RallyNorth.net

Sat, May 30, 2009 09:00 AM @ Neutral Location

Team	Total
Andover	-
Lawrence	-
Methuen	-

Redemption for Lawrence's Gonzalez

Saturday, May, 30 By Alan Siegel
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Adderly Gonzalez spent the week stewing.

“I just felt like the world came down on me,” he said.

At last Saturday’s Merrimack Valley Conference meet, the Lawrence High junior missed the 800 because of a mix-up. By the time he realized there was only one heat, not two, it was already a lap into a race. Gonzalez and his extended family — in town from New York — were out of luck.

“He was heartbroken,” coach Anthony Ellis said.

Gonzalez’s performance at yesterday’s Eastern Massachusetts Division 1 meet did wonders for his mood. The UMass Lowell-bound middle distance whiz won the 800 (1:55.63), eclipsing Jim Kent’s 38-year-old hand-timed school record (1:55.6). 

“This is redemption for him,” Ellis said. “He was pumped up.”

Not bad for the former Lancer outfielder, who hung up his glove this spring after realizing that he had a future in spikes.

“I thought that track was the place for me,” Gonzalez said.

Said Ellis: “He knew this was his best sport.”

It was clear Ellis was excited for Gonzalez, who helped the Lancers win four cross country meets last fall after not winning one in the eight previous seasons.

“He’s like the glue of the team,” Ellis said.

Gonzalez, Ellis said, has helped bring kids into the track program over the past few years. If the Lancers are successful in the near future, Ellis said, “it’ll be because of (Adderly).”

There’s little doubt Gonzalez will make some noise at next week’s All-State meet.

“You’ll never,” Ellis said, “have to try and motivate him.” 

Warrior rule

Andover absolutely tore up the track. The girls finished second with 49 points and the boys took the title with 51 points, five more than second-place BC High. The Golden Warriors finished with a strong 4x400 relay. They won in 3:22.63, the fourth best time in area history. The victory, which came in the final heat of the final race of the day, clinched the meet and created some buzz in the infield.

“Whoa!” said Lexington’s Ricardo Sanon, who placed third in the 400. “That’s moving! That’s quick.”

According to Andover sprint coach Scott Price’s splits, Mark Vetere (50.3), Connor O’Neil (51.5), Brendan Crawford (50.6) and Rob Martin (50.1) all ran well. Newton South, which placed second (3:26.62), finished more than four seconds behind.

“It was all guts that final leg,” said Martin, the anchor who also placed sixth in the 400 (50.72). “I didn’t really care how I felt afterward.”

Vetere, a junior, continued to fly high in the pole vault, clearing 14-6 to match a personal best, win the title and break the meet record (14-1) Andover’s Peter Ellis set in 1997. Andover’s dominance in the jumping events didn’t end there. Sophomore Moira Cronin cleared 5-7 to win the high jump, matching her personal best and breaking the meet record (5-6 1/4) Methuen’s Cathy Decubellis set in 1981.

“She can really get up there,” said Haverhill senior Samantha Stabile, who finished third in the high jump (5-5) and second in the 100 (12.60).

Stabile, who said she’s only been training hard for about three weeks due to a late-winter bout with mononucleosis, expects Cronin to clear at least 5-10.

“My short-term goal was 5-7,” said Cronin, who stands at 6-feet and can touch the rim on a basketball hoop. “But I was really hoping to do 5-8.”

Watch out next year. Cronin’s sister Molly, an eighth-grader, has already jumped 4-8 twice.

Speed merchants

Andover’s Christopher McConnell and Lawrence’s Francis Nova looked at the times together. 

“Look at all the speed in the Merrimack Valley!” Andover coach yelled.

A quick look at the results sheet confirmed what the pair of junior sprinters already knew: they finished first and second, respectively, in the 100 meters. McConnell (10.98) just edged Nova (10.99). McConnell, who finished second to Nova at the MVC meet, appears to be rounding into form. His confidence, Price said, is improving steadily.

“There’s a lot of talent out there,” Price said. “You have to work your hardest to run with these kids.”

Nova hopes to improve his speed out of the blocks. It’s the only way he’ll have a chance against McConnell.

“For me, the race beings at 60 (meters),” he said. “My start, I don’t know how else to say it, it’s horrendous. It’s terrible. But the more I try, I get better.”