Spotlight shines on young track stars

BY JOE McCONNELL

On May 6, the Marblehead High freshman and sophomore boys and girls spring track athletes took center stage in Peabody for the annual Northeastern Conference Meet.

Girls long jump

Elise Burchfield led the way for Marblehead with a leap of 14-10 to finish fourth overall.

“Elise was all over the track, participating in the hurdles, high jump and long jump, and she scored an impressive total of 22 points,” said coach Nolan Raimo.

Boys long jump

Colin Hart captured fourth with a jump of 17-0. Elian Colon made his spring debut in the long jump, coming in 15th with a jump of 15-6.

Claudio Gusmao-Gonzalez (155) ended up 17th, James Pulido (14-2) 21st and Casey Gransbury (17-6.5) 25th.

Girls triple jump

Ava Machado was fourth with a jump of 32-7 and Morgan Zion (30-8) seventh. The top seven triple jumpers made the finals. Machado was the top point scorer for the girls team with 24 points.

Boys triple jump

Gusmao-Gonzalez, Marblehead’s jump specialist, was credited with a ninth-place finish with a jump of 32-11.

“Claudio has been locked in on the jumps all spring long, and he continues to make progress. His leadership around the jump pits has been greatly appreciated,” Raimo said.

Girls high jump

Elise Burchfield finished second with a clearance of 4-6.

Campbell Crane also landed on the podium with a jump of 4-2 to place fifth.

“This was a tough day for our high jumpers with so few boys and girls competing, but Campbell and Elise seemingly are veterans at this point and

Still Perfect

were still able to compete well to score points,” said Raimo.

Girls shot put

Hannah O’Brien finished 11th with a throw of 20-10.

“The shotput isn’t Hannah’s main event, but the team appreciates her efforts to try and score points in a secondary event,” Raimo said.

Boys shot put

Justin Gonzalez accounted for fourth with a throw of 34-1.25.

Graham Firestone (29-2.5) came in 12th and Grady Norfleet (245.5) 16th.

“Justin competed the day before in the shot against Masco and was back at it just 12 hours later in this meet,” Raimo said. “Justin threw 35-feet-plus against Masco, which would’ve been good for second in this meet. We really appreciate him going above and beyond to compete in back-to-back days.”

Girls discus

O’Brien won the discus with a throw of 82-0.

“Hannah was the top seed in the event, and frankly that’s a lot of pressure, but Hannah handled it well and won it by a nearly 7-foot margin,” Raimo said. “Hannah has made tremendous