NORTH ANDOVER — Franklin’s Sarah Dumas is one of the state’s most seasoned indoor pentathletes, but Thursday’s Division 1 MIAA state championships at Merrimack College presented the junior with a new challenge: Could she replicate her success in the competition in an outdoor setting?
Dumas answered the bell with ease, rolling to victory with 3,335 points with first-place finishes in the 100-meter hurdles (14.89 seconds), high jump, shot put (10 meters), and 800-meter dash (2:40.61).
“She seems to rise to the occasion when it’s a big meet,” said Franklin coach Paul Trovato. “You can always count on Sarah coming through.”
Dumas, whose strongest event has traditionally been the hurdles, posted a school record in the high jump (1.65 meters).
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“I can’t believe it, to be honest,” she said. “I never expect this stuff to happen, and then it just happens.”
Dumas placed fourth in the pentathlon at New Balance Nationals in March, but Thursday was her first attempt at an outdoors pentathlon.
▪ Typically, Newton South track standout Amelia Everett wins races by hanging around the pack for the first half of an event, and then delivering a punishing negative split in the final stretch.
But in her 800-meter final, Everett set out to be more aggressive from the starting pistol.
”Today, we were just trying to get used to coming out fast,” said Newton South coach Steven McChesney said.
Everett did just that. The Stanford-bound senior and heavy favorite jogged out to a lead from the opening moments of the race and didn’t look back, finishing in 2:08.27 — more than four seconds quicker than Brookline’s Camille Jordan (2:12.36), who finished second.
The strategy to start with more burst was, in part, a way of Everett’s preparation for the next level.
”I’m trying to get her ready to be a college athlete,” McChesney said.
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Everett also won the 800-meter at last year’s MIAA Meet of Champions.”There’s confidence in having done it so many times, but it’s also like, I want to finish on a good note,” Everett said.
▪ St. John’s Prep’s Aithan Bethanson (3,329 points) notched a come-from-behind win in the boys’ pentathlon.
Weymouth’s Brandon Riley (3,278) led up until the final event — the 1,500-meter run — but Bethanson finished second (4:33.57) to edge Riley and win the competition.
“I tend to start lower in the rankings, and leading to the end I knew I had to run a good race for myself,” Bethanson said. “It’s really just me versus me.”
▪ In the girls’ competition, Brookline (29 points) built a six point lead over second-place Cambridge (23), anchored by Jordan’s strong showing in the 800 and Brooklyn Huggins’ second-place finish in the pentathlon (2,904 points).
▪ On the boys’ side, Acton-Boxborough (51 points) finished the day on top behind three first-place finishers: Alex Landry in the 200 (21.66), Noah Stegmeier in the 400-meter hurdles (55.45), and Ajay Raina in the 800 (1:55.69).
St. John’s Prep sits in second place with 37 points, and Newton North, the defending champion in both the girls’ and boys’ competitions, rounds out the top three with 24.
BOYS
MIAA Division 1 Championship
at Merrimack College
200m — 1. Alex Landry, Acton-Boxborough, 0:21.66; 2. Johnny Emmanual, Malden, 0:21.69; 3. Myles Scott, Newton North, 0:21.88.
400m — 1. Noah Stegmeier, Acton-Boxborough, 0:55.45; 2. Chris Scalia, Needham, 0:55.69; 3. McKenna O’Hara Gibson, Lexington, 0:55.9.
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800m — 1. Ajay Raina, Acton-Boxborough, 1:55.69; 2. Dylan Brenn, Wachusett, 1:55.99; 3. Tyler Tubman, Newton North, 1:56.06.
2-mile — 1. Paul Bergeron, Westford, 8:51.88; 2. Nathan Lopez, St. John’s Prep, 9:00; 3. Will Liu, Acton-Boxborough, 9:20.05.
Pole vault — 1. Ryan Swenson, Andover, 14 feet 0 inches; 2. Christoph Osselmann, Acton-Boxborough, 13-6; 3. Adam Boulay, Shrewsbury, 12-0.
Triple jump — 1. Zyeem Charles, Attleboro, 44 feet 9.75 inches; 2. Tireni Asenuga, St. John’s Prep, 43-9; 3. Brad McNew, Newton North, 43-1.75.
Discus — 1. Kaden Cassidy, Lexington, 157 feet 10 inches; 2. Noah Falvey, BC High, 147-8; 3. Emanuel Trinidad, Lowell, 145-3.
Pentathlon — 1. Aithan Benanson, St. John’s Prep, 3329 points; 2. Brandon Riley, Weymouth, 3278; 3. Dylan Aliberti, St. John’s Prep, 3149.
GIRLS
200m — 1. Kylee Bernard, Cambridge, 0:24.79; 2. Abby Desmarais, Framingham, 0:25.02; 3. Nyah Santana, Wachusett, 0:25.68.
400m hurdles — 1. Alex Bold, Needham, 1:04.33; 2. Bridget Geary, Lowell, 1:08.43; 3. Erin Kelley, Braintree, 1:08.91.
800m — 1. Amelia Everett, Newton South, 2:08.27; 2. Camille Jordan, Brookline, 2:12.36; 3. Ciara Evans, Newton North, 2:15.34.
2-mile — 1. Ava Criniti, Lexington, 10:34.82; 2. Aoife Shovlin, Cambridge, 10:40.01; 3. Jordan Liss-Riordan, Brookline, 10:46.31.
Triple jump — 1. Shakira Cadet, Durfee, 37 feet 9 inches; 2. Annamaria Mbuyu, Lowell, 36-8.75; 3. Ashley Sheldon, Andover, 36-7.75.
Discus — 1. Lily Deforge, Franklin, 116 feet 0 inches; 2. Lily Siegelman, Newton North, 114-7; 3. Veronica Jones, Lowell, 112-5.
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Pentathlon — 1. Sarah Dumas, Franklin, 3335 points; 2. Brooklyn Huggins, Brookline, 2904; 3. Alin Aydogan, Westford, 2507.