SENIOR ANNA Mackey became a Div. 3 Champion in the 1000 meter for Melrose High on Feb. 16. (courtesy photo)
Anna Mackey tops the pack in the 1000m
By JENNIFER GENTILE
BOSTON—The Melrose Highs girls’ indoor track team was feeling rather golden on Wednesday, Feb. 16 when they competed at the Div. 3 State Final at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
With good reason: their senior captain Anna Mackey became the state champion in the 1000 meter, topping nearest competition from Billerica, with a time of 3:02.67. Mackey’s victory automatically advances her to compete in All States this weekend in the 1000, where she is currently seeded 8th.
“Anna took the lead in the very beginning of the race and never let up,” says Melrose head coach Shannon Kane. “Her confidence and ability to be the best is unmatched and never waivers and it was evident in her performance. We are all so proud of her.”
Mackey spoke after her race about the effort. “It feels great to know that all my hard work has paid off.” As for race strategy? “I always try to start off fast and get ahead of runners, then pace myself in middle laps and finish with a full sprint.”
Mackey, who will run at Colby next year, hopes to break her best time of 3:01 at All States this weekend. She’s grateful of her teammates and coaches’ support. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of my team and my team and my coaches.”
Many others had their moments on the podium. Eight Red Raiders medaled in events, helping Melrose take an overall 9th out of 31 Div. 3 teams. There were also plenty who finished in the top 10 and top 15. Junior Jillian Bakey medaled in the 2 mile with a 5th place finish and senior Julia McAree was also 5th in the high jump to earn a medal. Senior Kate Sikkema was 6th place in the 600m and she joined teammates Autumn Whelan, Amy Rowe and Jillian Bakey who all medaled in a 7th place finish in the 4x400m relay.
Melrose’s 4×800 relay team of Ava Picone, Darby Thompson, Charlotte Tysall and Anna Mackey also medaled in 6th place.
Overall, Melrose finished 9th out of 33 teams. Coach Kane was proud of their collective effort. “This season has been different than previous seasons. For the first time in a long time most of our team was new to indoor track. We had a lot of teaching and learning to do and a lot of confidence to build. We worked extremely hard in practice to be the best on race day and the pieces slowly started to fall into place. By the end of the season every girl on the team surpassed their first race performances and many qualified for states. At states they confidently performed and encouraged their teammates to do the same. It was amazing to see how far they have come and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the team.”
Boy’s team reaches podium
There was plenty of hardware to go around for the Melrose High boy’s indoor track team as they participated in the Div. 3 State Finals at the Reggie Lewis Center.
Melrose’s Gabriel Buffonge medaled in 6th place in the 55m Hurdles. Ryan Cotugno finished in 8th place in the 1000m. And Melrose’s 4×800 relay team also took home a medal with an 8th place finish behind the work of Will Dugan, Ryan Cotugno, Russell O’Donnell, Ben Donovan. The team finished 23rd overall. Look for many of these Red Raider runners to continue their racing in the outdoor spring track season.