NORTH ANDOVER – The Amherst Regional boys and girls outdoor track teams turned in strong performances during the first day of the MIAA Division 4 Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday at Merrimack College.

The Hurricanes girls walked off the track atop the leaderboard at 26 points, while the boys team slotted into fourth place with 25 points. Northampton was the only other Hampshire County school that competed at the Div. 4 meet and the Blue Devils girls managed 11th place with 12 points.

Amherst’s Elizabeth Sawicki earned the most points for the ‘Canes, claiming fourth in the pentathlon, before grabbing fifth in the 400-meter hurdles for a staggering six-event night for the senior student-athlete.

“I’m happy with it,” Sawicki said on taking fourth in the pentathlon. “I was hoping for better. I was kind of in first the whole time, then the high jump was right after the 400 hurdles and that kind of killed me a little, but I’m happy with it overall. It’s better than I’ve done in the last few years.”

Sawicki secured top six finishes in four of the five pentathlon events, including first place in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.39 seconds. In the high jump competition, Sawicki was last among athletes that jumped (one athlete did not participate) with a leap of four feet, one and a quarter inch.

“The 100 hurdles has definitely become my specialty,” Sawicki said. “This year, I PR’d by a second, more than I normally do. I improved in a lot of them, but high jump is definitely my weakest one.”

In total, Sawicki brought in 2,412 points in the pentathlon, which gave the Hurricanes five team points.

Sawicki mentioned fifth place was her previous best finish in the pentathlon. Three seasons of experience has allowed the ‘Canes upperclassman to adopt a straightforward strategy when it comes to keeping herself as fresh as possible for the grueling single-day schedule the pentathlon requires.

“I sit down a lot,” Sawicki said. “Some of my friends are like ‘why are you sitting so much?’ I sit, try to get my heart rate down and try and clear my head for the next event. I think the best thing I can do is think about the next event and not think about the other ones, because sometimes I start doing that and I freak out.”

Sawicki helped Amherst take home nine of its 26 team points, which gave the group a two-point cushion from second-place Holliston. Twenty-five girls teams earned points following Friday’s events.

“My coach was hoping.. .because we won Western Mass., that came through, that maybe we had a shot here today, so we’ll see when we come back on Sunday,” Sawicki said. “I’m really proud of my team, they’ve been doing a good job.”

Moriah Luetjen returned to the oval Friday after not competing at the Western Mass. meet last week and nearly won the 200. Luetjen was less than a tenth of second behind Chicopee’s Sophia Guzman for first in the 200, crossing the line in 25.35 seconds.

Luetjen’s runner-up gave the ‘Canes eight points in the team standings.

Brooke Nedeau and Genevieve Dole earned five combined points for Amherst with top-eight finishes in the two mile. Nedeau set a new PR with a time of 11:24.05 for fifth, while Dole PR’d in 11:51.90 for eighth place.

Skylar Fox posted a sixth-place finish in the 800 with a time of 2:18.77 and Claire Fortin got eighth in the triple jump (34 feet, 10.25 inches) to make up Amherst’s seven point-getters.

Northampton’s top performance occurred in the two mile as Mairead O’Neil used a ferocious finish to snag third place in a time of 11:23.39. O’Neil’s PR in the eight-lap discipline brought in six points for the Blue Devils.

“Just to stay really calm throughout the whole race,” O’Neil said on her strategy in the two mile. “I sometimes like to zone out and just focus on one specific part of the track or the girl right in front of me and stay really calm.

“I think I was just really motivated,” O’Neil added on her kick toward the end of the race. “I really wanted one last final push and I just gave it my all.”

Ella Hoogendyk (fourth, triple jump) and Maddalena Figueroa-Starr (eighth, 800) also banked points for Northampton in their single events.

On the boys side, Calvin Miller was the Hurricanes’ best finisher in running events, taking third in the two mile with a time of 9:36.56 —an 11-second PR. Teammate Peter Nedeau wasn’t too far behind, crossing in 9:46.74 for eighth place.

“Part of it is just getting out, seeing how you feel, get through that first mile and the second mile is where I go,” Miller said on his mindset doing the two mile. “Once I hit the 800 that’s my kick and it just speeds up from there.”

Nedeau was hoping to set a new PR on Friday, but the Amherst sophomore said he tied his best time in the distance challenge.

“In my Notes app, I have all the splits from the 200 all the way to the two mile for 9:30, written out, just so I can memorize it,” Nedeau said. “That’s the main goal for this season, 9:30. I didn’t hit it today...I’m happy with 9:46, that’s a good time.”

Nicolas Lisle raced well in the 800 for the ‘Canes, taking fourth place in 1:56.83. The Amherst junior also earned a two second PR in the event, giving Amherst five team points.

“Start hurting at 300 meters, follow the first guy or two and then try and beat them the last 200,” Lisle said on his approach to the 800. “I think my kick is better than most people, but this time it wasn’t.”

Miles Jeffries (10th, triple jump) and Tylahn Beckett (PR, 200) finished out the Hurricanes’ noteworthy performances on the track, while Logan Alfandari (second) and Moniha Krouch (fourth) had solid tosses in the discus for 13 of Amherst’s 25 team points.

The Blue Devils’ only had two boys compete on the first day and they both ran the two mile. Gus Frey (11th) set a PR, while Owen Daggett came in 16th place.

Teams will return to Merrimack College on Sunday for the second day of the Div. 4 championship. Field events will start at 2:30 p.m., then running events will commence at 4 p.m.