BOSTON — Salem junior football and track standout Jerickson Fedrick ran the fastest schoolboy 55 meters in New England this winter with his 6.39 to win Division 1 States.
So he entered yesterday's New England Championships the favorite, but he also had not competed in a race since States on Feb. 13.
The 19-day layoff seemed to hurt him a little.
Fedrick finished third in the 55 meter with a time of 6.50.
"I'm so disappointed," he said. "I wish we could run the race again."
Fred Gobewole a senior from Shea in Rhode Island won (6.44). Donarth Thompson of Bulkeley in Connecticut came in second place (6.46).
"I guess I wasn't where I was suppose to be," said Fedrick, who added that he trained with his team every other day in preparation for New Englands. "I definitely could have performed better — a lot better actually. I just didn't want to end the track season like this. There's just a lot of room for improvement, I guess. I've got to start over.
"I definitely improved from last year, so I'm happy about that," he added. "But there's room for improvement."
Fedrick said one of the main reasons he originally joined track was to help get himself into better shape for football. He is a running back who has rushed for 2,767 yards already in his career.
One thing is for certain though — Fedrick is not just a star football player. He also has developed into a star runner and one of the most elite sprinters all-time locally.
Fedrick's 6.39 compares to the region's two other great sprinters of the modern era: Andover's Christopher McConnell, who set a state record of 6.34 in 2009 and North Andover All-State champ Larry Elizalde, who ran a 6.41 in 1991.
Fedrick is open to running track in addition to playing football.
"Definitely," he said. "I love track, too, as well as I love football."
Fedrick is being recruited by colleges for both football and track. He estimated that he has received more than 100 recruitment letters.
LAVALLEE HEADED TO UNH
Sanborn senior Ginny Lavallee came in sixth in the 55 meter hurdles (8.56).
"I wanted to do better but I am proud of getting this far," she said about her sixth-place finish.
Lavallee recently gave her verbal commitment to run track at UNH.
She said she was offered a $22,000 per year athletic scholarship there.
"I'm very excited," she said. "The coaches are very good. I'm not sure what they're going to have me run but I definitely know I'm staying in the hurdles.
"The (UNH) started out offering $15,000, but I set the state record at the state meet so they gave me 22 after that," she added.
Lavallee said her PR is 8.41 in the 55 hurdles.
Lavallee started track in the sixth grade and has been competing in the hurdles ever since then.
FORMER LEFT WINGER TAKES FIFTH
Methuen's Cameron Kelley earned a fifth-place finish (2:33.82) in the 1,000.
Kelley, who will run track next year at UMass Lowell, actually grew up playing hockey and had planned to play high school hockey.
"I was a hockey player all the way up until high school," he said. "I joined cross country to get in shape for hockey and I had a really successful freshmen season so I just kept with it and did winter track (instead of trying out for hockey)."
Kelley, who played left wing, said he occasionally misses hockey.
"But I made the right choice," he said.
In his free time, Kelley refs youth hockey games. He said he refs about two games per week on average.
SALLEY LEAPS TO THIRD
Andover's Jess Salley took third in the high jump (5-5).
Salley, who wants to do track and field in college, has applied to three schools: the University of Richmond, Stonehill College and UNH.
"This is the first New Englands that I competed for indoor," she said. "I went into the season with an open mind hoping I would do well as a senior and it was great to be on the podium. It was awesome. It's one of those things I will remember for a long time."
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Girls Indoor Track, 03/05/11 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Salem's Melissa Higgins placed in three events at the Division 1 state track and field meet to help the Salem girls take fifth overall with 38 points.
Higgins won the 300 in 41.98 seconds. She took third in the 55 hurdles (8.66) and third in the long jump (16-4 3/4).
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Girls Indoor Track, 02/13/11 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Salem's Victoria Rozumek was commanding in the high jump, winning by three inches with a leap of 5-5, but came up an inch shy of qualifying for the state meet.
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Girls Indoor Track, 01/30/11 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Melissa Higgins won a gold medal at the Dartmouth Relays for the second straight year and the Andover girls again flexted their muscles by placing fourth overall.Higgins broke the tape first in the 400 in 59.30. Andover's Maggie Mullins won the 2-mile in a stellar 11:03.87 and teamed with triple-placer Eve Bishop, Sydney Eberth and Jaclyn Torres to capture the sprint medley.
