Brockton senior Lucas Andrade delivers a jaw-dropping victory at New England track & field championships

Boston Globe

02-03-2025

The meet drew athletes from 276 schools across six states, and Massachusetts-based athletes claimed five of the 13 boys' events and one of the 13 girls' events.
Related
:
Andrade's effort topped a meet record (7.30) which had stood since 1991, and was the first of seven meet records to fall. Andrade's time also surpassed the fastest 55-meter hurdles ever run by an athlete from the New England region, a claim previously been held by Myles Bradley (7.26) of Norwich, Conn., since 2005.
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
At the New England Championships, Brockton senior Lucas Andrade (7.22 seconds) obliterates his own state record in the boys' 55-meter hurdles.
It's Andrade's third time breaking his own record, topping last week's Meet of Champions mark by 0.07 seconds. ⁦
— Matty Wasserman (@Matty_Wasserman)
Advertisement
'I had my mind set on getting below the [New England record of 7.26]. That was the goal coming into the day,' said Andrade. 'It's just about challenging myself all the time, I just want to strive for more . . . once I saw that time come up, it just felt great to have done what I set out to do.'
After winning the high jump at both the Division 1 title meet (6 feet, 6 inches) and the Meet of Champions (6-8), Shrewsbury senior Derek Shriner entered Saturday confident he could handily eclipse both marks.
His reason: A new pair of jumping spikes which arrived in the mail Thursday.
With the entire Reggie Lewis Center crowd turning their focus toward the infield, Shriner claimed the high jump victory with a personal best of 6 feet, 11 inches. The jump was the country's fourth highest this season.
'With these shoes, I definitely felt more comfortable in my approach. They had way more grip than the old ones,' Shriner said. 'Seven feet is a big goal that I've been wanting to break all season, and I think today, I kind of proved myself that I can do [going forward].'
In one of the afternoon's most dominant performances, Whitinsville Christian sophomore Emily Flagg pulled away in the girls' 2-mile (10:42.59) to win by nine seconds in a personal best.
Advertisement
Following her fourth-place 2-mile finish (10:51.84) at last week's Meet of Champions, Flagg's focus for Saturday was on hitting even splits between 38-40 seconds and remaining consistent even as she separated from the competitors.
'In the beginning, I was feeling super confident. But towards the end, I always have trouble kicking,' Flagg said. 'That's where I get a little iffy, and I'm not really sure how to keep pushing. But today it went great and I hit my marks.'
In a thrilling girls' 300, Dennis Yarmouth senior Breanna Braham shattered her personal best and broke a 12-year meet record in her runner-up effort (38.00), though junior Lisa Raye of West Warwick, R.I. (37.76) bested her while also topping the meet record.
Braham's mark surpassed her previous personal best (38.94) by nearly a full second, which she set in a dominant victory last week at the Meet of Champions.
'Because of how much competition I had in this race, that made me go out there and come in with a different mind-set,' Braham said. 'I knew it would be a challenge to stick with Lisa, and if I was doing that, then I was going to be at the pace I wanted.'
The other individual winners from Massachusetts: Peabody senior Alex Jackson in boys' shot put (64 feet, 09.25 inches), Sharon senior Josy Brown-Wright in the boys' 300 meters (34.76), and Marblehead senior Nate Assa in the boys' 2-mile (9:04.60)
