By Blake Krantz
After winning its interdivisional meet 80-20 Thursday Jan. 29, boys’ indoor track extended its win streak to 113 meets over the last 18 years, according to coach Jim Blackburn, who coaches the team along with math teacher Shawn Wallace and physical education teacher Mike Bower.
The Tigers finished the year 6-0, with scores such as a 80-20 win against Weymouth, a 68-32 win against Framingham and a 55-45 win over Needham. According to senior Ben Porter, a captain with seniors Carter Harrison and Perry Miller and junior Jared Prior, the meet against Needham was the biggest highlight of the season.
Porter said that it “was hyped up from the beginning of the season,” and it “was awesome” for the team to get the win. The meet was decided by the final relay in which North was able to secure the win.
Porter said that the team was able to succeed in the season as a whole due to “hard work in practice every day and our great coaches.” He also mentioned that “going forward, everyone should try to do their personal best and it will turn into points for the team.”
On their ability to win consistently, Blackburn said that “the team had a good balance in all the events-speed, distance, jumping, and throwing shot put,” and that “this balance allowed us to win.”
The Tigers now look forward to the Conference Championships and the Divisional State Meet Feb. 4 and 11, respectively.
In the divisional state meet, the team hopes to qualify for the All-State meet Jan. 21, which the team could be “very feasibly” achieved, according to Prior.
When asked about the divisional state meet, Prior said the team looks to “field a very competitive 4X200 meter relay team” which consists of Porter, junior Max Hernandez, himself, and sophomore SeanRoss McClinchy.
Other qualifying Tigers include junior Kevin Joyce and sophomores Dobin Bookman and Nate Klein for shot put, as well as freshman Andrew Mah for the two mile race.
Contingent upon the qualifying state meet Feb. 11, the team hopes to become state champions on Feb. 21, a feat they accomplished last year, but one that “will be very hard to attain,” according to Prior.