Murphy, Strynar pace Norton
NORTON — First-place finishes are nothing new for Norton’s Ali Murphy and Jillian Strynar, two of the state’s best sprinters and school recordholders in almost every shortdistance event.
But even with trophy cases full of individual titles and accolades, Saturday’s MSTCA Coaches Invitational offered the star duo something unique: The chance to defend their home track and showcase Norton’s program on the big stage.
The annual meet brought in competitors from 79 schools across the Bay State, and was held at Norton High School for the first time after the school installed a new track in November. Murphy and Strynar were the Lancers’ lone hometown victors, with Murphy winning the 400 meters (57.03 seconds), and Strynar winning the 200 meters (25.62 seconds) and finishing second in the 100 meters (12.45). Strynar, as a result, earned Girls Runner of the Meet honors.
“The atmosphere here today and running on our home track, I just loved it,” said Strynar.
“Not many people have been to Norton or heard of it . . . We’re showing [Norton] can be up there as a great program.”
Murphy, a UMass-bound senior, was pleased with her 400meter performance Saturday as she builds toward the Division 5 championship and All-State meets in the coming weeks, improving upon her season-best mark by nearly a full second.
“I’m not too worried about PRs this year,” said Murphy. “I’m just trying to enjoy my last year as much as possible, push myself to my limit, and not put too much pressure on it. The rest will come with it.”
Like Murphy, the primary focus of Lexington’s senior thrower Allen Jiang during Saturday’s meet was on form and technique, rather than results. Still, the University of Chicago signee notched a first-place finish in the shot put (53 feet, 6 inches) to remain unbeaten on the outdoor season — a major progression from last year, when he finished sixth (47-1.45) at the same meet.
“I still feel like I have a lot more potential to reach this year, just based on my lifting and how things have been going,” said Jiang. “Delivering that consistency and good marks is encouraging for me, and just being able to see my technique improve over and over again.”
Though there were no team scores tallied on Saturday, the Wellesley girls’ collective efforts stood among the most impressive all-around performances: The Raiders swept all three girls’ relays, coasting to first place in the 4 x 800 (9:42.13),
4 x 400 (4:09.35), and 4 x 100 (48.82) — which broke Brockton’s 11-year meet record (48.85).
The record-breaking relay was anchored by senior Abigail Lothian, who also edged out Strynar with a winning 100-meter time (12.34) earlier in the afternoon. The Raiders’ ability to thrive in the relays — held at the meet’s tail end — was especially impressive to coach John Griffith, as the athletes battled fatigue from the hot weather and previous events.
“We take pride in having a lot of depth on our team,” said Griffith. “And we thought we had a shot to win all three [relay events] . . . The weather could be this hot again in the state meets, so I think it was kind of a dry run for what’s going to happen down the road in the postseason.”