It's no stretch to suggest BC High's Corey Thomas went all out to earn his victory in the 55-meter hurdles.
(Justine Hunt/Globe Staff)
All-State boys' track
Mike McPherson doesn't like losing.
The senior from Mansfield also doesn't like wasting time.
He may have been a late bloomer, but in just his second year performing the shot put, he mastered it.
McPherson took home the gold prize at last night's MIAA All-State Track Meet at the Reggie Lewis Center, with a throw of 56 feet 9.5 inches, edging his teammate, junior Dan Glavin (56-09), and forming a 1-2 punch.
"I'm really competitive," said McPherson, a tackle on Mansfield's powerhouse football squad. "I kind of figured out the technique and it felt better. I like to win at whatever I do."
McPherson's achievement couldn't block out the impressive team effort of Woburn. With 46 points, it outlasted St. John's of Shrewsbury (31) and Brookline (25) to be the club standard for the evening.
"We pray a lot," Woburn coach Joe Curran said with a chuckle. "We're very excited. It's a very special group of kids and I'm so proud of them. Things really worked out for us this year."
Woburn notched a first-place finish in the 4 x 400 (3:22.47), fighting to the finish behind Mike McDonough, Dan Tobin, Ryad Bencheikh, and Brett Sullivan and defeating Middlesex League rival Belmont, which finished in 3:23.89.
Bencheikh notched more first-place points for Woburn in the 600, finishing in 1:21.93, while teammate Brett Sullivan won a photo finish in the 1,000 in 2:30.01. Liam Anastasia-Murphy of Gloucester was the runner-up (2:30.55).
Andover's Chris McConnell continued his unbeaten year in the 55-meter dash. The sophomore won in 6.45, defeating Boston English's Enoch Mills (6.56).
"I wasn't planning on being unbeaten," McConnell said. "Last year, I came in fourth and I worked to improve this year. You really just to have block it out. You have to come in and know you're ready to run."
From one event to the next, Brookline senior Robert Gibson has proven his versatility over the years. A 1-mile all-state champion as a junior, Gibson finished the 2-mile this year in first place in 9:26.71.
"It's nice to know I have some range," Gibson said. "I just took off in the last 400 tonight. I kind of did what I wanted. I was feeling fine."
BC High's Corey Thomas fell short in one event, the high jump. So he decided to make up for it in the 55-meter hurdles. In the closest event of the night, the junior ran alongside Bishop Feehan's Chris Conway. Both finished in 7.60 seconds, but Thomas won a photo finish.
"I guess I went in a little too confident," Thomas said of the high jump, in which he didn't place. "I don't like losing. So it's beautiful [to win the hurdles]. It really makes me happy because I had gotten so close before."
Charlestown junior Omar Aden grabbed a victory in the mile (4:19.12), defeating Chris Brown by .8 seconds.
Ryan Ruffing of Westboro was victorious in the 300, winning in 35.56. Reading was tops in the 4 x 200, outlasting Middlesex League archrival Woburn, 1:30.56 to 1:30.58. Gloucester grabbed the last relay trophy, running an 8:01.79 to take command of the 4 x 800.
Andrew Powell (6-07) leaped around the rest in the high jump, while Mills made up for his silver-prize finish in the 55-meter dash with a long jump victory at 22-02.75.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
