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ROXBURY — The Andover High track team won all those titles. So why did it feel so much like Adam Vetere lost it. It was last week at All-States, Vetere, trying a brutal double with the 4x800 followed two events later by the 4x400 relay. Vetere was the anchor, Mansfield made up a 10-meter lead, and upset the Golden Warriors for the title by less than a point. Vetere learned last night at the 23rd New England Championships just how much of a team Andover has. He and 4x400 teammates Mark Vetere, Connor O’Neill and Kerrick Stevens stared down Mansfield and beat the Hornets in convincing fashion, 3:22.71 to 3:24.21 to bring home a coveted New England title in their specialty. “It was really, really, really tough,’’ said an emotional Adam Vetere. “I felt a lot was on me. These guys convinced me it just wasn’t me. It brings the team together. They knew it was a rough day for me.’’ “Stuff happens,’’ Mark Vetere, Adam’s twin brother, said simply. That brotherhood the 4x400 quartet feels surged through as in unison Adam’s twin brother Mark and O’Neill explained, “It was right before the toughest double.’’ Adam did the 4x800 and 4x400 in a half-hour span. Two grueling races in 30 minutes with an All-State title on the line is a supreme physical and emotional challenge. There were some subpar  efforts earlier at All-States that were costly and coach Peter Comeau said maybe there was some juggling of the lineup which should have been done differently. The last week the pain lingered. “It was really difficult,’’ said Adam. “I felt it for a long time. The coaches convinced me everybody could have done more. This makes it awesome.’’ “It’s great,’’ said O’Neill. “Beating Mansfield and we were second in New England (indoor 2009, outdoor 2009) the last two times.” Cronin turns the tables The 4x400 relay team was one of numerous highlights for Andover, which enjoyed a spectacular meet. Andover junior Moira Cronin won the high jump with a 5-9 leap, beating Mansfield junior Kristen McDonagh on misses. That was the opposite of All-States when the Golden Warrior lost on misses to McDonagh. The soft-spoken Cronin is as much a sportsman as a champion When she cleared 5-9 on her final try, Cronin pumped her fist coming off the mat with the bar still shaking slightly behind her. About five seconds later, she gave a subtle double thumbs up to her Andover jumping teammate Jessica Salley. Yet, a minute later when the 5-foot-5 McDonagh soared 5-9 on her last try, putting a potential title in danger, Cronin sprinted to her rival and gave her a bear hug like you’d greet a long lost friend. “We’re really close. I was ecstatic,’’ said the 6-foot Cronin. They are close as friends and athletes. But this day, Cronin got the upper hand. “I’m sad for her but so excited for myself,’’ said Cronin. Down to potentially your last jump with the New England title on the line, that’s akin to being at the free throw line in the final seconds of a tie basketball game. “(I said to myself) It’s your last jump ever. I have to make this. I have to make a statement,’’ said Cronin. She almost made a statement heard around the country with a strong effort on a New England best attempt at 5-11. The meet record is 5-10 but the New England mark is 5-11, set by Heather Francis of Dartmouth, Mass., in 1995. “My first try I just nicked it ... I think with my leg,’’ explained Cronin, who is having some problems with her foot and will get an MRI today. “I’m really excited. You have to get your hips over it (the bar). That gives me hope for the next meet.’’ That would be the Nike Nationals at Reggie Lewis next weekend. Repeat after Golden Warriors Andover 4x200 relay runner Mark Vetere said matter of factly, “When you have four sub-23 (second) runners, it just comes out to a great team.’’ It’s tough to argue with that logic. Kerrick Stevens added, “It’s always ours to lose. We respect them, but we show them what we can do.’’ Leave everybody in their wake. Christopher McConnell, Vetere and Stevens are back from last year’s New England championship quartet. Connor O’Neill replaced graduated Brendan Crawford, who was in the stands rooting on the champs. Obviously, the four seniors were marked men. “We’re always under pressure,’’ said Vetere. “We practice so much it takes the pressure off.’’ A little levity never hurts either. They all got buzz cuts. That was a little strange for “Samson” Stevens, who had shoulder-length hair previously. But the Marine do didn’t hurt his speed. O’Neill admits to being as superstitious as they come. Don’t tell his parents, but he doesn’t wear his retainer for two days before a big meet. “It started out I couldn’t sleep,’’ he explained, adding he ran so well it became a tradition. Thankfully, when he flashed a smile it was the mega-watt smile of a champion. McConnell: The gold standard Every big race Christopher McConnell enters he has two formidable opponents ... an upset-minded field of speedy competitors and history. Every big race he seems to hold off an overmatched field and write another chapter to one of most storied sprint careers in Massachusetts indoor track history. Not content with his three All-State 55 meter titles, two All-State 4x200 titles and two New England 4x200 titles, McConnell blazed to his second straight New England 55 meter championship with a 6.39 clocking. “I didn’t expect to have to wait for three two-mile heats,’’ he sighed. When you are a lightning-fast athlete in a microwave world, waiting is the worst. Luckily for McConnell, he never has to wait long to hit the finish line. Given his extraordinary track career, sometimes people forget the sprint great was almost an undersized, brick-laying guard on the basketball team. “I bought basketball shoes before the season,’’ the UConn recruit recalled. “A lot of my friends said do it (track).’’ Apparently, the world didn’t need another marginally talented 5-8 guard. Well, actually, 5-71⁄2 he begrudgingly admitted. “I was good at defense,’’ he said. “I was probably too fast for basketball. I’d get a lay-up and overrun it.’’ So the hoop program’s minor loss was the track program’s historic gain. If he runs as expected in the spring, it will be difficult to argue that Christopher McConnell isn’t the greatest track athlete to ever wear the Blue and Gold. McConnell, who helped Andover to the 4x200 championship earlier in the evening, is still enjoying himself. “It never gets old,’’ he said, clutching the championship roses and plaque. “People say you should win, but it is always exciting.’’ This is how Hillies do it The Haverhill quartet of Rebecca Stabile, Elyssa Penney, Beth Fullerton and Mary Fullerton placed sixth, lopping six-plus seconds off a 29-year-old school record. “That’s the way we do it!’’ said Stabile with a big smile. New England Championships (Boys) Winners/area results: 55 meters: 1. Christopher McConnell (Andover) 6.39, 5. Byung Cha (North Andover) 6.53, 7. Jerickson Fedrick (Salem) 6.58, 14. Max Jacques (Salem) 6.68; 300: 1. Jarell James (Hope, R.I.) 35.17, 4. Francis Nova (Lawrence) 35.89; 600: 1. Steve Harshman (Merrimack, N.H.) 1:21.77, 6. Chris Wilbar (Central) 1:22.91; 1,000: 1. Nick Ross (E. Greenwich, R.I.) 2:29.46; Mile: 1. Will Geoghegan (Brunswick, Me.) 4:14.94, 5. Jake Hawkins (Pinkerton) 4:21.57, 11. Darryl Varney (North Andover) 4:26.91; 2-mile: 1. Chris Bendtsen (Wolcott, Conn.) 9:15.36 55 HH: 1. Greg Boursiquot (Stoughton, Ma.) 7.48; HJ: 1. Keron Stoute (Manchester, Conn.) 6-9, 16. Armando Bucciarelli (Central) 6-3, no-height Andrew Osborne (Andover); LJ: 1. Jonathan Williams (New Bedford, Ma.) 22-111⁄4; SP: 1. Dominic Filiano (Lebanon, N.H.) 60-21⁄4, 14. Brendan Burke (Austin Prep/Andover) 48-31⁄2 4x200: 1. Andover (Christopher McConnell, Mark Vetere, Connor O’Neill, Kerrick Stevens) 1:30.20, 2. Lawrence (Kelvin Severino, Francis Nova,Elvis Guilamo, Derek Molina) 1:32.54; 4x400: 1. Andover (Mark Vetere, Connor O’Neil, Adam Vetere, Kerrick Stevens) 3:22.71, 5. St. John’s (includes Brandon West of North Andover) 3:27.78; 4x800: 1. Hamden (Conn.) 8:01.27; 3. Methuen (Jared Reddy, Andrew Stamatopulos, Ben Pare, Cam Kelley) 8:03.20; 4. Andover (Chris Goodwin, Scott Waller, Adam Vetere, Simon Voorhees) 8:03.47 New England Championships (Girls) Winners/area results: 55 meters: 1. Teyanna Green (Danbury, Conn.) 7.14; 300: 1. Teyanna Green (Danbury, Conn) 40.24, 13. Melissa Higgins (Salem) 41.83; 600: 1. Cecilia Barowski (Bishop Guertin, N.H.) 1:33.71; 1,000: 1 Emily Grotz (Oliver Ames, Ma.) 2:56.40, 15. Hannah Kimball (Timberlane) 3:11.45; Mile: 1. Arianna Vailas (Manchester Central, N.H.); 4. Alanna Poretta (Pentucket) 5:01.66; 2-mile: 1. Lindsay Crevoiserat (Danbury, Conn.) 10:30.55, meet record 55 HH: 1. Deanna Latham (Triton, Ma.) 8.18, 13. Ginny Lavalle (Sanborn) 8.72; HJ: 1. Moira Cronin (Andover) 5-9; LJ: 1. Deanna Latham (Triton, Ma.) 18-43⁄4; SP: 1. Rachel Aliotta (Cheshire, Conn.) 41-6 4x200: 1. Danbury (Conn.) 1:41.47, 4. Andover (Eve Bishop, Kayla Baldwin, Vanessa Singleton, Emily Shields) 1:45.08; 4x400: 1. Tewksbury, Ma., 3:58.75; 5. Andover (Vanessa Singleton, Jessica Salley, Sydney Ebert, Eve Bishop) 4:05.67; 4x800: 1. Lincoln-Sudbury (Ma.) 9:16.51; 6. Haverhill (Rebecca Stabile, Elyssa Penney, Beth Fullerton, Mary Fullerton) 9:31.68

Yesterday's 48-37 win over Tewksbury clinched Lawrence a share of the MVC-Small title; the first time since 1986 that the Lancers won have won the championship. Lawrence will share the title with Billerica. The Lancers were led by six winners — Sam Kim, Louis Cruz, Francis Nova, Juan Ventura, Bionys Quezada and Malcom Rodriguez.

The Andover boys team won the Massachusetts Relays at the Reggie Lewis Center by posting first place finishes in the 4x200 meter relay, the 4x400, the 4x800 and the 1,600 sprint medley. The team scored 52 points while Lowell came in second place with 23 points. Meanwhile, the Andover girls team placed second in the girls  Massachusetts Relays with 41 points behind Newtown North's 50 points.

Dan Cormier went from fourth to first on his final throw in the shot put, with a 44-3/4 heave, to pace Methuen's boys track team to a 50-36 victory over Lawrence. Junior classmate Derek Feole was second with a 44-1/2 throw.

Malcolm Rodriguez soared to a 5-10 in the high jump and Dionys Quezada captured the shot put with a 42-10 throw to lead Lawrence past 45-41.