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Girls Indoor Track, 01/08/11 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
HANOVER, N.H. — The Andover girls came up big at the Dartmouth Relays with Maggie Mullins and Eve Bishop leading the way.
Mullins, The Eagle-Tribune MVP in cross country, sped to a winning time
of 11:03.87. That places her seventh on the area’s all-time list.
Bishop was second in the 300, teamed with Mullins, Sydney Eberth and
Jaclyn Torres to win the sprint medley and ran on the runner-up 4x400
team with Eberth and Torres and Rae Bronenkant.
Both Andover squads placed fourth in the team standings.
Andover’s Will Ossoff, Ryan Beaumont, Ryan Cooney and Simon Voorhees
combined to win the 4x800 in 8:10.14. It was a huge day for Voorhees,
who placed in three events.
Pat Farnham sped to a second in the 300 (36.52) and teamed with Adam
Carrington, Brian Knapp and Voorhees for a second in the sprint medley.
Methuen’s Cam Kelley was a double-placer including a second in the
1,000 (2:36.29).
Two years ago it was the 300 this year it was the 400.
Salem’s Melissa Higgins added to her medal collection with an
impressive performance at the Dartmouth Relays. The Blue Devil senior
broke the tape in 59.30 to win by over a second. The area’s all-time
leader in the 300 hurdles, Higgins is accustomed to running fast in the
spring and the winter. She ran a 57.86 400 last winter.
Timberlane’s James Dionne tied for third in the high jump and Londonderry’s Clint Perry grabbed a sixth in the 600.
The Timberlane team of Kristen Swanson (200), Emily Swanson (200),
Taylor Ordway (400), and Hannah Kimball (800) took a fourth in the
1,600-meter sprint medley in 4:26.14.
Dartmouth Relays
Boys team scoring: 1. St. Anthony (N.Y.) 66, 4.tie Andover 27, 21.tie Methuen 10, 41.tie Timberlane 5, 52.tie Londonderry 1
Area results:
4x800: 1. Andover (Will Ossoff, Ryan Beaumont, Ryan Cooney, Simon Voorhees) 8:10.14; 1,600 sprint medley: 2.
Andover (Pat Farnham, Adam Carrington, Brian Knapp, Voorhees) 3:36.49,
- Methuen (Mike Capomaccio, Eric Lacroix, Stephen Lilja, Kelley)
3:41.71; Mile: 6. Voorhees (Andover) 4:25.79; 300: 2. Farnham (Andover)
36.52; HJ: 3.tie Matt Dionne (Timberlane) 6-0; 400: 6. Clint Perry (Londonderry) 53.48; 1,000: 2. Cam Kelley (Methuen) 2:36.29
Girls team scoring: 1. Newton North 71, 4. Andover 39, 16.tie Salem 10, 33.tie Timberlane 4
Area scorers:
300: 2. Eve Bishop (And) 41.11; 400: 1. Melissa Higgins (Sal) 59.30; 2-mile: 1. Maggie Mullins (And) 11:03.87; 1,600 sprint medley: 1. Andover (Bishop, Sydney Eberth, Jaclyn Torres, Mullins) 4:17.35; 4x400: 2.
Andover (Eberth, Bishop, Torres, Rae Bronenkant) 4:05.65, 4. Timberlane
(Kristen Swanson, Emily Swanson, Taylor Ordway, Hannah Kimball) 4:26.14; HJ: 5. Jess Salley (And) 5-2; TJ: 6. Emily Belluche (And) 35-4
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Girls Indoor Track, 01/08/11 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
Timberlane's superior depth allowed it to edge Salem and take second place in an eight-team indoor meet. Kristen Swanson scored in the 55 and 300 meters as well as running the anchor leg of the Owls' winning 4x160 relay team. The Blue Devils, who placed third, got stellar performances from Steph Cabral (won the 3,000, second in the 1,500) and Melissa Higgins (won the 55 hurdles, second in the 300).
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Girls Indoor Track, 12/28/10 » 0 Comments & 0.0 Stars
