OA Boys' Track Continues to Meet Expectations After Win over Foxborough

At this point of the season, it’s safe to say that the s boys’ track and field team is living up to its expectations set by head coach Jake Sunderland before the start of the season.

After an 80-56 win over Foxborough Tuesday at Muscato Stadium, the team is now one step closer to accomplishing one feat – the first ever Davenport Division championship.

“We got lucky in a way because they didn’t have a top thrower,” head coach Jake Sunderland said about Tuesday’s meet. “But I thought we put in a solid performance and we’re looking forward to the road ahead.”

For some, the road ahead continues on Saturday in North Attleboro for the Freshman/Sophomore meet.

Much like girls coach Mike Darling, Sunderland is looking to see how his underclassmen, including freshman Jared Wise and sophomores Bill Hamilton, Liam McCafferty and Nate Faust (just to name a few) fare against some of the best competition in their respective classes.

“This gives us a chance to evaluate how they fare against some of the better competition in their classes, and gives them a chance to compare against kids their own age,” Sunderland said. “We have a lot of veterans on this team, but it will be nice to see what the future holds.”

The Tigers, who improved to 5-1 on the year, have faced some tough competition during the course of the season. But Sunderland thinks his team is ready to take the Davenport division crown when arch-rival Sharon comes to Muscato Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

“We’ve already had some tough meets,” he stated, “and the kids think they’re ready to take the small Hock [championship].”

Notes from Tuesday’s meet

OA received some welcomed contributions from senior Nate Meyer, who qualified for the all-states after a throw of 152 feet-3 inches in the javelin, good for first place, while fellow classmate McKenzie Copley took second in javelin (149 feet-5 inches) and 400 meter hurdles (59.7 seconds), and both junior Andrew LaCouture (38 feet-9 inches) and Hamilton (37 feet-3.5 inches) finished in second and third in the shot put, respectively.

Moreover, Wise finished second in the discuss with a throw of 88 feet, while McCafferty finished third (82 feet-6 inches) giving the team a little momentum heading into the Freshman/Sophomore meet.

“We had plenty of contributions overall [against Foxborough], but we also had a few performers break through,” Sunderland said.

“A lot of our guys had some big days. Nate Meyer had an outstanding event and qualified for the states in the javelin and McKenzie Copley filled in nicely and finished second in the javelin. Andrew LaCouture and Billy Hamilton did well in the shot put and both Jared Wise and Liam McCafferty did well in the discus.”

Other first place finishers from Tuesday

Joe Gizzi (long jump, 400 meter dash)

Sean Gorham (800 meter dash, one-mile)

Matt Howard (100 meter dash)

Jon Raduazzo (200 meter dash)

Drew Beck (two-mile)