Carla Forbes

With adidas Nationals in a week we look at the best performances at NC A&T's venue's history.

  When word got out that Carla Forbes was lost for at least a large part of the indoor season, it would be difficult to blame anyone for imagining that North's demise was coming. Coach Joe Tranchita isn't that kind of guy, though, and he simply went back to the drawing board to assemble one of his most unique and interesting squads. The additions of Shannon Fitzgerald and Christina Galvano helped shore up the sprinting and jumping squads, and while they don't replace a Forbes, they proved this week that the sum can sometimes be greater than the parts if everyone is used correctly.

Greensboro, NC is a long way from TF Green, Manchester, Logan, and Bradley International Airports, the most likely beginning points for the Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut contingents that headed down to New Balance Nationals to run this weekend. The distance didn’t seem to deter any of them from traveling, competing, and then dominating. For a part of the country that makes up a small fraction of its population, the damage it did was significant. Here are just some of the highlights from those states’ athletes that made the journey and competed in the championship events.

Marshfield (MA) grinded over the final meters of the race to get the win over powerhouse teams like CBA (NJ).

  Josh Lampron put together a stunning tune up for Saturday’s Dream Mile and more than proved he’s ready for an assault on the 4-minute mark after his record-breaking performance at yesterday evening’s MIAA State Track & Field Championships at Fitchburg State University. Lamron is the epitome of an athlete taking his talents to the next level. The Mansfield senior found the cool temperatures and calm conditions at Elliot Field to his liking as he pushed the pace from the gun in the 800 and drew away from Somerville’s Andre Rolim to break the 37-year-old meet record in 1 minute, 51.99 seconds. The record came an hour after Lampron sat on Marshfield’s Joel Hubbard and then surged into the lead with 300 meters for a stunningly easy 4:07.88 win. Hubbard never faltered in second, smashing his personal best with a 4:09.27. Framingham’s Ben Groleau finished third with a quick 4:14.53.

Dominance. How can one school with different coaches produce two dominating performances on the same day at the same meet? Perhaps it was a fluke coincidence. Perhaps it was something in the water. Or, perhaps it's the tradition of track and field at a school with three Hall of Fame Coaches and dozens of state meet trophies in the trophy case. That school is Newton North. And to the surprise of virtually nobody at Durfee High School on Sunday, that double was performed by Jim Blackburn's Tigers (64) and Joe Tranchita's Lady Tigers (95.5). Acton-Boxboro, meanwhile, took runner-up in both meets (55 for the boys, 62 the girls), with Lincoln-Sudbury (45 boys, 56 girls) taking 3rd in both as well.

Milesplitmass would like to  introduce a new series called "Athlete of the week" sponsored by Marathon Sports. Marathon Sports and Milesplitmass will be working together over the next year to help expand our coverage of Track and Cross-Country for Massachusetts.

Four teams arrived at Newton North's now famous $200 million complex on Tuesday undefeated and looking for a league title. Somehow, three of those teams left undefeated, and having won a league title. And for the first time in my coaching career, a local TV news crew from Fox 25 even covered the meet for their 6:00 and 10:00 broadcasts, perhaps a sign that track and field might soon move off of the periphery in this state.

Newtonsportsphotography.com put together this beautiful recap of the Division 1 State  Relays in images. We are hoping to make this a familiar feature in the future. Please feel free to comment at the bottom of the recap. Our special thanks to Newtonsportphotography.com for their incredible work.

FRANKLIN — Given that the goal of Weymouth’s Khary Bailey-Smith this spring is to clear 7 feet, 4 inches in the high jump, his performance yesterday at Franklin High’s Pisini Field wasn’t overly impressive to him. Bailey-Smith’s jump, however, caused the collective track community at the Division 1 State Coaches Relays to gasp in awe on a day better suited for kite flying. The talented senior, who will be attending UMass on a football scholarship, bucked a stiff headwind to clear 6-11 for a new personal best. On a day when times and overall performances were affected by the chill and wind, Bailey-Smith’s leap was a beauty.  

Carla Forbes looks down at her feet and her mind goes blank. The physics of the triple jump - the angles, leverage, speed, force - no longer concern her. As she stands on the runway, ready to take off, she knows it’s better to think of nothing and let her body take over. The Newton North junior is the best female high school triple jumper in the country, but she is not satisfied, continually striving to get better. (via Boston.com)

The Boston Globe has selected the annual Indoor Track & Field All Scholastics team.  Read about the accomplishments of both the athletes and coaches from this past winter season.                                                     (via www.boston.com)

The New Balance Indoor National Championships start Friday morning at the Armory in New York.  MileSplit New England will follow the accomplishments of all the athletes from the region and post updates as they become available. 

  Click on the photo for “People to Watch, Girls Jumps, 2012”.  Photo -  Chyna Ries, George Washington HS, CO, LJi – 20’5.75”.

New England track and field action took place on a national spectrum in every sense of the term.  State records were broken in Boston at the Massachusetts All-State Championships, and national leaders were crowned at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle, Washington. All of this happens only five days prior to the New England Championships.  

Based on the performance list entering the meet, the Newton North boys were projected to score 24 points.  Even further down the list, Mansfield was projected to only score 14 points.  Both should have finished mid-pack if the performance list had any significant impact on the outcome of the championship.  Thankfully for both teams, seed times mean little.

Every event in a state championship provides excitement and drama, but this year the relays may decide the team title. But don't expect to see the same line-ups from last week. Some additional fresh legs --courtesy of athletes that did not qualify in an individual event-- may help the common man become the hero. We watched it happen on Sunday at the Division 1 Championships, and those same teams remain in the hunt this week.

Carla Forbes landed in the forgiving sand, 19 feet, 3 inches from her takeoff point, and realized her leap wasn’t far off the meet record. From there, the Newton North star changed her mindset and the record book in one last sprint down the long jump runway. Forbes stretched to a leap of... (via Boston Herald)

Newton North continues to accomplish what is unimaginable to most teams, and this time they may have outdone themselves.  They scored 20 points in the long jump with four different girls contributing to the total.  Most teams would be thrilled to score 20 points in a meet, or have one athlete in the finals of a major division championship.  The depth was on display as a bevy of athletes assumed their role within the program for the greater good of the team.  The entire situation speaks volumes about the character of the athletes and the trust they have in the coaching staff.

Precious Holmes (above) set meet records over 300m and 600m in CT.  Trinity Wilson won the 60 Hurdles with a US#2 All-Time performance of 8.23! (Photo Courtesy of MileSplit CT)

Chariho High School set a lofty standard for the week when their 4x800m relay team cruised past the Rhode Island state record of 8:04.09 set in 2009 by South Kingstown.  The team of Drew Turner (2:02.4), Dan Kilcoyne (15:58.7), Bryce Kelley (1:58.6), and Mike Marsella (1:54.6) combined for a US#2 time of 7:54.3 to win the Charles Sweeney Last Chance meet.  They are the only team in New England to break the 8 minute barrier this season, but a slew of teams from the region have already run under 8:10.