Bombaugh Flirts with Greatness
Shot Putter Breaks Auerbach Mark with Monster Toss

By Joe Reardon

The most telling shot-put throw Falmouth’s Samuel Bombaugh released at Saturday’s Auerbach Freshman/Sophomore Large Schools Championships was the one that never showed up in the final results.

Warming up prior to the event, the modest sophomore just barely fouled on a heave that landed 59 feet from the shot-put circle inside the Reggie Lewis Center. The Clippers sophomore knew then that he was in for a decent day in the weight cage.

Bombaugh clinched first place in the event and the "Field Performance of the Meet" award when he launched a throw 56 feet and one-half inch on his second attempt. More importantly, the heave, a personal best by four feet, was the best in the state this winter and broke the meet record of 56-0 set in 1998 by New England record-holder Jeff Chakouian of Seekonk.
"I’ve been dying for this meet since last year," said Bombaugh. "There was a lot of adrenaline going. The shot was flying out of my hand. It was a lot of fun.

"I thought I could do this."

Bombaugh likes the idea of reaching the 60-foot mark by the all-state meet and eclipsing Chakouian’s state record in the next two years before graduating high school.
Andover’s Chris McConnell also added his name to the record books, bettering the time of 6.55 seconds set by Datrion Williams of Madison Park in winning the 55-meter dash last year. McConnell’s 6.53 was good enough to defeat runner-up Kamal Riley of Charlestown (6.67), who was also second to Williams a year ago. McConnell earned the award for the most outstanding running performance of the meet.

McConnell admitted he was thinking about the record right along, although winning was his top priority. "It was on my mind," he said, "but I planned to win it (final) first."

McConnell improved with each heat and blasted out of the blocks to win the final.
Lexington’s Daishawn Beaumont showed his versatility by taking gold medals in the 300 (37.05) and the long jump (19-6 ), while Armando Bucciarelli of Central Catholic set a personal best for the second time in a week with his winning mark of 6-1 in the high jump.
Both Dennis-Yarmouth’s Evan Tuohy-Bedford (4:42.59) and Brookline’s Brendan Grove (10:16.36) relied on their devastating finishing kicks to win the mile and 2-mile, respectively, and Peter Finigan of Reading won the 600 in 1:28.35. BC High’s Greg Dunn won the 1,000 with his 2:52.35 and Matt Michell of Lowell blasted an 8.36 to win the 55-meter hurdles.
The Reading foursome of Finigan, John Tuttle, Nicholas Scali and Matt Whalen took the 4 x 400 in 3:43.18. Andover was second (3:44.04), followed by Xaverian (3:45.59).

Olivia Grant wasn’t overly optimistic heading into yesterday’s Auerbach Freshman/Sophomore Large Schools Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center.

For starters, the Boston Latin speedster was running in a pair of spikes she bought just before the meet began. And Grant was more than a little leery of her starts, courtesy of snow days and chilly temperatures that limited her to just one training session in the last week.
Grant’s worries, though, were for naught as she bolted to the fastest time in the state this seasson with her 7.48 in the 55-meter dash. Her convincing victory over Pebbles Banks of Newton South (7.22) was awarded as the best running performance of the meet.
"I was worried about the blocks," Grant said. "I’ve missed some workouts because of snow days. In the finals, I wasn’t the first one out of the blocks but I got a good start. I still have to work on them. There’s a lot of room for improvement."

In just her second attempt in the event, Lexington’s Shereen Salem won the high jump with a 5-foot-1 effort.

Not bad considering she only was aiming for a top-10 showing.

"My muscles were really tight but once I warmed up I felt good," said the 5-2 Salem. "I was aiming for 5-3 today. On my last jump, I was pretty close. It’s intimidating because it’s (the bar) higher than me."

Lincoln-Sudbury freshman Andrea Keklak clocked a 5:21.68 win in the mile. Keklak, who was the Warriors’ top harrier at the all-state meet and Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Ore., bettered her personal best by 20 seconds.

Keklak let runner-up Christine McNaughton of Haverhill (5:23.34) set the early pace before sprinting away over the final 100 meters.

"This went by faster than I thought," Keklak said. "It seemed like a sprint where you have to go on instinct. I run the 2-mile, and it’s slower with more time for strategy."
Marlboro’s Allyson Oram’s 2-mile strategy was simple: Follow the leaders and make a move at the mile mark. That plan worked to perfection as she tailed runner-up Megan Barry of Dennis-Yarmouth (11:54.23) through a 5:36 opening mile. Oram then surged ahead and away from the field, crossing the finish line in 11:23.71, a personal best by 15 seconds.

Haverhill freshman Rebecca Stabile dropped down to the 300 dash for a 43.14 victory, and DeKontee Chea of Chelmsford captured the 600 in 1:45.78.

