Highlanders untouchable at Monster Meet
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Harwood's Sophie Lisaius strides across the finish line to win the 1,500-meter event on Wednesday. KYLE MARTEL/TIMES ARGUS |
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By KYLE MARTEL Correspondent - Published: May 14, 2009
EAST MONTPELIER – U-32's Lucas Hadden stole the individual spotlight at Wednesday's Monster Meet, but Harwood's strength in numbers gave the Highlander boys and girls decisive victories in the team scores.
Harwood coach Taggert Haslam couldn't identify any one person who stood out and guided the team to an 88-point girls victory and a 143-point victory on the boys' side. Instead, Haslam called it a team victory. The U-32 boys and girls both picked up second place, scoring 115 and 131 points, respectively. Peoples Academy (79 points) took third on the girls' side, South Royalton (52 points) finished fourth and Spaulding finished fifth (49 points). Whitcomb and Northfield tied for sixth place with 11 points and Randolph finished last with four points.
On the boys' side, Spaulding finished third behind U-32 with 86 points, South Royalton took fourth with 47 points and Northfield and Peoples tied for fifth place with eight points apiece. Whitcomb finished seventh with four points.
The usual Harwood standouts such as Eamon Welter (first in 1,500-meter and 800-meter races) and Sophie Lisaius (first in the 1,500 and second in 800) were on top of their games to deliver valuable points for the team. But Harwood's biggest edge didn't come from sweeping all of the first-place finishes. The real secret to the Highlanders' success was having multiple athletes score in almost every event. For example, Harwood racked up 17 points alone in the boys 300-meter hurdles as Zach Pfister took first, Dylan Peterson finished second and Josh Kernan placed third.
"It hasn't really been just one person who has stood out – it has been across the board," Haslam said. "We did great in distance and our 4x100 teams both won today and really did an excellent job. It has been a real group effort today. We are getting the great results we always get from our 1-2 finishers that we always get, but we are having people score in the fourth, fifth and sixth spots. It is great and that gap between those two groups is getting closer. It just elevates where the team is."
Hadden was a shining star for U-32, winning all four of his events and breaking the state record in javelin. The Raider senior won the 100, 200 and discus. He broke his own Division II state record of 181 feet, 11 inches in the javelin with a throw of 183 feet, 9 inches.
"I look at javelin as my main event – anything else I do is to train for it," Hadden said. "I'll run the 100 and 200, but it is just to get into better shape."
Hadden's four wins didn't come easy for the Wake Forrest-bound senior as Harwood's Thomas Jacobs-Moore nearly edged out Hadden in the 200. However, Hadden beat the Highlander sprinter to the line by eight-hundredths of a second.
"Luke is an incredible athlete," U-32 coach Mark Chaplin said. "He is a hard worker and it is paying off."
U-32's Amy Curtis picked a win in the 3,000, while teammate Chelsea Evans won the 800, placed second in the long jump and ran the fastest leg on the winning 4x800 relay. Esther Nemethy placed well for U-32, taking second in the triple jump and pole vault and third in the long jump. She was also on the second-place 4x100 relay team.
Montpelier's Colby Cunningham won the triple jump by almost 2 feet.
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