The South Hadley indoor track & field program made a statement Sunday.
The girls squad finished second at the state Division 5 championships, while the boys had their best finish ever with a third-place showing at the Reggie Lewis Track & Athletic Center in Boston.
“Huge performances across the board,” South Hadley coach Nick Davis said.
The Tigers finished with 42 points in the girls meet. Austin Prep won with 51.
Like most teams, South Hadley battled illness throughout the week.
“Considering they didn’t feel good and we were still able to walk away with a second place, we’ll call that a win,” Davis said.
The Tigers won the 4×400 relay to hold off third-place Littleton (38 points).
Anna Evans, Maddie Doolittle, Lindsay Marjanski and Farrell Dawson won in 4:13.53.
Littleton was second in 4:13.84.
“As always we loaded up the relays to make our biggest statement there,” Davis said.
Evans, Macey Moriarty, Molly Schlosstein and Hailey Werenski finished fourth in the 4×800 (10:32.5).
Bella Alcaraz, Emma Sanford, Doolittle and Marjanski finished fifth in the 4×200 (1:52.59).
Dawson added a third in the long jump (16 feet, 9 inches) and a fifth in the 600 (1:40.37).
Marjanski was second in the high jump at 5-2, while Sanford tied for fifth (5-0).
Doolittle was seventh in the 55 hurdles (9.27).
The Tigers finished with 35 points to tie Littleton in the boys meet. Amesbury won with 46. Dover-Sherborn was second with 41.
South Hadley was led by Jonas Clarke’s record-breaking performance.
The sophomore set a meet record in the 55 dash, finishing in 6.41 seconds. John Caouette, of Oakmont, set the old mark of 6.48 seconds in 2018.
For Clarke, it is also a school record and personal best. It’s the second-best time in the state behind Lowell’s Richmond Kwaateng’s state Division 1 winning time of 6.37 seconds.
Justin Kennedy added a second place in the 600 (1:25.47), while Bradyn Cote was third in the mile (4:34.93).
The Tigers had two relays each place fourth. The 4×400 team of Kennedy, Tyler Evans, Max McCurdy and Cote finished in 3:39.38.
The 4×200 team of Theo Abrams, James Couture, Oscar Cruz and Clarke finished in 1:38.54.
Davian Lopez was eighth in the 55 hurdles (8.53).
Hampshire Regional freshman Josh Denoronha tied for sixth at 5-10 in the high jump.
