NORTHAMPTON – Westfield junior female indoor track athlete Catie Bean tried her best to overtake Putnam senior Yulive Peralta in the 55-meter dash at Friday night’s Western Massachusetts Championships at Smith College in Northampton, but fell a tenth-of-a-second short.
That would only happen once.
In the 300-meter dash, the event’s top seed, Bean, opened as the favorite and quickly closed the door on the competition. She won the event in 42.12 seconds, just ahead of Peralta (42.84). It was her first career first-place medal at WMass.
“I knew I was seated first so I kind of wanted to keep that throughout the race,” Bean said, regarding the 300. “Seated first puts a lot of pressure on you so I was stressed out, but it helped that I’m so competitive. I knew I had to have it.”
Bean got off to a fast start, keeping the rest of the field in her rearview mirror.
“I really wanted to win,” she said. “When I came around that last corner, I just pushed it. I kicked it.”
Bean said while she typically is not as quick coming off the blocks for a shorter race like the 55 meters, she felt her endurance level and ability to maintain top speeds for longer distances proved to be the difference in the 300.
“It was one of the best feelings ever,” she said.
It has been a victory tour of sorts for Bean as she entered the winter outdoor track season, having helped lead her team to the Western Massachusetts Division 1 girls soccer championship last fall.
Westfield’s Tommy Russell swims his way to first place in the 100 yard backstroke during the Western Massachusetts Swim Championships Sunday at Springfield College. (MARC ST.ONGE / THE WESTFIELD NEWS)
“It’s been awesome,” she said, “being able to rep my school like that.”
Other top 10 finishers for the Westfield girls track team included: junior Nina Prenosil (600 meters/6th/1:47.55), junior Abigail Daley (1000 meters/8th/3:32.99), junior Marissa Feary (high jump/7th/4-9), the 4×200 meter relay team (7th, 1:57.90) and the 4×400 meter relay team (5th, 4:31.07).
As a team, Westfield placed ninth overall with 29.5 points. South Hadley finished first with 74. Northampton (69) and Amherst-Pelham (45) rounded out the top three.
Senior Samir Ghalayini led the Westfield boys indoor track team with a bronze medal in the 55 meter hurdles (8.44). Other top 10 Bombers’ finishers were: senior Nick Stathatos (600 meters/5th/1:29.63), sophomore Antonio Phaneuf (mile/7th/4:44.61), senior Robert Piper (high jump/T8th/5-4), the 4×400 meter relay team (4th, 3:41.33) and the 4×800 meter relay team (8th, 9:45).
Westfield finished 10th overall with 18.2 points. Northampton (93), Longmeadow (68.2) and Amherst-Pelham (59) finished 1-2-3, respectively.
WMASS SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Westfield senior Tommy Russell had a day for the boys swim team.
Russell won the 100-yard backstroke, posting a time of 51.95. That was not all as he also secured a silver medal in the 50-yard freestyle (21.47), runner-up only to Minnechaug’s Chase Konstantakos (21.35).
Russell and fellow teammates Anton Bonacci, Jack Beaulieu, and Matt Morash also locked down a third-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay (1:40.70); and, Morash, Beaulieu, Jaden Noel and Russell placed third in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:21.45).
Morash (100 free, 49.85) and Noel (100 backstroke, 56.78) each had fifth-place finishes, respectively, in their individual events.
Westfield placed fifth overall (175 points) behind Minnechaug (286), Belchertown (231.5), Nashoba (228), and Longmeadow (219.5).
Westfield junior Kathryn O’Connor recorded the top finish for the girls’ swim team, placing fifth in the 500 yard freestyle. O’Connor recorded a time of 5:34.21.
Easthampton freshman Natalia Roback won the event in 5:21.21.
Minnechaug won the team competition with a total of 314 points. The Falcons were followed by Longmeadow (234) and Amherst-Pelham (157). Westfield finished 16th overall with 56.
