WESTFIELD – Quincy Biddle ran for two at the Central/West Division 1 Track & Field Championships at Westfield State University on Saturday afternoon.
With a missing teammate weighing on her mind, Biddle blazed the track on her way to an individual championship in the 400-meter hurdles.
Her time (1:08.28) was a personal best.
“I just wanted to surprise myself,” Biddle said. “Have something to be proud of.”
Biddle said ever since her freshman year, competing with teammate Adele Jordan has elevated her own personal performance. She recalled a race in the same event with Jordan.
“We raced at Western Mass.,” Biddle began. “She came in first, and I came in second. It was the best experience ever until this moment. She’s not competing in the postseason because she is a senior and has other stuff going on. I was running for me, but also for her.”
Biddle and Jordan’s friendship dates back even further to second grade gymnastics.
“She’s been a great teammate,” Biddle said. “I am really sad she is moving on to college. I was running with her in my heart.”
Biddle said she made some changes to her form prior to the race. The second-place finisher, Grace Sciacca of Algonquin, was a full two seconds (1:10.43) behind Biddle’s pace.
“I had practiced changing my steps,” Biddle said. “I changed them completely and was hoping it would all fly. I felt good at the beginning. It all came together.”
The Blue Devils were ninth as a team at the meet, finishing with 26½ points.
“It was an unusual year but it was a great finish,” Northampton coach Linda Rowbotham said. “It was great to see all the young ones do so well.”
Northampton’s 4×100 relay team consisting of Meena Goswami, Monica Fisher-Piccininno, Kira French and Alexa Abild also scored with an eighth-place finish overall.
The effort (53.88) marked a best-ever time for the quartet.
“For them to put it together and get a best time was very good,” Rowbotham said of the relay team.
The Blue Devils received additional scoring in the high jump from Kate Sullivan, Abild and Yelena Caldanaro. Sullivan was third, while Abild placed fifth with Caldanaro right behind her teammate in sixth.
All three jumpers cleared 4 feet, 10 inches. Madison LeCreta of North Middlesex won the event (5-0).
The top finisher on the day for the Amherst girls team was Anajisa Robinson in the 100-meter dash. Robinson placed fifth (13.25).
The Hurricanes were 10th overall with 26 points.
The 4×100 relay team consisting of Brooklyn Court, Courtnegail Rose, Izzy Rich and Addie Kelly took sixth (53.24) for Amherst.
The Northampton boys team placed 11th with 27 points while Amherst Regional took 18th with with 16 points.
The Blue Devils scored all their points in Thursday’s first day of competition. Saturday’s top finisher was Rowan Hodgson, who placed 11th in the 100-meter dash.
Freshman Savior Robinson placed third in the long jump for the Hurricanes, securing an All-State berth. Robinson also notched an eighth-place finish in the triple jump (39-4) in a crowd of upperclassmen.
Tristan Dole grabbed an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter run (53.79) for the Hurricanes.
Westborough was the boys Central/West champion with 90 points.
Qualification standards vary by event. In running events 200 meters and shorter, the top four finishers advance. The top three go in the rest of the events. Then the field will be filled to 24 with the remaining best sectional performances.
Two will progress from field events other than the long jump, which will send the top three. The leftover spots up to 16 will be filled by the top sectional performances, except for the long jump, which will take 24.
