BOSTON — Boston Latin Academy girls track and field head coach Brian Leussler can see it in the numbers.
Over 100 student-athletes came out for the team this spring, and it’s performances like Tuesday that will continue to drive those numbers.
The Dragons notched 188 points at the Boston City League outdoor championships at Madison Park to edge runner-up O’Bryant (107 points) to clinch their fifth straight BCL girls title.
“For the last decade we have been on a really strong run. And then the more success we have, the more it just contributes to more kids coming out,” Leussler said.
Headlined by Emma Wadsworth, who claimed three individual victories and was tabbed the girls Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet, the Dragons took first place in seven other events to run away with the banner.
Wadsworth ruled the long jump (15-01), triple jump (31-09) and high jump (4-10) and is a product of Latin Academy’s stretch of dominance.
“I’ve loved my time on this team,” Wadsworth said. “They’re always so kind to each other, and they always support each other. And it’s been like this since I joined freshman year.”
Also posting first-place finishes for Latin Academy were Ava Gomes in the 100-meter dash (13.30), Leanna Lynch in the 200-meter dash (27.06) and the 400-meter dash (1:02.94), Anjuli Szydlo in the two mile (12:37.24), Maemae Chiang in the 100-meter hurdles (18.27), Demya McClure in the shot put (33-04) and the discus (98-06).
“We had a lot of great performances,” Leussler said. “We had a lot of seniors who really stepped up.”
On the boys side, O’Bryant netted 129 points to clinch its second consecutive championship. In a tightly contested race to the finish line, the victors were ultimately able to stymie Tech Boston Academy (99 points) for first place.
O’Bryant found success in the distance events, as Brandon Spies took first in the two mile (10:17.42) and Adam Kramer placed second in the mile (4:44.21).
“It feels great,” said O’Bryant distance coach Michael Ward. “We have people contributing in all the areas, so we’re really proud of just being really strong across the board.”
Ward said Liam Feliz was one of the many athletes who impressed, placing first in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.74. Feliz opted to switch from baseball to track last spring as a junior.
“I feel like every team is going to say they’re a family, but I feel like we have a great culture here,” Feliz said. “We have a lot of fun and we joke a lot, but when it comes down to it, we’re really out to work.”
O’Bryant took gold in the 4×100 relay (45.27) as Feliz also owned the high jump (6-0). Uchendu Onyeagoro rounded out the winners in the triple jump (42-04).
Rick Barros of Dearborn also shined on Tuesday and was named the male Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. He won the 100-meter dash (11.13) and the 200-meter dash (22.34) while also having a hand in the first-place 4×400 relay foursome (3:38.69).
