Everett boys take Lynn English to school to begin indoor track season; Girls drop close battle

Crimson Tide track teams face Somerville, Malden in tri-meet Friday at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center

By Joe McConnell

Coach Jehu Cimea’s Everett High School boys and girls indoor track teams opened up the regular season against Lynn English last Friday night (Dec. 12) at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center with mixed results. The boys wiped out the Bulldogs to the tune of 67-9, while the girls lost a close encounter, 52-38.

“The boys got the season off to a strong start to earn the dominant victory over Lynn English,” said Cimea, “while the girls showed encouraging signs in their season opener, with several underclassmen and newcomers turning in impressive performances for the first meet of the year.”

On the boys’ side, senior captain Kervens Joseph led the way with 10 points that included setting a personal best in the 55-meter dash (6.81), which resulted in a first-place finish. Joseph (38.68) also ended up first in the 300. He had to step up after teammate Kayshaun Eveillard was sidelined by a hamstring injury during warmups and did so quite well. Eveillard is not expected to start running again until Dec. 27, and as a result will also sit out the upcoming tri-meet against Somerville and Malden on Friday, Dec. 19, at the same Lewis venue, starting at 4:30 p.m.

Senior captain Lucas Nunez (11:17.93, personal best) also got his season off to a fast start with a first-place finish in the two-mile after enjoying a sensational cross-country season. Captain Jeremy Whitlow (5:34.23) and Bryan Lewis (5:44.26) topped the ticket in the mile. Santiago Turizo Escorcia (1:48.18) beat out his Lynn English counterparts to come out on top in the 600. Carlos Pagan Landeo (3:16.26) was second in the 1,000, followed by Christopher Portillo Cruz (3:20.95) in third. Ian Herrera (10.53) and Antonio Iraola (10.92) went to the head of the class in the 55-meter hurdles.

In the field events, senior Gaetano Foster (38-7) earned a win in the shotput, as he continues to establish himself as a key indoor track contributor. Daniel Henriquez (5-0) accounted for a win in the high jump.

Turning to the girls meet, the Crimson Tide showed encouraging signs in its season opener against the Bulldogs, despite the close loss, according to the coach.

Senior captain Akanskha Neupane (6:40.56) led the way with a standout first-place performance in the mile, setting the tone for a promising indoor season. Junior captain Graziella Foster (28.2) opened up her throwing season with an impressive first place finish against Lynn English, continuing to establish herself as one of the top shot putters in the Greater Boston League (GBL).

Nathalia Dosa Santos (4:20.49) came in second in the 1,000. Shashi Pokhrel (16:24.61) experienced similar results in the two mile. Gissell Lemus (53.6) was first in the 300. Shashi Pokhrel (12.39) and Amina Mekic (12.49) were the top two finishers in the 55-meter hurdles. Zoe Massiah (8.3) was second in the 55-meter dash.

The Everett High indoor track coach said that both of his teams will face a challenging test in the aforementioned tri-meet against Malden and Somerville on Friday, Dec. 19. “We’ll be looking to build momentum heading into the winter break,” Cimea added.

Nunes, and Jeremy and Anthony Whitlow are the boys’ distance captains this year. The sprinting captains are Joseph and Eveillard. Antonio Iraola will lead the hurdlers.

Neupane is the girls distance captain. Her classmates Shinead Riley, Zoe Massiah and Isabella Pimenta are the sprint leaders. Graziella Foster is the captain among the throwers. A combined total of roughly 105 athletes made up the entire track program this winter.