by Jonathan Cohen
Boys’ indoor track has begun their season 6-0, and for the 18th season in a row, the Tigers have not lost in a dual meet, or a meet against one other team, success which can be attributed to “coaches working extra hard to scout opposing talent in every event, and work through exactly which runners to put in each event ” according to senior captain Alex Montague, a captain with seniors Ed Acuna, Jonathan Minkin, Siddharth Nizamuddin, and Jared Prior.
The Tigers won their most recent meet 54-46 against Milton on Thursday Jan. 28, at the Reggie Lewis Center. The team “pulled off really close wins against excellent teams like Brookline, Needham, and Milton this season, said Minkin, which are indicative of the team’s positive results in meets.
The Tigers opened their season with a 53-47 win against Brookline. The team also won a close meet against Needham with the same score.
Among the factors contributing to the undefeated record this year are the coaches emphasizing hard work and friendly competition, added Montague.
According to James Blackburn, the coach of the team, seniors Ed Acuna, Jared Prior, Alex Rus, junior Nathaniel Klein, and sophomore Andrew Mah have been key contributors for the team.
For Montague, this season “proved to be a tough year” for the Tigers, who added that “a lot of other teams in our conference were much stronger than they’d been in the past. We had a strong group of returners both in the sprints and distance events, but a lot of younger runners, particularly in distance, stepped up to score critical points.”
The team is in the top ten in the Bay State league for every event other than the mile and 55 meter hurdles. Mah leads the state with the fastest two mile run, Prior leads the league in the long jump. The Tigers also have the top three shot putters in the league and six out of the top ten.
Looking forward, Blackburn explained that the team’s goals are to win the league meet and the state meet, which are Sunday Feb. 14 and Monday Feb. 20, respectively.