East Boston High School Boys Track and Field Claims City Championship

After seeing its winter counterpart win its third consecutive indoor city league title, the East Boston High School boys finished its spring season at the 2018 Boston City League outdoor track and field championship on Thursday, May 17.

The Jets racked up 111 points at White Stadium to top second-place Charlestown (103.5) and claim its second straight city league title.

“When you win, you beat everybody head-to-head, and [to] go undefeated [during the season], that’s a real accomplishment,” said East Boston coach John Parziale.

Despite having a smaller roster this season, East Boston placed in the top-five in 11 out of 16 events.

“We’re actually a little light as far as numbers go,” he said, “but our athletes do multiple events, and I stress that with the kids. They’re not just a sprinter or a jumper. They’re sprinting, and they’re jumping. They’re throwing, and they’re running.”

“We try to have well-rounded athletes.”

Case in point: Abel Fuentes claimed victories in the triple jump (41’ 9”) and the long jump (19’) and finished second in the 400-meters (53.10). With a season best triple jump, Fuentes’ performance qualified him for past Sunday’s Division 2 state meet. Marcus Heard also joined Fuentes at the state meet after winning the 200-meter race.

Parziale attributed the team’s success to its work ethic, which he said his team showed even in the poor weather conditions during the spring.

“We had some outdoor practices in the cold and the wet, rain and snow. It was a lousy spring,” Parziale said. “We still had good number of practices, and the kids put the time and work in despite the poor weather, and it paid off in the end.”

In the girls’ event, Katherine Keating-led John D. O’Bryant School dominated the competition with 168 points.  The eighth-grader placed first in the mile (5:44.00) and the 2-mile (12:27.50) races and second in the 800-meters (2:36.10).

East Boston finished second with 104 points.

Despite the successful meet, Parziale shared his disappointment with the city. He said his team was unable to return home until past 9:30 p.m. as the teams and the media struggled to find out the event’s winners.

“The city’s got to do a better job for the kids,” Parziale said. “We did a victory lap with nobody left in the stadium.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *