Locals run to banner days at state meet

A pair of local runners had the type of performances during Saturday afternoon?s All-State track meet at the Reggie Lewis Center that will be remembered for quite some time.Matt Mahoney (Swampscott) and Joe Luongo (Prep) each earned state championships, the former in the 2-mile and the latter in the 600m.Mahoney, a senior, recorded a personal-best time of 9:17.02 and became the program?s first champion at the tournament.?If you had told me last year that I would be in this position, I wouldn?t have believed it,” said Mahoney. “I barely made it to All-States last season and to win today was a bit surprising but very gratifying. I?m very happy with the improvements I?ve made.”Swampscott coach Jeff Bartlett spoke on the performance, which broke the school?s all-time record, previously held by Peter Hale, who is now running at Williams College.?Matt ran a very sound race,” Bartlett said. “He was patient and made a move in the middle of the race when no one else wanted to do anything. By the time the field figured that out, he was too far ahead for them to make it up.”Luongo continued his stellar season, posting a 1:20.79, his third time under 1:21 this season. The Eagles junior adds to an impressive resume that includes a 1:20.05 in last Monday?s Division 1 Meet, the second-fastest time in the nation this year.?He?s certainly put together some nice credentials,” joked coach Ray Carey. “He?s had a sensational season and still has a few more opportunities to get even better before the season ends.”The Prep had a terrific team showing, finishing fifth overall (22 points), including a second-place performance from Evan Dombrowski in the shot put (55-6 1/2) and a fifth place showing from Tim Loehner in the 2-mile (9:27.11).?To have three kids place so high up in such a competitive and tough competition is a very nice accomplishment for us. I was very happy with our efforts today,” said Carey.Gloucester?s Everest Crawford placed second in the 1,000m with a 2:26.42. Drew Fossa of Peabody was seventh in the 2-mile (9:31.88).In girls action, Marblehead got a pair of top-10 performances to finish in a tie for 34th, along with conference foe Beverly, who also scored 4 points.The Magicians got a sixth-place finish from Janaya Randall in the mile (5:08.52) before Olivia Vener leaped 16-3 to take eighth in the long jump.The Panthers? 4×800 relay team put together an impressive fifth-place performance. The squad, consisting of Nicole Demars, Keely Higgins, Abby Walsh and anchor Caitlin Harty, combined to run a 9:36.14.