RallyNorth.net

Wed, Apr 02, 2008 03:30 PM @ Newburyport

Team	Final
Triton	73
Newburyport	72

Triton boys relinquish CAL stranglehold with loss to Wilmington

Thursday, April, 03 By Evan Mugford
Staff writer

The River Rival Region's outdoor track season began yesterday with coaches, athletes and spectators longing for the indoors.

The most surprising turn of events came in the boys tri-meet between Newburyport, Triton and Wilmington. Triton fell to Wilmington, 85<1/2> to 59<1/2>, signalling a shift in power in the Cape Ann League. The Triton boys have won four of the last five CAL titles and five of last six CAL Open titles.

Coach Joe Colbert knows his team will be a tough group all year long.

"Despite losing to Wilmington, who are just stacked with talent, I thought our boys competed really well," said Colbert. "We have a few big injuries: my best miler is hurt, my best hurdler is sick, another one of my best distance runners is sick; I really just want to get our guys healthy. As far as our young guys, I'm really proud of how well they performed."

The boys narrowly beat a resilient Newburyport squad by a count of 73-72.

Triton's Kyle Devenish placed first in the triple jump, third in the 300 hurdles and third in the 110 hurdles. Peter Rock came in first in the 400 and in the long jump. Billy Tindle placed first in the high jump, second in the low hurdles, and second in the 110 hurdles. Tom Graham placed first in the javelin. Harley Cox came in first in the pole vault.

The Triton girls, who are now at an early 2-0, could do no wrong with a 99-46 victory over Wilmington and a 84<1/2> to 64<1/2> defeat of Newburyport.

"The girls had a really good day," exclaimed Colbert. "We thought it'd be close, and we're hoping for a big season. I'm very pleased with how well the girls competed and stepped up."

Triton's Nicki Wurdeman came in first in the shot put and set a school record in the discus with a throw of 121-9. Perhaps the best distance runner in the North Shore, Keely Maguire did what she normally does, finishing first in the 2-mile and mile. Deanna Latham placed first in the high jump, triple jump, the 100, and the 200. Michelle Bashaw placed first in the javelin. Brittany Caprio came in first in the 400.

Maguire, who celebrated her 18th birthday in style by demolishing the competition, is aware of how well her girls are and just how far they can go.

"We're looking pretty good this year, so I'm excited about that," enthused Maguire, who is planning on going to the University of New Hampshire to possibly study occupational therapy. "Our goal this year is to win a state championship, and of course become Cape Ann League champs in the process. With the team we have this year, I think we're more than capable."

Newburyport had its ups and downs, but for his team's initial meet, Newburyport coach Tim Foley was pleased with the results.

"For the first performance of the year, I can't complain about anything," said Foley. "I don't think any other coach here would disagree. It was great how well the kids performed."

The boys team had a difficult day, losing to Wilmington (97-48) and Triton (73-72), but a handful of Clippers had strong showings.

Richie Roy placed first in the 300 and the hurdles in both meets, second in the long jump, and third in the high jump. Richie Pace secured first-place finishes in the shot put against both teams and finished first and second in the discus. Greg Englehart placed first in the two-mile in both meets. Mark Bajko placed first and second in the pole vault and third in the hurdles.

"We almost beat Triton, but we still need to work on a few things," stated Foley. "The kids competed very, very well. They did a good job."

The Newburyport girls came in second, beating Wilmington (89-56).

The girls had a myriad of strong performances with Caroline Barnaby finishing first in the 300, first in the long jump, and second in the high jump in both meets. Kaitlyn Wallace placed first and second in the shot put and first and third in the discus. Meg Ronan finished first in the pole vault both meets and first and third in the javelin. Colleen Coviello placed first and second in the 400 and third in the high jump.

"The girls handled Wilmington very well," explained Foley. "But the Triton girls are just strong all over, they're really good. But I'm really pleased with how the kids performed. They really stepped up today."