McCruse, Oliver shine in banner weekend for CHS track

The CHS girls 4×400 relay team of Lianna Camille, Brianna Rosebrugh, Alyssa Wong and Chloe Dubuisson pose with their 4th place medals at the D4 meet. (CHS Track photo)

Senior Syriah McCruse, junior Katie Oliver, and two of their relay partners are headed to the MIAA ‘Meet of Champions’ after their stellar showing at last weekend’s Division 4 State Track & Field Championships.

The talented quartet were just a few of the many point scorers for a Canton team that went on to finish inside the top 10 at the meet, which was held at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham.

McCruse led all Bulldogs with a pair of third-place finishes, recording a new personal best in the 100-meter dash (12.61 seconds) and anchoring the 4×100 relay team to a season-best time of 50.33 seconds — a half-second better than fourth-place Holliston.

Oliver, who ran the second leg of the 4×100, also had a banner day in the jumps as she placed fifth in both the long jump (17’0”) and triple jump (34’6.25”). Relay partner Diana Tambi also competed in the long jump and took 17th, while third-leg runner Jayda Proffit finished 13th out of 30 competitors in the 100-meter hurdles.

It all added up to a “great two days” for the Canton girls at this year’s divisional meet, according to veteran head coach Anna Amico. “All of the hard work these athletes have been putting in was on full display this weekend,” she said. “The girls team finished eighth overall in all of Division 4 with points coming from sprints, jumps, and throws.”

Among those enjoying a stellar weekend for the Bulldogs was freshman sensation Chloe Dubuisson, who placed seventh out of 32 participants in the 400 hurdles (1:11.33) and also helped power the girls 4×400 team to a season-best time (4:19.36) and a fourth-place overall finish along with Alyssa Wong, Brianna Rosebrugh and Lianna Camille.

Other top performers included Luran Slotnick, who took sixth overall in the javelin with a personal-best throw of 98’9”; Emma Massih, who placed seventh in the shot put and 19th in the discus; and the 4×800 relay team of Tahlia Weaver, Nishka Baduamanda, Emily Kelley and Johanna Bouwmeester, who took 14th with a season-best time of 11:35.67.

Also qualifying and competing at the D4 meet were Camille and Kenzie Bennett in the 400 hurdles, Ava Klidas in the 100 hurdles (PR), and Tambi in the 200m.

The CHS boys team was similarly well represented at last weekend’s divisional meet, led by junior Sam Vail, who had what head coach Brian Gotsell described as a “phenomenal” opening day in the pentathlon, leading to a ninth-place overall finish and a new school-record score of 2,273.

Vail was especially impressive in the high jump and 110 hurdles, posting career bests in both events with a jump of 1.55m and a time of 18.39 seconds. He then capped the competition with a stellar showing in the 1,500m, placing second overall in the event. “He knew he needed a career best to improve his score, and right from the gun he took charge and finished with a career best of 4:52,” said Gotsell.

Also making their mark at the meet for Canton were several of Vail’s classmates, including Dan Krasylnykov, who placed 11th out of 29 runners in the 400m and 12th out of 26 in the 200m; and fellow juniors Mo Arugollu and Ruairi Ritson, who finished 21st and 29th, respectively, in the 400 hurdles. Meanwhile, freshman JJ Faulk continued his brilliant rookie season with a blistering time of 11.66 seconds to finish 16th in the 100m — tops among all freshmen.

In the relay events, the 4×800 team of Pranav Addanki, Tyler Baird, Parker Allen and Austin DiBiasio produced a new season-best time of 9:18 to place 16th, while the quartet of Krasylnykov, Arugollu, Ritson and Dan Glemaud took 19th in the 4×400. Also competing and giving it their all were the Canton 4×100 team of Faulk, Casey Lee, Dhruv Patel and Charlie Zack.

“I’m super proud of our team,” noted Gotsell. “We had some great performances and a school record. Our underclassmen really stepped up, and the opportunity they had to compete with the state’s best will only help us in the coming years.”

While only the girls team is sending participants to the upcoming Meet of Champions, both Canton squads will be represented at the MSTCA Heptathlon/Decathlon set for Monday and Tuesday, June 5 and 6. Oliver, Proffit, Dubuisson, Tambi, Ava Klidas and Zoe Scibelli will compete in the heptathlon for the girls while Vail, Ritson and Mark McDonough will give it their all in the state decathlon for the boys.

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