 4 x 200 (1:32.63), the 4 x 800 (8:27.23), and the javelin (417-6).
Newburyport dominated the distance events, winning the 4 x 1,600 in 18:15.59 and the distance medley in 11:07.47. The Clippers also won the high jump (17-4¼).
Dover-Sherborn won the 4 x 100 in 45.27 and Old Rochester (1:03.65) won the shuttle hurdles. Bishop Fenwick (3:39.0) finished first in the sprint medley and Watertown (3:30.53) captured the 4 x 400. Bellingham won the triple jump with a mark of 120-2½.