Marlboro’s Cathy Winters relied on her kick to draw away from the pack and win the 1,000 in 3:07.26, and Christy Deininger of North Attleboro dominated the 55 hurdles with a 9.26 victory.

The small school competition on Sunday didn’t yield any records but the performances were impressive from top to bottom.

Kyle LeBlanc knows he is nowhere near reaching a peak so early in the indoor season. That made his victory yesterday in the 55-meter dash at the Auerbach Small Schools Championships even sweeter.

The Newburyport athlete won his first two heats in the 55-meter dash in a personal-best time of 6.69 before defending his title convincingly in the final with a 6.71.
LeBlanc’s second consecutive Auerbach victory earned him the best running performance award, as voted by the coaches. LeBlanc’s lone regret in an otherwise sterling afternoon was that he did not improve on his time in the finals.
"I really wanted to break the 6.69 in the last one, but I’m happy," LeBlanc said. "The starts were pretty good. The last one was kind of hard because of the race going around (the track). You have to concentrate."

Hamilton-Wenham’s Jackson MacDonald, who finished second to Tyler King of Wakefield in the 55-meter hurdles, was the lone high jumper to clear 5 feet, 11 inches. MacDonald’s took home the outstanding field event performance award for his winning leap.
Seekonk’s Johnny Gregorek took the advice of his father, two-time Olympian and former Georgetown All-American John Gregorek, in his 2-mile win.

"He gives me advice on strategy," said Gregorek. "Mostly he says relax and go."
Gregorek, who was chasing the meet record of 9:55 set by Stoneham’s Anthony Ragucci in 1996, seperated himself from the field on the third lap and ran to a 10:04.87 victory. Bromfield’s Max Flaton was a distant second in 10:26.08.
Gregorek, who has a personal best of 9:59, hopes to run a 9:40 before the end of the season.
"I was trying to run even splits," said Gregorek. "I was pretty happy with it. I thought there would be someone with me, but there wasn’t."

Hingham’s Dana Lindberg had plenty of company in the 300-meter dash after a tough start, but used his strong finishing kick to run down Seamus Fitzpatrick-Rys of Winchendon for a 38.24 victory. Fitzpatrick-Rys was a close second.
"I usually take the lead but he’s really fast," said Lindberg, who is running indoor track for the first time. "I came around the corner and had a lot of energy."
The Randolph duo of Devlin Crawford and John Mbengam dominated the 600-meter run with a 1-2 finish. The teammates battled down the final straightaway with Crawford (1:32.77) coming out on top by .46 seconds.

Marissa Bynoe is an inch away from reaching her goal for the winter track campaign just one month into the season.
The Holliston long jumper, though, has plenty to keep her busy when she inevitably breaks her new personal best performance.
Bynoe added 5 inches to her previous best, winning the event on her first leap with a mark of 15-11 inches in the girls competition.

Bynoe’s leap, which was 5 inches farther than runner-up Erica Hawley of Walpole, earned her the outstanding field event performance award.
"I felt better warming up than usual," said Bynoe. "I want to jump 16 feet, then 16-3 by the end of the season. I’m close."

Bynoe easily could have picked up the outstanding running performance award with her 9.28 win in the 55-meter hurdles were it not for Oliver Ames’ Jenna Davidner’s solo win in the 2-mile.

Davidner, who was slow starting the season because of a tendinitis injury in her knee, showed no ill effects on her 16 laps around the Reggie Lewis oval. Clearly the class of the field, Davidner took an early lead and cruised through the mile in 5:40, en route to an 11:34.08 defense of her title.

"It was all right," Davidner said. "I was just going for the win. It’s hard to push by yourself."
Triton’s Deanna Latham, who finished second to Molly O’Dea of Hingham in the 55-meter dash, was short of her personal-best 5-3 in the high jump, but still came away with the gold medal thanks to a 5-1 leap.

"I knew I’d be seeded pretty high, but didn’t know I’d win it," said Latham. "I really want to clear 5-5 and qualify for nationals."

Pentucket’s Alanna Poretta stuck with the pack in the mile until the pace slowed at the -mile mark. She made a quick move with 200 meters remaining and extended her lead for a 5:20.99 win. Jen Thomas of Bishop Feehan took the runner-up medal with a 5:24.76.
Poretta, who has played a big part in Pentucket’s 7-0 Cape Ann League start, realized she had to try to make up for the slow start and middle laps.

"When (the pace) slowed down I took off," Poretta said. "I had to make it up in the last 200 (meters)."

Mimi Narbonne of the Bromfield School ran a come-from-behind race to take the 1,000-meter run in 3:15.43 and Medfield shot putter Grace Thole’s heave of 31-1/2 gave her the title in her specialty.