A large contingent of the Everett High boys indoor track competed Saturday in the Division I State Meet that was held at the Reggie Lewis Center.
David Lima, competing in the 600 meter run, was the top finisher for the Crimson Tide, grabbing eighth place in the large field in a time of 1:25.24. David narrowly missed out on a ribbon, as he trailed the sixth place finisher, who had a time of 1:24.72, by just 1.52 seconds. The winning time was 1:23.20. Lima also just missed qualifying for the upcoming all state meet that will feature the top runners from all four of the schoolboy divisions.
“In order to qualify for the All State Meet in the 600, they take the top 5 finishers from Divisions 1-4 and then the next four fastest times across all divisions, equaling 24 athletes competing at the All States,” explained EHS head coach Shelanda Irish. “David had the fifth fastest time, so he just missed it.
“I think he ran a great race except for one of the most important parts of the race, which was the finish,” continued Irish. “He slowed up too soon as opposed to running through the finish line and I think that cost him going to the All States. But when all is said and done, David moved to the 600 meter in January. This was his first season running track and he’s done unbelievably in this event for our team. I think he’s still learning how to run the event in terms of how to pace himself and that will come with time. However, I think David will look back at this meet specifically and will see just how close he was to qualifying for the all states and it will be a motivator for him next year in this event.”
Irish also lauded the effort this season of Peter DuPerier, who competed in the 300 dash and finished in 10th place in a time of 37.09. The winning time was 35.27.
“Peter got out a little slow in the first 100 meters, so he ran a little slower than what he should have,” said Irish. “He missed getting into the final and looking at the overall times, he definitely could have made the finals based on his best time that he ran last week. Peter has done an outstanding job this season for the team and my guess is that he will be extremely close, if not definitely making it, to the all state meet next year in the 300. He really worked hard this season and he has become more confident in himself.”
Irish also applauded the effort of the 4 x 400 relay quartet of Lima, Ivan Velev, Jean Bourdeau, and Duperier. They sped over the track in 3:36.01. The winning time was 3:25.01.
“I thought our 4 x 400 team did great,” said the coach. “The boys ran their best time of the year, beating their previous best time from the GBL meet, so it was a great way to end the season for them. Ivan, Jean, David, and Peter did a terrific job in this particular relay.”
The Tide’s 4 x 200 relay foursome of Nick D’Angelo, Brian Panarese, Bourdeau, and Ian Syblis compiled a time of 1:38.36. The winning time was 1:30.02, a meet record. “The 4 x 200 should have run a little faster,” noted the coach. “The second exchange of the baton was a little shaky and it cost us some time.”
Ian Syblis, who has been battling injuries all season, competed in the 55 meter dash and finished in 16th position in a time of 6.87. The winning time of 6.41 tied the meet record.
“Ian’s start in the dash wasn’t his best, but he performed as best as he could at this point in the season,” said Irish. “I know Ian is disappointed because he really hasn’t run this season due to injury and he too, very well could have qualified for the all state meet. The person who got second is from Medford and Ian beat him in the first meet of the season. Despite only running twice in the dash this season, once in December and once in February, Ian still had the fastest time in our league. So like David and Peter, Ian will have hopes of qualifying in the all states next year.”
The other competitor for Everett was shotputter Ken Bailey, whose toss of 41 feet, 6.5 inches, earned him 25th place in the field.
“Overall, I’m very happy with the boys this season,” concluded Irish. “We had very strong representation at this meet, having boys in the 55, 300, 600, and shotput, as well as the 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relays.”