Rookie QB Leads Belmont High Football Over Winchester, 41-14, As Lexington Looms

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Photo: Belmont High senior RB Gordon Lassiter on his way scoring the Marauders’ second TD vs Winchester on Friday night.

It was suppose to be the year sophomore Jayden Arno would learn the quarterback position behind senior Ryan Broderick, getting a few snaps under center during practice, playing on the JV and watching from the sidelines on Friday night.

Fast forward to Oct. 21 when Broderick injured his non-throwing arm against a strong Reading team and Arno was thrown in against an undefeated Rockets defense. While he was under pressure on nearly every play, Arno did show a willingness to take a shot down field and tuck the ball and run mopping up in the 34-0 loss.

So the expectations for a 15-year-old starting his first varsity game were guarded at best as the Marauders traveled to Winchester for a match up under the Friday Night Lights.

But as the clock hit triple zeros 48 minutes after it started, Arno – who was one of the youngest players on the field – led the Marauders to a dominate 41-14 victory over Winchester, upping Belmont’s record to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in the Middlesex League Liberty Division.

Showing the maturity of a quarterback who had been in charge for a while, Arno threw for three touchdowns, ran for an another and had no interceptions in a game that Belmont never trailed and where the defense allowed a single scoring drive.

”I felt good going out there and playing, coming into the game wanting to win,” said Arno. “The [practice] week went off [well] and I was running with the first offense which really helped,” he said. What also helped, Arno noted, is that he’s been playing football “my entire life” as well as learning the game from his brothers: Tyler, a senior defensive back and wide receiver, and Avery, a two-year varsity starting Marauder quarterback who also threw for three touchdowns in his inaugural varsity game as a junior vs. Milton in 2018.

For Marauder first year Head Coach Brian McCray, a week after being beat up by Reading, “we really wanted to come out this week and just give it our all. We had a couple of people banged up and a lot of guys stepped up this week and they did an unbelievable job,” point out out both Arno and junior Ben Williams who would score his first touchdown on Arno’s and the teams final score.

Belmont started the night’s scoring thanks to the defense as junior Chris Cogliano stepped in front of a Winchester pass to scamper 33 yards to give the Marauders a 6-0 lead mid-way through the first quarter. After a dominate defensive stance highlighted by a key third down stop by sophomore lineman Max Cornelius, Arno – who was making the most of a series of swing passes on the drive – found senior Gordon Lassiter in the flats and it was a race 26 yards to the end zone that Lassiter won to make the score 13-0 at the end of the first.

Arno than showed his arm as Cogliano took a pass between two defenders and raced 61 yards to the house and a 20-6 lead at the 7:40 mark of the second. Winchester responded on the next play as the Marauder kick off squad believed they saw Derek Gianci go out of bounds. But the referee didn’t see it that way and Gianci took it to the house to cut the lead to 20-7. Arno nearly got the TD back when he found senior Kevin Logan on a 26 yard strike to the Winchester 6 as time ran out in the half.

Winchester took the kick off and benefiting from a pass interference call marched the ball in for a score via Gianci two yard third down plunge to cut the lead to 20-14 at 7:38 remaining in the third. But from there Belmont would score three consecutive TD: a three yard rush from sophomore Adrien Gurung, a 10 yard designed quarterback run by Arno and a bullet from 10 yards out from Arno to Williams.

Next up for Belmont is Lexington (1-3) on Friday, Oct. 15 under the lights at Harris Field at 6 p.m. with an opportunity to move closer to securing a playoff slot.

“It’s just a great opportunity for us against a great team,” said McCray. “We’re gonna play one play at a time, one game at a time.”

Belmont High Football Takes Home Opener With 26-7 Win Over Burlington

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Photo: Belmont High sophomore WR Kevin Logan scored the Marauders first TD of the morning vs. Burlington in Belmont’s 26-7 victory.

It wasn’t the promised start to the home opener new Belmont High School football head coach Brian McCray was hoping for.

Originally to be held in an expected packed Harris Field under the Friday Night Lights, the contest against Burlington High was postponed due to a forecast of pending thunderstorms – that never materialized – and rescheduled for cartoon-friendly 10 a.m. Saturday morning. A few fans had drifted into the stands by kick off to see Burlington score on the very first play from scrimmage as dynamic senior running back Adam Eldeeb raced 65 yards down the left sideliine to give the Red Devils a 7-0 lead after 21 seconds.

“We started out very slow and sluggish start, that’s for sure. It seems that we need someone to score on us for us to start playing,” McCray said after addressing his team after the victory.

But Eldeeb early touchdown would be the final time Burlington (0-3) would cross the goal line as a strong defensive showing along with an effective run/pass mix result in 20 second half points as Belmont (2-1, 1-1 in the Middlesex League) secured the 26-7 home opening victory.

“We made a couple of adjustments on the offensive side that really helped us tremendously,” said McCray. “Our conditioning also showed as we had nobody really tired so we were able to make those adjustments and that made all the difference at the end of the game,” he said.

A sophomores accounted for a pair of Belmont’s four touchdowns as running back Adrien Gurung scampered for runs of 62 and 64 yards while big senior wide receiver Kevin Logan was on the end of two strikes from senior quarterback Ryan Broderick, the first when he out jumping a defender with 54 seconds to go in the second quarter to knot the score at 7 at halftime.

Gurung’s second 100+ yard game – the first vs. Cambridge – was made up of a majority of hit the middle of the line behind senior Tony Zhao, sophomore Ryan Holloran and junior Asa Rosenmeier, and gut out a handful of yards. But when the opportunity opened before him, the sophomore used his quickness to pop through a gap and outdistanced the Red Devil DBs in the third (on the first play of the half) and fourth quarters.

