Fitchburg's a surprise at No. 2 in state meet
Sunday, February 14, 1999

                       By Rich Garven
                       Telegram & Gazette Staff


BOSTON-- Already known for its football and basketball
prowess, Fitchburg High is now making a name for itself in
indoor track.
          Sparked by three first-place finishes, the Red
Raiders finished second in the State Class C Championships
yesterday at the Reggie Lewis Center. It was the school's
best finish since 1978, when it won the meet.
          "I'd have to say nobody from Eastern Mass. even
expected us to be in the running," said Chris Woods,
Fitchburg's sixth-year coach. "We knew coming in we'd
surprise people. People from Central Mass. know we have a
pretty good program."
          The Red Raiders led by three points heading into
the final event, but saw their advantage evaporate when
Oliver Ames won the 1,600-meter relay in a meet record-tying
time. Fitchburg was 14th.
          Oliver Ames, located in North Easton, finished
with 48 points to Fitchburg's 41.
          Afterward, Oliver Ames star Andy Powell made a
point of seeking out Woods.  "Congratulations, you guys did
well," said the Stanford-bound Powell, who captured the
2-mile in addition to running a leg of the 1,600 relay.
          O'Bryant, out of Roxbury, was third with 40 points.
          For the girls, Dighton-Rehoboth edged Stoneham,
50-49, for first place. Fitchburg had the highest finish
among local teams, placing 17th.
          Senior Jeff Guenette, junior Ben Brideau and the
800-meter relay team were all winners for the Red Raiders,
who were third at the '96 meet.
          After finishing second a year ago, Guenette won
the 55 high hurdles in a personal-best time of 7.77 seconds.
"I had a good start and carried it through all the way,"
said Guenette, who didn't clip any of the six hurdles while
leading from the start.  "I wanted to win today. I felt good
coming in. I was seeded first, but there were a lot of good
times, so I didn't know what to expect."
          Guenette also took fourth in the long jump and
teamed with juniors Harold Mateo and Jason Quinn and senior
Dallas Heckel to capture the 800 relay ina meet-record 1
minute, 33.6 seconds. Milton set the previous mark of
1:33.67 last year.
          "Anyone who followed us during the indoor season
knows he's a class act and a good kid," Woods said of
Guenette, who will attend Dartmouth in the fall. "No matter
what happens next week, he's had a great season."
          The state All-Class meet will be held here next
Saturday. The top five finishers in each of the four classes
(A, B, C, D) and the next four finishers overall will
compete.
          Brideau was making his first Class C appearance,
but acted like an old pro while winning the high jump with a
leap of 6 feet, 1 inch, despite injuring his right knee
early in the competition.
          "I don't know what happened," Brideau said. "At
5-9, something popped and it just started hurting, but it
really didn't affect my takeoff."
          Gardner senior Ryan Kelley was second at 5-11, but
wasn't overly impressed with his performance. "I know I can
do better, that's all," said Kelley, adding that he has
cleared 6-3 before.
          Fitchburg junior Mike Caron gave Central Mass. its
best showing in any event by taking fifth with a
personal-best 5-11.
          Heckel (sixth, 300), Eric Newton (fifth, 1,000)
and the 3,200 relay foursome of Joaquin Kilson, Ryan
Bourque, Dan Savukoski and Matt Gendron (fifth also scored
for the Red Raiders.
          Newton, seeded 11th, had a particularly impressive
race. The senior caught one runner at the bell lap and
another at the finish line while running a personal-best
2:41.69.
          Tantasqua junior Andrew Wood also went the
distance, turning in a 9:53.88 time to place fourth in the
2-mile, which saw Powell and Lynn Tech's Franklyn Sanchez
shatter a meet record that had stood since 1965. Powell won
in 9:03.53, slicing nearly 10 seconds off the old mark.
          "I knew the kids I was running against. They're
unbelievable runners," Wood said. "I wasn't worried about
staying with them, I just wanted to find my own pace."
          Mission accomplished.
          On the girls' side, Marlboro's Emily Welton and
Fitchburg's Kate Guenette were the top area finishers,
taking fourth in the high jump and 55 hurdles, respectively.
          Welton, a senior, got a personal-best 5 feet on
her third and final attempt, despite competing with a pulled
quadriceps muscle, an injury she suffered on her second day
of practice after deciding to join the team in January.
          "I felt really good today. I was jumping up
instead of into the bar today," Welton said with a laugh.
          Meanwhile, Kate Guenette, Jeff's freshman sister,
was one spot in front of teammate Lucia Pellecchia in the 55
hurdles. In the 55, Tantasqua's Kara Simpson was fifth.
          Pat Boehm of Wachusett Regional finished second in
the mile at the Class A meet.  Boehm's time of 4 minutes,
25.2 seconds was second to Renny Waldren of Cambridge, who
won the event Friday night in a time of 4:22.95.

  1998 Worcester Telegram & Gazette


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