Carpenter, Majetich Shine at Western Mass
 Lenox senior Scott Carpenter took the 2-mile and 800 meters at the Western Mass Division II championships on Monday. See more photos here. |
Update: Complete write-thru with interviews of athletes.
WESTFIELD, Mass. — In Western Massachusetts track circles, few can keep up with Mount Greylock Regional High School senior Alex Majetich.
On Monday afternoon at Westfield State University, it was hard enough to keep up with just where she was competing.
Majetich was one busy athlete at the end of the Central-Western Mass Division 2 championships.
In a furious stretch of about 45 minutes, she won the girls 100-meter dash title, ran the anchor leg on her team's 4-by-100 relay and finished second - by a whisker - while setting a school record in the triple jump, an event she competes in mostly on a lark.
"I had no idea what time the triple would be," Majetich said of her frenetic schedule. "I came down here at the right time, as they were checking in. I said, 'Ah, maybe I'll get one jump in, see if I PR (personal record) and leave it at that.' After I jumped a 35, I was like, 'Oh, that's my PR. Let's see what I can do.' Then I jumped 36 and 37, and I said, 'OK, I'll keep going with this.' "
Keep in mind, those personal-record performances in the jumping pit were wrapped around stellar runs as Majetich ping-ponged between the two venues.
"At the end, I was getting kind of crazy, and I was like, 'Alright, I'm having enough of this,' " she said. "I'm still out of breath. It was kind of crazy."
Crazy good.
The UMass-Lowell-bound Majetich was one of three Berkshire County individual titlists in the sectional meet. Monument Mountain thrower Jesse Dupont won the javelin with a throw of 163 feet, 10 inches. Lenox distance runner Scott Carpenter won the 2-mile (9 minutes, 42.94 seconds) and the 800 (2:02.65).
 Mount Greylock senior Alex Majetich sets a school record and finishes second in the triple jump. |
Majetich's time of 12.48 in the 100 was a quarter-second better than runner-up Emily Cahill of Uxbridge (12.73). In the 4-by-100, she helped the Mounties post a time of 52.18 that was good for sixth place and missed out on a state meet qualifying spot by less than half a second. And in the triple jump, Majetich's best distance of the day, 37-0.75, was just three-quarters of an inch behind champion Brooke Nadeau of Millbury.
That's not bad for an event that is an after-thought for Majetich.
"I wasn't even going to do the triple," she said. "It was just like a spur of the moment, come down and see what I can do for fun. It turned out to be a really great day.
"[The triple jump] is definitely a power-type event. It's something that helps me develop a lot more muscle in my legs, so that helps me with the 100."
While Majetich was focusing on power, Carpenter was showing off the endurance that allowed him to win the Division 2 State Championship in cross country in November.
Carpenter was happy to walk away with two individual titles but less than thrilled with his run in the day's first event on the track.
"I went out the first mile the way I wanted to, and then I don't know what happened," he said. "I fell apart."
Carpenter, who is headed to Georgetown University in the fall, got a strong challenge from Whitinsville's Jamison Koeman with one lap to go but ended up winning by a little more than five seconds.
"I knew he was there," Carpenter said. "I never look back because I don't like to do that, but I knew he was there because of everyone else cheering for him.
"I don't even know how I pulled it together, to be honest with you. It was more just the will to win, I guess."
Koeman ended up second with Monument Mountain's Weyessa McAlister in third and Carpenter's teammate Tucker McNinch in the fourth and final qualifying spot for states.
Qualifying was a major objective of the sectional meet, and several Berkshire County athletes achieved that goal.
One of the surprise qualifiers was Hoosac Valley sophomore Dante Sandifer, who qualified with the 20th-best mark in the triple jump (39-2), but bettered that distance by more than two feet to place third overall.
Sandifer credited a late-season change in his approach with helping him go 41-6.5 at the sectional.
"A lot of practice this week, new techniques in my running, running with my head down for my first four steps, running like I'm digging out of a hole worked a lot better instead of standing straight up," Sandifer said in explaining his improvement.
"The coaches were noticing that I would be getting to the line quicker with my head down instead of running straight up. ... I just did what they told me to do, and it worked."
Things also worked out for Drury senior Ali Tatro, who took up track and field this year and extended her year by one more week, qualifying for states in the javelin with a third-place throw of 116-10. Tatro finished behind Millbury's Molly McCausland (125-8) and Monument's Iolani Deris (122-2) to become the only Blue Devil to qualify for the state championships.
"I expected her to come down and have a good day to day," Drury coach Jim Buffoni said. "Every tiome out is a PR for her. [One hundred, 16 feet] is great. I think she'll improve on that even next week. She's happy, and we're happy to send her to states.
 Drury High School senior Ali Tatro qualifies for the state championships. |
"We're kind of upset she wasn't around for four years. One year is not enough for someone like her. She's a great athlete and a great kid."
On the strength of Tatro's seven points, the Blue Devils placed 25th out of 39 teams scoring at the meet. Mount Greylock was the top team finisher from the county; the Mounties were seventh with 28 points. Frontier won the girls competition with 61 points.
On the boys side, Auburn won the team title with 53 points. Monument Mountain was fourth with 46 points. Lenox was eighth with 25, and Hoosac Valley was 11th out of 39 teams with 22 points.
Other Berkshire County boys and girls qualifying for states included:
Girls 4-by-800 relay — 3. Monument (Heather Hassett, Emma Carchedi, Sarah Benedict, Emma D'Alessio), 10:23.51.
Girls mile — 4. Emily Kaegi, Mount Greylock, 5:14.71.
Girls 800 — 3. Meg Rodowicz, Hoosac Valley, 2:22.41; 3. Heather Hassett, Monument, 2:22.71.
Boys 200 — 3. Connor Storti, Monument, 23.16.
Boys 100 — 4. Tyler Mach, Hoosac Valley, 11.59.
Boys long jump — 4. Connor Storti, Monument, 20-01.
Boys mile — 2. Eric Klem, Wahconah, 4:35.86; 3. Travis Ciempa, Hoosac Valley, 4:36.78.
Boys 200 — 2. Connor Storti, Monument, 23.16.
Boys 4-by-800 — 3. Monument (Weyessa McAlister, Eitan Kiin, Rowan Meyers, Joe Grochmal), 8:41.8.
Boys 400 — 3. Marcus Duncan, Wahconah, 51.09.
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