Athol High School’s Kris Selanis went into Friday’s PVIAC Indoor Track & Field championships at Smith College in Northampton as a heavy favorite in the shot put and he did not disappoint.
The junior set a school record in the event and won easily to pick up the area’s lone first-place crown with his throw of 48 feet, 7¾ inches to best the rest of the field by more than four feet.
Selanis has dominated the shot put throughout the season and had won every meet this season. He continued his dominance as Chicopee Comprehesive High School’s Rustie Aponte finished second at 44-1½. Selanis advances to the Friday’s state meet in Boston at the Reggie Lewis Center.
A number of other area athletes finished inside the top 15 of their events. Two area distance runners performed well in the 2-mile. Amherst Regional High School’s Sophia Jacobs-Townsley won the event in 11:21.64, while Mohawk Trail Regional High School’s Meghan Davis came in third at 11:31.23, and Greenfield High School’s Amy O’Sullivan finished sixth in 12:21.39.
Mahar Regional School’s Kamryn Reilly had a nice day in the long jump, placing fifth with a jump of 15-8½, while Northampton High School’s Hazel Ethier won the event at 16-11. Mahar’s Emma Currier had a pair of solid finishes on the day and broke a pair of school records in the process, placing ninth in the mile (5:49.16) and 12th in the 1,000 (3:28.31). Mahar’s Anna Wetherbee also picked up a 12th-place finish in the 600 in 1:51.37.
Mohawk’s Gabby Shean qualified for the finals in the shot put and finished eighth in the event at 30-8 ¾, while Longmeadow High School’s Abbie Mokwuah won at 40-½.
On the boys’ side, two area athletes took sixth-place finishes. Greenfield’s Silvian Popusoi came in sixth in the high jump at 5-6, which was 10 inches back of Longmeadow’s Jacob Kelly, the winner at 6-4. Pioneer Valley Regional School’s Scott McDonough qualified for the finals in the long jump and finished sixth at 20-1, just shy of Chicopee Comp’s Derek Girouard, who won the event at 20-9¾.
Mahar’s Ash Shaw earned a pair of top-15 finishes. Shaw came in 10th in the 600 (1:30.14) and 13th in the 300 (38.98). Athol’s Mason Barrieau was seventh in the 600 in 1:28.76, and teammate Chase Michaud was 15th in the event at 1:31.77. Athol’s Dennis St. Jean also had a top 15 finish in the 1,000 where he took 14th place in 2:58.44.
Two Mahar relay teams broke school records. The 4 by 400 team of Aaron Hendry, Hugo Frost, Aiden DiDonato and Shaw broke the school record in 3:42.32 to finish seventh and qualify for the state meet. The 4 by 800 team of Andrew Hill, Seth Mitchell, Thor Mead and Sebastian Shaw broke a school record with a time of 9:21.17 and finished ninth.