Classical’s Bangura wins 55-meter at state coaches’ race

Classical senior Saffi Bangura sprinted to a 55-meter victory in a personal best time of 7.53 seconds Satuurday at the Massachusetts State Coaches Invitational track meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.A number of other Rams turned in personal bests, including Rebecca Potter in the 300 (45.6) and Krista Cuozzo in the 600 (1:52).Lynnfield junior Buonfiglio paced the field in the 1000 in a time of 3:01.11, more than seven seconds ahead of Beverly senior Wendi Marciano, second in a time of 3:08.31. Lynnfield senior Scout Benson finished second in the 55 high hurdles (8.91) and eighth in the long jump (15-7?).Other placers among area girls were Marblehead sophomore Janaya Randall in the two-mile (2nd, 11:55.5) and Swampscott sophomore Sarah Kelly in the mile (7th, 5:25.55). The Big Blue?s Melinda Wilson was ninth in the shot put and Alison Carr was a strong 12th in the 1000. On the boys side, Salem senior Christian Guzman was fourth in the 55 meter (6.79) and St. John?s Prep sophomore Evan Dombrowski placed eighth in the shot put (44-2?).The MSCTA Elite Meet was held Sunday at the Reggie Lewis. Only the top 24 performers in each event across the state compete.The St. John?s Prep boys performed well. Bryan Browne placed fourth in the 300 meters with a personal best of 36.02 while Deklan Robinson nailed down third in the high jump with an effort of 6-4. No other Eagles placed but many set personal bests, including Jake Smith in the mile (4:33.79), Josh Hubbell in the 300 (37.78) and Tim Loehner in the two-mile (10:12.49).Swampscott?s Melinda Wilson ran 18th in the Girls 600 with a personal best 1:42.2 and ran the lead leg for the seventh-place 4×800 relay team that included Emma Walsh, Alison Carr and Sarah Kelley that clocked in at 9:55.6. For the boys, Peter Hale finished eighth in the two-mile (9:41.47) and the 4×200 relay team of Erik Murphy, Zach Blonder, Matt Nardielo and Declan McClung finished in 1:40.8, good for 18th.