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Mary Fullerton is one of the most talented distance runners in the area, but things looked bleak because she was trailing Lowell's hotshot freshman Erin Donovan with a lap remaining in the mile. But Fullerton unleashed a ferocious kick to pull off the upset then the Hillies cruised in the mile relay to earn a season-opening, 45-41 victory.

Battling through its third meet in seven days, Pentucket held up well in besting North Reading, 54-32 and Hamilton-Wenham, 46-40. Lexi Kitsakos turned in personal bests in the dash (6.5) and the high jump (4-10) for the Sachems (4-1) while the Hornets (0-3) got three pleasantly surprising victories from Kristy Conway, Taylor Schille and Brittany Angillillo.

Tewksbury's win in the final event, the relay, created a rare indoor track tie against Central Catholic, 43-43, to start both team's season.  Kristen Wilson won the high jump (4-10) and placed second in the dash for the Raiders while Megan Jowett (2-mile), Nicolette Pelrine (mile) and Lauren Hoole (shot put) qualified for states with their efforts.

Even with an early start to its season, Pentucket literally was off and running in its 56-30 defeat of Newburyport at Andover High School. Qualifying for states in their first meet of the season were Valerie Grim in the 600 (1:37.8) and Alanna Poretta in the 1,000 (2:50.6).

Haverhill clinched its first MVC Division 1 title since 1992 by downing Chelmsford 54-32. Noelia Figuereo won the dash, Alicia Fannon won the 2-mile and Lisa Betances took the shot put for the Hillies (5-0).

Lawrence's Jocelyn Valerio threw the shot put a personal-best 30-1 during the Lancers' loss to Dracut.

Megan Jowett won the 2-mile (12:07.2) as Central Catholic bested Andover 47-37. Lauren Berg added a win in the shot put for the Raiders, while Emily Shields took the daush (6.6) for the Golden Warriors.

Pentucket fell to Triton, 46-40, but the Sachems were led by some first-rate individual performances. Alanna Poretta broke the school record in the 2-mile with a first-place time of 11:47.8. In addition, Emily Funk (40 yard hurdles) and April O'Brien (1,000) won their respective events and set new personal bests.

Alanna Poretta set a Pentucket school record in the 2-mile (11:47.8), breaking the old mark by 37 seconds. April O'Brien (1,000, 3:01.5) remained perfect for the Sachems (7-2-1). Emily Funk (hurdles, 6.12) and Rebecca Morse (mile, 5:44.6) also placed first.

It was a day of firsts for the North Andover girls' track team yesterday, following its 51-35 win over Masconomet.

For the first time in school history, North Andover completed its regular season with a perfect 10-0 mark. It was also the Knights' first Cape Ann League title in 13 years and its first win over Masconomet in 10 years.