PRESS RELEASE

05/21/18

“Relay Monday”

With the cancellation of relays at the ACL Championship, Nauset was in a bit of a bind. Coaches had been relying on that meet to establish relay times fast enough to put them into seeded heats at the MIAA Division 3 Championship this coming Saturday.

With an entry deadline looming there weren’t many options. After numerous calls a plan fell into place. Sandwich was hosting a meet with Sturgis and Monomoy - and would allow Nauset to run relays at that meet. D-Y boys would also be there in an attempt to qualify their 4 x 800M relay.

It was such a positive experience that it should become a yearly event called “Relay Monday.” Cape teams tend to have fewer local quality meets available and the chase for individual event qualification often makes relays the secondary concern. But there are few track experiences that can match the feeling of being part of a special relay team.

For Nauset the day was pretty special.

It started with the 4 x 800M relay for girls. The goal was to run 10:00 or better to assure a spot in the seeded heat. The thrill of competition made that goal seem too easy, as the team of Madaket Nobili, Tara Ellard, Rachel Pranga and Izzy Nobili threw down a 9:38.8. That makes them one of the top few teams in D3 and is just a few seconds off the school record.

The girls’ 4X400M did not have an automatic qualifier yet. Sophie Christopher, Rebekah Pranga, Alena O’Connor and Kara Moore got the job done by running 4:19.5. The even better news is that senior captain O’Connor was paired with a freshman and two sophomores. The future looks bright indeed.

The boys’ 4X400m relay also needed a qualifier but also entered the meet with loftier goals. The school record of 3:36.4 seemed within reach - despite the fact that Nauset had not broken 4:48 all year. Yet, the potential was there and they went for it. The team of Jacob Pearl, Nolan Ellard, Owen Wilcox and Brian Brooks had no real competition except the clock. There were two watches on the finish and they registered 3:36.3 and 3:36.6. Thus are the vagaries of hand timing. Some day the record will be broken FAT (fully automatic timing). Based on the positioning of their other events, it is unlikely that this team will be in a position Saturday for a second attempt.

From this vantage point it looks like a tied record?