Boys’ indoor track bested 30 other schools to place first in the Division 1 State Relays Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Reggie Lewis Center. 

The team continues to be one of the strongest in the state with an undefeated dual meet streak of 27 years. According to senior Tyler Tubman, a captain along with seniors Kyle Goodwin, Jack Mantell, Myles Scott and Quincy Scott, this created a lot of pressure during the meet to maintain the winning legacy.

“Last year, we were pretty good,” he said. “It was stressful to always have a target on our backs. I think there was a lot of pressure on us and the team handled it pretty well.”

The Tigers started off the meet strong, placing 8th in shuttle hurdles, 3rd in the 50-yard relays, and 4th in shot put. Sophomore David Acuna threw for 12.95 meters, which was North’s farthest throw in the event.   

The Tigers didn’t slow down from there. North placed 1st in the sprint medley, a combination of races of different distances, and 2nd in the 4×800 meter relay. 

“The team really needed the 10 points from the relay as we were falling behind to Acton Boxborough early in the meet,” said senior Jack Tsai. “They had a strong start so we knew we had to sway momentum starting with the SMR [sprint medley relay]. In the relay, I was given the baton in first, so I knew I had to hold that position for my teammate Tyler who brought it home for the win and the 10 points.”

North continued to display their dominance in the 4×200 meter relay, where the team created a new meet record with a time of 1:30.25. The officials initially ruled that a pass from senior Everton Muir to senior Matt Paquette was out of the designated passing zone, but this decision was overturned after review. 

 “I was right at the end of the zone, and I knew for a fact that he stayed in and that the baton was received in the zone,” said math teacher Shawn Wallace, the head coach. “I asked for an appeal, they brought in two coaches and a couple of officials, they got together, and they overturned it.”

The last event of the meet was the 4×400-meter relay, which North needed to win in order to secure 1st place. According to Tubman, the team’s cheering and support during the last relay helped propel the runners to victory.  

“Coming around the last corner and hearing all your teammates yell for you is good motivation to keep going and push yourself as much as you can,” he said. “It’s also good motivation because if the people are cheering, it usually means that someone is trying to pass you so you want to go faster.”

North, 6-0, will compete in the Bay State Conference Championship on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at the Reggie Lewis Center.