Nik Smith, front of Northampton, runs beside Elijah Johnson, of East Longmeadow, in the 300-meter during the PVIAC Indoor Track Championships, last month at Smith College.
Nik Smith, front of Northampton, runs beside Elijah Johnson, of East Longmeadow, in the 300-meter during the PVIAC Indoor Track Championships, last month at Smith College. Credit: GAZETTE STAFF/JERREY ROBERTS

It takes a special kind of athlete to consider finishing second at the New England Indoor Track and Field Championships ‘losing.’

Northampton senior Nik Smith can reasonably field that level of expectations.

He ran the 300-meter dash in 34.45 seconds — a personal best that wasn’t quicker than Mark Doyley of Weaver (Connecticut), who crossed the line at 34.24.

“I’ll be honest, I’m never a fan of losing. It’s not great,” Smith said. “I set a personal best, and losing to talent like that, I can’t complain too much.”

The New England championships were held Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.

Smith, who was the All-State 300 champion, also competed in the 55-meter dash. He doesn’t pride himself on being a quick starter, but still took fifth in 6.54 seconds. Doyley again won the event in a meet-record 6.33.

“I think I really went above and beyond what I expected at that distance,” Smith said.

Amherst Regional’s Sophia Jacobs-Townsley was 14th in the 2-mile at 11 minutes, 2.11 seconds.

Amherst’s boys 4×800-meter relay finished eighth. Aiden Shea, Julian Fisher-Frank, Jack Yanko and Aiden Foucault-Etheridge ran in 8:03.76.