Split decision for English, Revere track teams

LYNN – For the Lynn English boys? track team, Tuesday?s meet against Revere (2-4) came down to the wire. Up by three points, heading into the final event – the 4×400-meter relay – the Bulldogs needed a win, worth five points, to ensure victory.English?s relay team of Kevin Francisco, Thai Bui, Joshua Osawe and anchor Andy Choun came through for the Bulldogs, running the 400 meters in 3 minutes 55 seconds to secure the 72-64 victory.
The girls? meet also came down to the last couple of events, but the Patriots (3-3) locked up a 73-62 victory over English (0-6).
Sophomore Hugh Calice was one of the stars for the English boys — as he has been for much of the season — qualifying for the state tournament in four events. Calice won the long jump, with a distance 20 feet 2 ? inches, the triple jump (40-10), the 110-meter hurdles (16.3 seconds) and was a member of the winning 4×100-meter relay team — which also included C.J. Hernandez, Daekwon Shepherd and Jeremy Garcia — which also qualified for the tournament.?He?s special,” said English (2-4) coach Oren Wright of Calice. “He?s the nicest kid. He?s as nice as the day is long, and he?s humble. He?s quite an athlete.”Hernandez also qualified for states in the high jump (6-0), and he was a winner in the 100 (11.6). Sam Adewale (115-0) and Garcia (93-11) took first and second in the discus, while Garcia also won the shot put (38-8). Osawe (24.3) and Bui (24.7) took first and second in the 200.?I?m excited for the team. We have a strong, young group,” said Wright. “We?re coming along quickly. It?s not just about our record, but about the progress we?re making. Them getting this win gives us a lot of confidence going into next week?s meet against Classical. We have a great chance to end our season on a high note.”Bounlaing Chea won the 400 hurdles for Revere, Zak Attioui took first in the mile, Salah Barhoum won the 2 miles, Jerome Berry won the 400 and Zach Gentile took the 800. In the field events, Damond Khat was the sole winner for Revere, taking first in the javelin.?It could have gone differently for us,” said Revere boys? coach Sam Ros. “We were missing three of our top kids. But I can?t complain about the way the guys performed. They showed a lot of heart, they were gutsy. It came down to the end.”For the English girls, Elizabeth Rozon was a big winner with first-place finishes in the 400 meters, 100-meter hurdles and the high jump. Ose Ukhuedoba won the 400 (1:09.2), Nneka Lloba took first in the 200 (27.3) and Victoria Ogundipe won the shot put (28-4). The 4×100 team, consisting of Georgejet Kotee, Brianna Maynard, Faith Agbonsalo and Lloba, also placed first for the Bulldogs.
?I?m happy with how we performed as a group,” English coach Brenda Martin said. “We had a lot of girls set personal bests, and our hurdlers and sprinters did very well. We?re a small group, but we work very hard.”
?It was an extremely close meet, and I?m happy we were a part of it,” said Revere girls? coach Antonio LaBruna. “It was really a total team win. Everyone competed in the maximum number of events for us.”Katie Morrison may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @KatieMo61.