Joe Vercollone

"Joe has been An outstanding runner for us for the last four years, but his leadership skills were more impressive.  His ability to lead both physically and vocally always impressed us as a coaching staff. Joe also showed incredible resilience thoughout his 4 yrs, whenever something didn't go well, he always seemed to rise to the occasion the very next chance he had. It was a pleasure to be a part of joes career over the past four years, I am going to miss him."---Coach Zopatti

Marathon Sports Athlete of the Week goes to the Titans relay. The team of Bill Stafford, Christian Stafford, Joe Vercollone and Wesley Gallagher ran 7:42.70 finishing 8th place at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. How fast was that time set by the Titans? According to Massachusetts Track and Field stat guru Larry Newman, Pembroke had the second All-Time Fastest time in Massachusetts History, second to the 2011 Wachusett team that ran 7:36.37.

Kris Horn went through his practice jumps in the long and triple jumps on Friday, taking particular not exactly where his marks were for both events. Satisfied that he had narrowed them down to within inches of his steps, the Pembroke talent went home and prayed for a hot, sticky Saturday on his home track. Horn’s prayers were answered and he took full advantage. The versatile Titan broke the Div. 3 meet record in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet, 11-¼ inches and took the triple jump with a 46-0 effort, defeating Saugus’ terrific jumper, Olisa Obiefuna, in the process.  

Coach "Z" has taken on a new adventure ! The charsmatic, energetic, and successful Coach will be "Z-Capping" the past week in Track and Field in Massachusetts. This is just a glimpse into the road Milesplitmass will be taking in the future. We want to thank Coach "Z" and of coUrse the behind the scene's "master of Video" in  Coach Rooney !

While most of the Massachusetts Track and Field Athletes competed at the MSTCA State Coaches Meet and the Andover Boosters Meet. A handful of the best made an appearance at the New Balance Twilight open meet at Bentley College. It looks as if Mansfield Senior Josh Lampron is making a very serious threat to break the 4:00 minute mile barrier. Lampron ran a 3:45.74 for 1500 Meters, which lands him as our National leader for that distance. His time converts to 4:03.73 for the mile run. Pembroke’s Wesley Gallagher also ran an impressive 1500 Meter race clocking at 3:55.62 (4:12.94)

Based on the performance list entering the meet, the Newton North boys were projected to score 24 points.  Even further down the list, Mansfield was projected to only score 14 points.  Both should have finished mid-pack if the performance list had any significant impact on the outcome of the championship.  Thankfully for both teams, seed times mean little.

Every event in a state championship provides excitement and drama, but this year the relays may decide the team title. But don't expect to see the same line-ups from last week. Some additional fresh legs --courtesy of athletes that did not qualify in an individual event-- may help the common man become the hero. We watched it happen on Sunday at the Division 1 Championships, and those same teams remain in the hunt this week.

High school track’s version of Patriot Nation shredded the Division 3 championships last night at the Reggie Lewis Center. Pembroke chalked up four wins on the way to dismantling the boys field with 71 points while the girls from another Patriot League school, Hingham, put up a whopping 74 points... (via Boston Herald)

It was a high profile week in New England, with New Balance sponsoring two elite events geared towards assembling some of the fastest fields on the East Coast.  Thankfully for track fans, both events delivered as promised.

The energy was palpable Saturday night at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts as a handpicked field of elite athletes from all levels of the sport thrilled the capacity crowd with photo finishes and mid-race drama.  But, you are bound to get some amazing races when you take a group of high school athletes, put them in a room with their idols, pack a building full of over 4,000 fans, and then turn on the TV cameras.

We typically don’t set up features for just one athlete, but its Joe Vercollone, and there is live video of the race.  Joe is attempting to run the 1000m on Friday evening at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, and then he will return to Massachusetts to run the 4x800m with his Pembroke teammates at the New Balance Grand Prix on Saturday. 

Show stopping relays were the order of the week with the Yale Track Classic and the Massachusetts Division meets providing ample competition to tear apart the rankings.  Some teams, like Marshfield (MA), had the luxury of doing both.  They participated in the MSTCA Division 2 Relays last weekend, and then traveled to Yale Friday where they unleashed a US#1 DMR time of 10:17.40.  That group was anchored by Joel Hubbard who split 4:14 for his mile leg.

When Carla Forbes enters the New England rankings she does it with a splash.  The Newton North junior was launching huge jumps at the Dartmouth Relays this past weekend, and her stellar performances that day resulted in a NE#1 ranking in both the long jump (19’4”) and the triple jump (40’10”).  Nationally, she is now ranked US#1 in the triple jump and US#3 in the long jump.  A key component to her success is runway speed, and Forbes demonstrated her aptitude with a NE#3 time of 7.31; finishing as the top American at Dartmouth.

  The Dartmouth Relays is traditionally the first major invitational with regional implications. Teams from all six New England states are slated to participate, in addition to teams from New York and Canada.  MileSplit will follow all the action from the two day event, updating this page with the most recent performances.

The indoor track season is upon us and it’s time to take a look at the top returners from each event.

It was a relatively successful day for Massachusetts athletes at the 2011 Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, Oregon.  The Pembroke boys, Hamilton-Wenham girls, and Lexington's Nat Adams qualified for the event after impressive performances last week at the Northeast Regional Championships in New York.

The Titans captured their third straight Boys Northeast Championship Division title, beating US#30 St. Anthony's (NY) by just two points behind some very solid performances across the board.  MileSplitMass had the opportunity to catch-up with Head Coach Greg Zopatti and ask him a few questions about their latest win.

Many of the athletes we will see this season did not even race on the varsity level last year, and the coaches that demonstrate the patience to employ a long-term plan will most likely hoist a championship trophy in November. (Photo by Henry Finch)