Local indoor track and field athletes rang in the new year with the third installment of the PVIAC meets at Smith College’s Indoor Track and Tennis Facility on Friday.
Amherst and Northampton were featured in the early wave, which began at 10 a.m., while Frontier, Hampshire, South Hadley and Holyoke partook in the late wave, with events beginning at 2 p.m.
The Hurricanes and Blue Devils split the head-to-head matchup as the Amherst boys won 53-24, but the Northampton girls were victorious with a score of 46-32.
Four ‘Canes finished in first in their events. Owen Platt won the boys 600-meter run in one minute, 31.45 seconds, Nico Lisle comfortably took the boys 1,000 in 2:35.55, Genevieve Dole grabbed first in the girls mile with a time of 6:03.90 and Claire Fortin was the best in the girls long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 3.25 inches.
Other top-five finishers for Amherst: Daniel Nunez Saravia (second) and Kyrief Johnson (third) in the boys 300; Maeve Fitzgerald (second) in the girls 600 and girls long jump (fifth); Alhassan Abdel-Maksoud (third) and Elias Katsaros (fifth) in the boys 1,000; Claire Kennedy (fifth) in the girls 1,000; Marit McDonald (fourth) in the girls mile; Wesley Dunford in the boys high jump (second); Tansy Warwick (second), Genevieve Dole (third), and Juliana Albo (third) in the girls high jump; Justin de Alba (fifth) in the boys shot put; Claire Fortin (fourth) in the girls 55-meter dash.
Amherst’s 4×800 relay teams also did well as the girls quartet came in second place in 10:56.68 while the boys crew crossed the finish line in 9:18.02 for fourth place.
The Blue Devils got great performances from four individuals who won events. Maddalena Figueroa-Starr won the girls 600 in 1:43.96, Mairead O’Neil cruised past the competition in the girls 1,000 in 3:14.57, Charlie Sidoti secured first in the boys 2 mile in 10:48.50 and Allie Sullivan claimed the girls high jump with a winning height of 5-0.
Northampton’s girls 4×800 relay squad also won after chasing down Amherst, which held the lead for the majority of the relay, earning a winning time of 10:55.66. Its boys 4×800 relay managed fifth place.
Other top-five finishers for the Blue Devils: Ella Hoogendyk (second) in the girls 300; Liam Hoogendyk (third) and Quinn Allen-Brezsnyak (fifth) in the boys 600; Eliana Kumar (second) in the girls 1,000; Rosalind Stracco (third) and Mia Levy (fifth) in girls mile; Shea O’Neil (second) in the boys 2 mile; Maya Zink (second) in the girls 2 mile; Allie Sullivan (third) in the girls long jump.
The late wave saw Hampshire collect four first-place finishes, including both 4×800 relays.
Kathleen Barry crushed the competition in the girls 2 mile for the Raiders, finishing more than two minutes faster than the next closest runner with a time of 12:10.65. Oscar Schiff won the boys mile with a sub-five minute time of 4:50.87. Charlotte Letendre (girls 1,000) and Caitlyn Packey (girls shot put) registered runner-up finishes in their respective events.
Hampshire’s boys 4×800 relay bunch recorded a time of 8:38.58 while the girls were done in 10:39.93.
Yasani Thompson was Holyoke’s top athlete, nabbing a pair of first-place finishes in the girls 55-meter dash, as well as the girls 300, Thompson’s speciality. The Purple Knight won the straighaway sprint event in 7.34 seconds and took the 300 in 42.48 seconds. Ryan Kennedy earned second-place honors in the boys 300 for Holyoke.
South Hadley’s Ben Gillis won the boys high jump to serve as the highlight of the meet for the Tigers. Gillis jumped 5-10 to seal the victory. Mikayla Weaver ran to a second-place finish in the girls 600 as South Hadley’s best performer on the girls side.
Frontier managed one event winner as Ezra Rich took first in the boys shot put with a toss of 42-11. Emmanuelle Flagollet (girls 55 hurdles), Luke Howard (boys 1,000), Liv Christensen (girls 2 mile), Louise Flagollet (girls high jump) and the girls 4×800 relay team all received second-place finishes in their events.
Boys basketball
Hopkins 46, Smith Academy 39 — The Golden Hawks won their first game since Dec. 15 in the victory against the Falcons.
Chace Earle and Matt Vassallo each slotted 11 points, with the duo combining for five 3-pointers, in the process.
Harry LaFlamme produced 15 points for Smith Academy as the game’s top scorer.
Amherst 68, Taconic 61 — A strong second half helped the Hurricanes secure the road victory.
Amherst trailed by 10 points (36-26) at halftime, but outscored the Thunder 20-2 in the third quarter to flip the momentum in this one.
Mitchell Carey scored 24 points for the Hurricanes while Sam Woodruff deposited 19 as Amherst’s two top scorers.
Frontier 70, Gardner 63 — The Redhawks (6-1) went on the road and picked up an independent win over the Wildcats.
Alex Ellis the the way with 20 points for Frontier. Max Millette (14 points), Garrett Dredge (11 points) and Rowan Modestow (12 points) all reached double-figures for the Redhawks.
Girls basketball
Smith Voc 62, Putnam 44 — The Vikings moved to 4-0 following the victory over the Beavers.
Mallory Radwich and Sofia Zina combined for more than 30 points for Smith Voc, which went ahead, 39-21, at the half.
Frontier 76, Lenox 31 — The Redhawks won their fifth-straight game after a 45-point drubbing of the Millionaires at Goodnow Gymnasium in Suburban league play.
The Redhawks spread out the scoring, with Addie Harrington and Harper Modestow both scoring 19 points. Whitney Campbell (15 points) and Skyler Steele (16 points) also reached double figures for Frontier. Steele had six steals in the game.
Harrington filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, six assists and four assists. Campbell added four assists.
Hampshire 50, Chicopee Comp 24 — The Raiders raced past the Colts for their second straight win.
Hampshire debuted new warmup shirts prior to the contest that feature names of loved ones of the players on the back of the shirts.
“The idea is when things get tough and you feel like quitting, these shirts serve as a reminder that it’s bigger than basketball and we are fighting for the names on this shirt,” Raiders head coach Jason Plamondon said.
Swimming
Amherst 86, Agawam 76 (boys) — Lewin Halasz and Soren Castenson powered the Hurricanes in the dual meet victory.
Halasz won the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke while Castenson took first in the 500 free as Amherst pocketed its first win of the season.
Amherst 112, Agawam 55 — The ‘Canes remained undefeated in its huge win against the Brownies.
Teagen Demers (100 free, 200 IM), Rowan Albertson (100 butterfly, 50 free), Emory Albertson (500 free) and Lily Wambura (100 breaststroke) all won events for Amherst.
The Hurricanes’ 400 free relay team, which consists of both Rowan and Emory Albertson, Teagen Demers and Finnley Chambers, qualified for the state meet with a time of 4:01.82.