Hayford, Ross Place Second at All-State Track and Field Meet

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Mount Greylock junior Madison Ross and Pittsfield sophomore Connor Hayford posted second-place finishes on Saturday at the All-State Track and Field Championships at Westfield State University.

 

Hayford threw the javelin 177 feet to place second behind Tewksbury's Lucas Frost, who uncorked a throw of 191-2 to run away with the title.

 

Hayford came into the meet as the 22nd seed with a mark of 158-7. He beat that mark by more than 18 feet.

 

Ross was among the favorites in the the long jump and lived up to the billing, jumping 18 feet, 9.25 inches to place second, a quarter inch ahead of Woburn's Brooklyn Manna and 4.25 inches behind state champion Jada Johnson of Sharon.

 

But Ross wasn't done there.

 

She also went sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 37-6.5, setting a new Berkshire County record in the process.

 

In the boys jumps, Taconic's Josh Tayi placed sixth in the state after clearing 6-6. The state titlist, Lowell's David Ajama, cleared 6-8.

 

And Taconic triple jumper Mohammed Ahmed finished in fifth place with a mark of 44-7.25; the champion, Naishaun Jernaigan of Putnam Voc, went 46-6.5.

 

Ahmed had been seeded 13th in the competition; Tayi was seeded 26th.

 

Pittsfield's Emmanuel Nda reached the finals in the 100-meter dash, where he finished eighth in a time of 11.06 seconds, two-tenths better than his seed time.

 

He also ran the first leg on the Generals' 4-by-100 relay quartet, which placed 10th. Competing with Nda in the event were David Kankam, Nasim Purry and Sam Higuera.

 

Other Berkshire County participants in Saturday's All-State Championships included:

 

Aliyah Bolling, Taconic, sixth in her heat in the 200 in 26.46.

 

Maddie Albert, Mount Greylock, 11th in the 800 in 2:19.14.

 

The Mount Greylock girls 4-by-400 relay (Jacqueline Wells, Maggie Nichols, Elizabeth Dupras and Sophia Mele), 13th in 4:06.01.

 

Caroline Hadley, Mount Greylock, 17th in the discus with a throw of 95-11.

 

Laura Thomas, Drury, 20th in the javelin with a mark of 99-8.

 

Aidan Santos, Monument Mountain, 19th in the 800, 2:01.14.

 

Wahconah's 4-by-400 relay (Easton Eberwein, Jack Pudlo, Tyler Olds and P.J. Pharmer), 22nd in 3:33.

 

Dominic Acquista, Hoosac Valley, 22nd in the shot put with a mark of 43-7.75.