Sun, smiles, and a whole lot of speed at Manning Field.
The Lynn All-City Track and Field Championships returned for the fourth consecutive year on Tuesday. St. Mary’s won the boys’ division with 148 points, while Lynn Tech took the girls’ with 198.
Rounding out the boys’ totals were Tech (2nd; 148), KIPP (3rd; 78), Lynn Classical (4th; 57), and Lynn English (5th, 30). As for the girls, on Tech’s tail were St. Mary’s (2nd; 148), English (3rd; 106), Classical (4th, 45), and KIPP (5th, 29).
The meet was going to have automated timing to help make events run more efficiently and allow participants to know their times almost instantaneously. However, due to technical difficulties, times did not update accordingly.
But the stars still shined. Tech’s Jireilis DeJesus was named Most Valuable Player of the meet, while St. Mary’s Kyle Kwiatek broke a meet record in the 2-mile race, previously set by Taban Manyok, also of St. Mary’s.
“It’s a community and we’re bringing together the whole city. Eamonn (McHale), who I never get to run with, we get to run together,” Kwiatek said of his Lynn English competitor. “Putting our best on the track just brings everyone together.”
Record or not, Kwiatek’s favorite part of the meet was running with other athletes in the City of Lynn.
During the season, only English and Classical compete against each other – since they’re both in the Greater Boston League – but for the rest of the schools, the meet served as something greater.
“I love the fact that we all share the track. We practice together. We kind of know each other, so it’s nice to get to run with these people because we all have meets against all these different schools,” said St. Mary’s coach Tristan Smith. “It’s nice to get to run with our neighbors, and get to know them differently because you really do get to know folks differently when you compete with them.”
English coach Brenda Martin, who has helmed the program for 13 years, added, “It’s a great event for all the high schools.”
“We’re all in different leagues except for us and Classical,” she said. “We play against Classical, but we never get the opportunity to play against St. Mary’s, KIPP, or Tech, so it’s a great opportunity for the city to get us all together and compete.”
Classical coach Eric Moreno said his athletes had Tuesday marked on their calendars – all year.
“They really get up for this meet. They like to call themselves the fastest in the city or the best in this event in the city. They really like to win,” he said.
Making new friends along the way is another benefit of having an event like Tuesday’s, according to Martin.
“It’s a great event and the kids have a lot of fun. We had a long season because we went to states on Sunday and just had the GBL Championships, but the kids really get excited for this specific meet,” she said. “They come to have a good time.”
For John Hogan and his Tech Tigers, he enjoyed the talent on display.
“The Tigers and St. Mary’s have been very competitive over the years. Lynn English girls are coming up strong [and] St. Mary’s girls are strong as well,” Hogan said. “The competition this year is so much better. In the past, we might have had only four kids go under a minute in the 400, but this year, we can have up to 10 kids go sub-1 minute. The progression of the meet is great because the kids want to get better throughout the season to be at their best for this meet.”
