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BOSTON – The Ayer Shirley Regional boys’ indoor track and field team fell just shy of pulling off the unthinkable, but certainly still added a boatload of hardware to the trophy case on Washington Street.
Fresh off a league title, the Panthers secured the District E Division 2 championship last Sunday, then followed it up by pushing local foe Littleton to the limit at the State Division 5 Championship, before settling for the runner’s up trophy.
Ayer Shirley won the District E Division 2 Championship with a total of 65 points, followed by Littleton with 53 points, and Lunenburg with 37 points.
“We went into district’s and state’s with the goal of winning,” acting Ayer Shirley Regional boys’ indoor track and field head coach Andrew St. Germain said. “That’s been our goal all year. We kind of saw things fall all together. Coach (Chris) Donovan and I tirelessly worked on a roster, to put our boys in a position to win both of these meets. We ended up coming out on top against LIttleton at district’s, by 12 points, it was awesome and my first ever district title I’ve ever won so personally that was really exciting.”
“It was a really cool experience for the boys’ and the first time since 2018 that the boys won districts,” St. Germain continued. “It was a great meet and everything went our way. We had points scored by people we weren’t expecting. Our relays over-performed throughout the night so that was really great. It was really just a cool experience going in there and beating such a great team like Littleton.”
Holy Cross-bound superstar track athlete Arthur Ribeiro made his presence felt at the District E Division 2 championship meet, scoring in three events and playing a big part in the Panthers’ team title.
Ribeiro won the 300-meter dash with a 35.98 second time, claimed second in the long jump with a 19-foot 8 inch jump, and ran a leg of the second place 4x400m relay that took second with a 3:37.38.
“We weren’t expecting to get second in the 4-by-4 because we didn’t run our A team, so those boys’ really stepped up,” St. Germain said. “(Ribeiro) has become such a reliable relay runner. We’ll have Arthur running the 4x200m relay for the all-states, and the 200m is his best event and we’re starting to transition him to outdoor. Our goal is to get him ready to win the state title in the 200 during outdoor.”
The long sprints and short mid distance were truly a turning point for the Panthers. In addition to Ribeiro’s first in the 300m, right on his heels was teammate James Churchill who finished a step behind in second with an impressive 36.36.
“(Churchill) is a first-year senior,” St. Germain said. “We’re not winning that meet without (Churchill). It’s pretty awesome to see how far he’s come. He ran 36.36 and then at state’s ran 36.14. Both aren’t PRs but great for the end of the year. We’ve been pushing him to do relays, so his best 300m time was fresh.”
There was another 18 point swing in the 600m, as Cole New won the event (1:23.91), and teammate Jacob Teo hauled in a quality second (1:26.07). New also took home fifth place in the long jump (18-07).
“(Teo) was seeded fourth at district’s,” St. Germain said. “It was a stepping block for him because we didn’t start training him for the 600m until later in the year. He was actually sick the whole week leading up to district’s.”
Other running event scorers at the district’s were Danae Arnold who took sixth in the 55m (6.94), Noah Carvelli who placed fifth in the 1,000m (2:51.67), and Nate Baptista who placed fifth in the 2 mile (11:23.52).
“The distance points were huge,” St. Germain said. “They weren’t seeded to get any points. So it was nice to see them step up and compete against some of the best talent in Central Mass.”
In addition to the stellar showing by the mile relay, the 4x200m relay was able to take home a quality third place overall (1:37.78).
Littleton won the Division 5 State Championship with 56 points, followed by Ayer Shirley with 46 points, and Weston with 35 points.
“(Being one of the smallest schools) shows the commitment from our kids,” St. Germain said. “We go in there with a chip on our shoulder, Division 5 is the biggest division in the state with over 70 teams competing. Some of those teams shouldn’t be in our division (due to large enrollments), but it’s just how it falls.”
“We beat some really great teams, Weston, Norwell, Amesbury, pretty big schools we’re taking on, and we’re probably one of the smaller teams that’s gotten runner-up in that meet,” St. Germain continued. “It’s really cool to look back at it now, Littleton and us are always great competition. There’s just so much great competition from our student athletes in Central Mass. The sport is really growing and we’re starting to catch up to the Eastern Mass schools. It’s really starting to show how dominant of a force our programs are in Central Mass.”
At the state championship Ribeiro finished in a photo finish for second in the 300m (35.72), while Churchill wasn’t too far behind in fifth (36.14). The 600m crew also shined with Cole New (1:24.31) taking second and Jacob Teo placing fourth (1:25.97).
“(Ribeiro) PRed at districts and did it again with a school record at the state meet,” St. Germain said. “It’s really starting to come together for him and I’m hoping it goes well for him this weekend (at all-state’s) too.”
The 4x200m relay raced to a gold medal in 1:32.62. The mile relay had the same first place success at 3:28.42. The 4x200m relay was made up of New, Teo, Churchill, and Arnold. The mile relay was Churchill, New, Ribeiro, and Teo.
Ribeiro also placed eighth in the long jump (19-10.50). Arnold didn’t score but ran a 6.83 in the 55m dash to set a school record.
“We fell a little short of getting the trifecta (of championships),” St. Germain said. “But I’m really happy with the way our guys competed. We grew as a group this year for sure and already started planning our attack plan for outdoors and how we’re going to try to push the success to keep going forward.”
Head coach Chris Donovan is on paternity leave but still actively involved in the team.
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