New England Championship
BOYS
at Reggie Lewis Center
55m
— 1. Andre Clark, Marshwood (Maine), 0:06.38; 2. Ceasar Flahn, Manchester Central (N.H.), 0:06.4; 3. Max Shapiro, Falmouth (Maine), 0:06.41.
Advertisement
55m hurdles
— 1. Lucas Andrade, Brockton, 0:07.22; 2. Bobby Wind, Barrington (R.I.), 0:07.37; 3. Khai Yin, Lowell, 0:07.45.
300m
— 1. Josy Brown-Wright, Sharon, 0:34.73; 2. Sebastian Perez, Trumbull (Conn.), 0:34.98; 3. Owen Rich, Lyman Hall (Conn.), 0:35.14.
600m
— 1. Charles Dalles, Coginchaug Regional (Conn.)., 1:21.95; 2. Yee-Jun Ng, Bethel (Conn.), 1:21.97; 3. Thomas Conklin, Lyman Hall (Conn.), 1:22.03.
1000m
— 1. Alexander Medina, Hamden (Conn.), 2:28.8; 2. Cole Francis, Narragansett (R.I.), 2:30.33; 3. Jacob Szalewicz, Marblehead, 2:30.38.
Mile
— 1. Sam Leone, East Lyme (Conn.), 4:22.98; 2. Sam Laverdiere, Lake Region (Maine), 4:25.1; 3. Jonah Gould, Algonquin, 4:25.49.
2-mile
— 1. Nate Assa, Marblehead, 9:04.6; 2. Matthew Giardina, Bishop Guertin (N.H.), 9:07.34; 3. Owen Martin, Xavier (Conn.), 9:12.83.
High jump
— 1. Derek Shimer, Shrewsbury, 6 feet 11 inches; 2. Josia Katroli, Lewiston (Maine), 6-9; 3. Logan Sullivan, Hopkinton, 6-7.
Long jump
— 1. Micheal Ahoua, Torrington (Conn.), 24 feet 0 inches; 2. Arnaud Sioho, South Portland (Maine), 23-8.25; 3. Evan Bedard, Peabody, 23-0.5.
Shot put
— 1. Alex Jackson, Peabody, 64 feet 9.25 inches; 2. Brandon Wolfenden, Pilgrim (R.I.), 61-3.75; 3. Thomas Matlock, East Lyme (Conn.), 60-9.75.
4 x 200
— 1. La Salle (R.I.), 1:29.36; 2. Fairfield Prep (Conn.), 1:30.7; 3. Weston, 1:31.04.
4 x 400
— 1. Lyman Hall (Conn.), 3:22.25; 2. La Salle (R.I.), 3:23.49; 3. Brookline, 3:24.94.
4 x 800
— 1. Ridgefield (Conn.), 7:48.08; 2. Xavier (Conn.), 7:48.44; 3. Brookline, 7:49.02.
Shot Put Wheelchair
— 1. Angel Hernandez, Amherst Pelham, 9-11.
GIRLS
at Reggie Lewis Center
55m
— 1. Lisa Raye, West Warwick (R.I.), 0:06.79; 2. Lauren Quarm, Methuen, 0:06.97; 3. Xenia Raye, West Warwick (R.I.), 0:06.99.
Advertisement
55m hurdles
— 1. Anika Scott, Bedford (N.H.), 0:07.76; 2. Emmanuella Edozien, Natick, 0:07.96; 3. Arianna DiPietro, Central Catholic, 0:08.38.
300m
— 1. Lisa Raye, West Warwick (R.I.), 0:37.76; 2. Breanna Braham, Dennis-Yarmouth, 0:38; 3. Xenia Raye, West Warwick (R.I.), 0:38.74.
600m
— 1. Lauren Kropo, Naugatuck (Conn.)., 1:32.3; 2. D'Asia Duncan, Bloomfield (Conn.), 1:35.97; 3. Skyler Maxwell, Moses Brown (R.I.), 1:36.21.
1000m
— 1. Brooke Strauss, Glastonbury (Conn.), 2:46.05; 2. Mikita Barry, Bedford (N.H.), 2:50.63; 3. Liv Sherry, Conard (Conn.), 2:53.57.
Mile
— 1. Chase Gilbert, Lyme-Old Lyme (Conn.), 4:48.45; 2. Tess Sherry, Conard (Conn.), 4:59.94; 3. Shealyn Brochu, Morse (Maine), 5:00.13.
2-mile
— 1. Emily Flagg, Whitinsville Christian, 10:42.59; 2. Mackenzie Cook, Oyster River (N.H.), 10:51.96; 3. Lauren Parrett, Glastonbury (Conn.), 11:00.06.
High jump
— 1. Ella Palisano, Mount Anthony (Vt.), 5 feet 7 inches; 2. Zoe Santos, Norton, 5-7; 3. Kaitlyn Quealy, Holliston, 5-5; 3. Danielle Bates, Timberlane (N.H.), 5-5.
Long jump
— 1. Vanessa Agyemang, Bloomfield (Conn.), 19 feet 7 inches; 2. Emmanuella Edozien, Natick, 19-4; 3. Tayla Pelletier, Windham (Maine), 19-1.
Shot put
— 1. Maya Quaranta, Sacred Heart Academy (Conn.), 44 feet 0.5 inches; 2. Gifty Bediako, Classical (R.I.), 42-6.5; 3. Madeline Goncalves, Haverhill, 41-8.
4 x 200
— 1. Bloomfield (Conn.), 1:42; 2. Manchester (Conn.), 1:42.21; 3. Windsor (Conn.), 1:43.23.
4 x 400
— 1. Amherst-Pelham, 3:55.7; 2. Bloomfield (Conn.), 3:57.44; 3. Westford, 4:01.22.
4 x 800
— 1. North Kingstown (R.I.), 9:21.85; 2. Needham, 9:23.11; 3. Newton South, 9:28.77
Matty Wasserman can be reached at