Lopez, Wilson crowned at Meet of Champions

Nathan Lopez, state champ

Peabody's Lindsey Wilson atop the podium after winning the high jump at the Meet of Champions Saturday night. Teammate Brianna Ewansiha (third from left) also placed.

When St. John's Prep senior Nathan Lopez held up three fingers at the end of his record breaking 2-mile race on Thursday, he was signaling a three-peat as the state's 2-mile champion.

The Michigan-bound harrier might also have been telling the future, since three was the number of gold medals he took home from his final Meet of Champions.

After taking the 2-mile in a meet record 8:59.29, Lopez returned to Fitchburg State Saturday and won the mile in a crisp 4:12.99. He also the anchored the Prep's state championship 4x800 relay team with Paul Lovett, Nick MacDonald and Daniel Padley for a time of 7:52.13.

As impressive as three titles might be, it's the 2-mile that folks will be talking about for a long time. Lopez ran an extremely quick last lap and got a big lift from the fans that saw the clock and hoped to will him to break the nine-minute barrier. He did, becoming the first boy to do so at a Massachusetts state championship meet in 48 years — and the last one was future Olympian Alberto Salazar.

"The triple he completed Saturday was pretty incredible. To the best of my knowledge, no one has done all three successfully — win the 2-mile (with a meet record), win the mile, win the 4x800 relay," said Eagles coach Zach Lankow. "It was a dominant display on Nathan's part, and I couldn't be happier for him and John Boyle, who does a lot of the coaching with him and is retiring."

Peabody senior Lindsey Wilson was the other North Shore athlete to make it to the top of the podium in the two-day All-State Meet of Champions held at Fitchburg State, with the best outdoor track athletes from all across Massachusetts’ six divisions. The runner-up and Division 2 champ in 2022, Wilson made her final jump count by clearing 5-foot-6 to win the state title.

"Lindsey is a hard worker and a well-rounded athlete," said Peabody head coach Fernando Braz, crediting jumps coaches Phil Sheridan and Moisse Irizarry. "Her technique was excellent and she's a very deserving champion."

The Tanners also took home a silver medal with Alessandra Forgione taking second in the javelin (130 feet 6 inches) and a bronze with Savanna Vargas third in the 100 (12.41).

Wilson, who will join the track team at Adelphi next year, also medaled in the high hurdles, where she was fourth, and came in 14th in the triple jump (34-11 1/4). Aaliyah Callahan was fourth in the shot put (39-06) while Sarah DiVasta ran the mile (5:13, 18th), indoor champ Brianna Ewansiha was eighth in the high jump (5-2) and the 4x100 relay of Vargas, Marissa Simmons, Tamara Kemigisha and Mimi Batista placed 11th (51.00).

Sophomore Alex Jackson bounced back for the Tanner boys to earn third in the shot put with a toss of 56-feet-8-inches. Evan Bedard came in 16th in the triple jump (41-5 1/4) while Logan Tracia clocked 4:28 in the mile and Justin Franco made the trials in both the 100 and 200.

Also for St. John's Prep, Drew McStay finished third in the high jump by clearing 6-foot-2 and the 4x100 relay of Cooper Johnson, Chris McDonough, Dylan Aliberti and Brendan Burke was third overall in 43.16 seconds. Aithan Bezanson was also runner-up in the pentathlon with 3,313 total points and Pius Ejindu was 14th in the shot put at 47 feet 1 inch.

Danvers’ sophomore Georgia Prouty made the 400 field with a super-qualifying time and made it count. She reset her own DHS school record with a time of 57.60 seconds and grabbed a sixth place medal out of the unseeded heat.

Also for the Falcons, Emma Eagan ran the 2-mile (11:57) and Cali Abbatessa tossed the discus (99 feet), while for the DHS boys, Sean Moore ran the 2-mile (10:08).

Marblehead's girls 4x100 relay had an impressive finish to get to the podium in fourth place. Ava Machado, Cate Trautman, Sadie Halpern and LeDaisha Williams (the champs of D3) combined for 49.93 seconds. Freshman Mari O’Connell also had a great finish in the 2-mile for sixth (11:24) while Keira Sweetnam was 14th in the high jump (5-2) and Rachael Albert threw the discus 97 feet 6 inches.

The Magician boys saw solid performances by Isaac Gross (2-mile, 9:51) and trial qualifiers Harrison Curtis (100, 200) and Alex Hersey (high hurdles).

Among other local qualifiers, Beverly's Meredith Pasquarosa came in fifth in the 100 (12.46). For the Panther boys, Devon Smalls (100) and Leo Sherriff (high hurdles) qualified for the trials of their respective events and Harry Silva was 29th in the long jump (19-5 1/2).

Masconomet's Nathan Molina placed 19th in the long jump at 20 feet 1 inch, and the Chieftain girls 4x100 relay of Caroline Losee, Lauren Boughner, Brooke Applestein and Piper Testa ran 52.46 (26th).

From Essex Tech, Maci Abbatessa threw the shot 34 feet 5 1/4 inches to come in 14th place.

The Division 6 champion in the triple jump from Hamilton-Wenham, Georgia Wilson, came in 17th in that event at the Meet of Champions with a leap of 34-feet-8 1/4 inches. She also competed in the long jump, coming in 30th at 15-8 1/4.

Ipswich's Keith Townsend turned in a couple of top 10 finishes: He was ninth in the low hurdles (56.77) and also 10th in the high jump (6 feet). Other Tigers competing were Colin Hansen in the 400 (17th) and 200 trials and Olivia Novello in the high hurdle trials.

Nathan Lopez, state champ

Assistant sports editor of The Salem News, blanketing the North Shore with the best coverage you'll find. Football fiend, track guru, seam-head, goaltending aficionado, history buff, stat geek. Allons-Y. #StrikeOutALS

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