Coaches Invitational Small School Recap


Still feeling the effects of the flu, Chloe Alfieri wasn't in the best condition physically to prosper at Saturday's Coaches Invitational Small School meet.

Mentally? That's a different story. 

Ignoring her sickness and the competition, the senior from the Bromfield School captured two events insides the Reggie Lewis Center. She won the 55-meter dash in 7.31 seconds and had her most impressive performance by winning the 300m with a new meet record of 39.18, No. 2 on the all-time list. 

Running in lane 6, Alfieri knew she had to get out fast in the 300m.

'To be honest, I was doing warm-ups this morning, a few jogs, and it hurt obviously," said the Bromfield standout, who was named the Female Athlete of the Meet. "I just knew at the start of the race I had to ignore about being sick and just go."

Milton's Elise O'Leary clocked a season best of 1:36.52 to win the 600m. Finishing second was Norton's Julia Palin with a time of 1:37.69. Leah Rudolph of Gloucester was third at 1:39.29. 

O'Leary led from the start.

"I just wanted to go out there and go as fast as I could the first lap, and see if I could hold that," she said. "I went through the 400m in (62, 63 seconds), and I figured I was a little slow on that. The girl from Norton (Palin), she really pushed me."

In the boys' 600m, Murdock's Richard Swanson held off Northampton's Ethan Cooper to win with a time of 1:24.58. Copper also cracked 1:25 with a time of 1:24.95. Weston's Peter Diebold finished third in 1:25.41. 

"Going into it, I thought a couple of kids were going to beat me," Murdock said. "I just had to dog it through and end it."

Northampton's Benjamin Gordon-Sniffen captured the 1,000m in a down-to-the-wire affair. Gordon-Sniffen ran with a lead pack that included Amherst-Pelham's Aiden Foucault-Etheridge and Dover-Sherborn's Erik Linden for most of the six-lap race. Foucault-Etheridge did most of the pace-setting and was leading going down the final straightaway. Gordon-Sniffen didn't catch his rival until there was just 20 meters remaining.

Gordon-Sniffen finished with a state No. 2  and nearly three-second PR of 2:32.61. Etheridge-Foucault crossed the line in 2:32.69. Linden was third in 2:33.56. 

Burlington's Julia Hovasse earned individual honors in the girls' 1K. She led from gun-to-wire, breaking the tape in 3:05.44. Jocelyn Rondeau of South Hadley was second in 3:06.25. Amherst-Pelham's Julia Hopley placed third in 3:07.75.

Oakmont's John Caouette was a double-winner and was named Male Track Athlete of the Meet. He took both sprint events, winning the 55m dash in 6.49 and the 300m in 35.04. 

Amherst-Pelham's Jack Yanko held back in the early stages of the mile run and blasted to the front with a little more than a 100-meter left to win with a time of 4:22.74. Rishabh Prakash of Burlington was second (4:24.38) and Wakefield's Matt Greatorex placed third (4:26.6). 

Less than a second separated the top three finishers in the girls' mile with Nauset's Madaket Nobilli taking individual honors in 5:11.01. Watertown's Emily Koufos (second, 5:11.6) and Littleton's Kaitlyn Roffman (third, 5:11.76). 

Littleton's Sarah Roffman had a nearly 20-second personal best in the 3,000m where she was timed in a state best of 10:46.51 (US #3). Sophia Jacobs-Townsley of Amherst-Pelham was second at 11:08.56. 

Hopedale's Brandon Hall dominated the two mile, winning by nearly a half a lap with a PB of 9:26.87. Ayer-Shirley's Ethan Matthews was second, crossing the line in 9:40.21. 


Girls Highlights