Acton-Boxboro’s Jacob Kao scorches field at Lou Tozzi Invitational

WENHAM — Acton-Boxboro’s Jacob Kao finally had the perfect day for a quality performance in the 200 and he took full advantage Saturday in the Lou Tozzi Invitational at Gordon College.

Kao burst from the blocks and surged away from the field around the turn for a comfortable victory in 21.80 seconds. That time put him well ahead of teammate Ryan Forrest’s second-place time of 22.60.

“It felt good,” said Kao, who will compete at Yale. “I worked on my driving mechanics at the beginning and then just being able to hold my form at the end. That little bit of a tailwind helped a lot. Our track (at Acton-Boxboro) we always have a headwind so it’s frustrating not getting great times there. I felt good down the final stretch being able to open my stride more.”

Kao, who was named the Outstanding Male Athlete of the meet, then joined teammates Forrest, Samuel Pan, and Alex Landry to decimate a quality field in the 4×100 with a swift 42.19.

North Reading’s Katelyn Gorgenyi ripped a 14.73 in the 110 hurdles and garnered the Outstanding Female Athlete award.

In the boys’ 2 mile, Nathan Lopez surged into the lead at the mile (4:38) and powered away from a small pack to capture the event in 9:22.10. St. John’s Prep swept the top two places as Charlie Tuttle sprinted home in second at 9:24.59.

Lopez is hoping to break 9:10 this season and get under the sophomore record of former Eagles’ great Tristan Shelgren. Lopez opted to stay off the early, hard pace set by Seekonk’s Andrew Cabral before making one strong move. “I thought it (pace) was a little too fast,” said Lopez. “I was conscious of my decision-making. I decided to stay back the first couple of laps. I saw we were coming in a little slower than I would have liked (at the mile) so I picked it up.”

Lopez was aware Tuttle was pushing hard over the final 400. “I knew I had to start moving if I wanted to win this thing,” he said. “I started drilling with 400 to go.”

North Reading’s Tyler Bussell continued his pursuit of the school record as he took the 400 hurdles by more than a second in 58.20. Ryan Britt of Dover-Sherborn took silver in 59.60.

Bussell knows where he has to improve. “The back bend causes me a lot of problems,” he said. “I tend to slow down and it messes up my steps. I need to keep my pace in that section to improve my time.”

The boys’ 100 was a burner as South Hadley’s Jonas Clarke blazed his way to a rousing 10.45 for the win. Jaichaun Jones of Beverly was second in 10.70.

Joseph Thumann of Whitinsville Christian burned the final 400 under 60 seconds to put him steps ahead of Nashoba’s Freddy Collins and hang on to capture the mile in a swift 4:19.23. Collins destroyed his personal best with his 4:19.61.

The girls’ mile was just as competitive as Pria Parker of Hingham outdueled North Andover’s Aisling Callahan over the last 100 meters for the win, 5:07.30 to 5:07.72. A new personal best for Parker, her goal had been to run under 5:10 this season. Now, she’s looking at Hingham’s school record.

“It’s really great to be racing some really talented people,” said the Smith College-bound runner. “I wanted to lead and be there on the last lap when I started to kick.”

Monson’s Emilia Finnegan coasted to a win in the girls’ 400 hurdles in 65.07 and Lexington’s Madeline Parks sailed over 5-2 to take the high jump. Quinn Curtin of St. John’s Prep won the triple jump by over a foot with a 44-5 and Natalie Krysta was first on the girls’ side at 36-9. James Cordon of Southeastern got off a heave of 158-3 to take the javelin and Andover’s Sara Folan turned away a solid field at 113-4.

Lincoln-Sudbury’s Rachel Arthur showed plenty of grit over the final 100 as she blazed her way to a win in the 400 at 57.46. That put her ahead of Brookline’s Sarah Schlosberg (58.39) and Hingham’s Kelsey Tarby (58.81).

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2RoLtma