It took a while for Broderick to click with Logan but its was hard to miss the 6’5”, 205 lbs tower over anyone trying to defend him. Broderick found the sophomore in the flats for 35 yards before launching a jump ball 15 yards into the end zone that Logan out jumped the back at the end of the second. The Broderick/Logan combo hooked up a second time on a slant pattern from five yards out.

On the defensive side, Belmont was able to bottle up the Red Devil backfield while halting Burlington each of the five times it attempted to move the sticks on fourth down including on their second possession deep in Belmont territory. Sophomore Max Cornelius was particularly effective clogging up the middle and hauling down Burlington runners at the line including on two big plays early in the second quarter while the defense’s second Cornelius, junior linebacker Jake Cornelius, was in the backfield making a big shoe string take down to force a fourth down which Belmont would stop.

”The kids really believe in the defense we are trying to do. They’re very aggressive and we coach them to be in the best position possible to make plays and they seem to do that today,” said McCray.

The Marauders had two big take aways in the morning, a fumble recovery by sophomore Brian Logan on one of Burlington’s fourth down attempts and a Taylor Arno interception where the senior defensive back launched skyward to cut off Ronan Noke’s pass to give Belmont the ball leading to the team’s first TD.

Next up for Belmont is a home encounter with powerhouse Reading (3-0) a top-10 team (in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald Top-20) that scrapped by Danvers last week.

”It’s a great opportunity for us. It will be a test so we have got to study hard. And when you study hard, sometimes you pass,” said McCray. “So we’re hoping that this week we’ll get an ‘A’ on the test.”

One Week To Run The Apple 5K/2K: Tour Belmont Schools In Race To Help Enrich Education

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Photo:The start of the 2019 FBE Apple 5K.

There’s one week to go before the running of the Apple 5K/2K this Sunday, Oct. 2, the annual road race that lets runners take part in Belmont’s first in the fall favorite event while supporting the Foundation for Belmont Education and the Belmont Public Schools.

The money raised funds grants to educators in the Belmont Public Schools to implement innovative programs and advanced technology that result in richer and deeper learning experiences for Belmont students. Visit the FBE website to learn more about how the FBE makes a difference in the Belmont Public Schools www.fbe-belmont.org/impact

Register here for the race.

The FBE Apple Run sponsors are:
Platinum Sponsor 2021: Cityside Subaru of Belmont
Results Sponsor 2021: Belmont Orthodontics
Bib Sponsor 2021: Didriks & Local Roots

About The Race  
The FBE Apple 5K and 2K races are events that are a celebration of education in Belmont. Passing four of Belmont’s schools (Burbank, Chenery, Wellington, and the High School), the race funds the FBE’s Education Innovation Fund that works with residents and businesses to raise private funds that are used to enrich the education provided by the Belmont Public Schools. 

Race Day Schedule: Sunday, Oct. 3

  • 8 a.m. – 9:15 a.m.: 5K and 2k bib pickup & race day registration 
  • 9:30 a.m.: The Apple 5K 
  • 10:15 a.m.: 5K Awards Ceremony 
  • 10:45 a.m.: The Apple 2K
  • 11:15 a.m.: 2K Awards Ceremony 

The Course  
Starting and ending at the Belmont High School Harris Field track on Concord Avenue, the 5k course winds uphill for the first half of the race, passing the Burbank Elementary school and the Payson Park Reservoir. The course turns downhill just past the midway mark and then passes both the Chenery Middle School and Wellington Elementary. It finishes on the Belmont High School track. 

The 2K is a timed race suitable for runners of all ages and abilities. It follows a flat, loop course starting on the Belmont track and going over by Clay Pit Pond ending back at the track.

Awards & Post-Race Events  
An awards ceremony will follow the running of both the 5K and the 2K race. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers of the 5K and 2K races. 

Race T-Shirts  
T-Shirts will be available for both the 5K and 2K races. 

Parking  
The Belmont High School’s Harris Field is located on Concord Avenue, adjacent to Belmont High School. The track can be easily reached by car and public transportation and there is ample parking available for runners on the surrounding streets (Please obey parking signs). 

About the Foundation  
The Foundation for Belmont Education engages the community in supporting the excellence and enrichment of the Belmont Public School System. Through the generous support of private donors, the FBE ensures that all Belmont schools have the resources to inspire and prepare students for success. 

Since 1993, the FBE has awarded more than $2.8 million in grants to finance over 614 projects initiated and organized by principals, teachers, and staff. Resources are distributed through Learning Excellence Grants, which provide up to $1,000 for small projects and up to $5,000 for those benefiting a wider group of students. The Special Initiatives program funds large-scale projects that enhance the educational experience for the entire student body. The Foundation is also committed to supporting teachers and staff through ongoing Professional Development programs.

Strong 3-0 Start Sees Belmont High Field Hockey Entering League Play Against Tough Rivals [VIDEO]

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Photo: Belmont High’s Layne Doherty vs Melrose.

Led by an experienced set of forwards and a solid midfield, Belmont High Field Hockey has started its 2021 season without “stars” but with a “team” mentality playing on the pitch

And the results, so far, are promising. The normal opening night nerves saw Belmont – ranked 15th in both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald polls – wait until the fourth quarter to take down visiting Wilmington, 3-2, before finding their scoring stride at Stoneham, a 6-1 rout on a high grass pitch, before handling an undefeated Melrose team, 8-1, at Harris Field.

While the Marauders have shown its scoring muscle, the squad doesn’t rely on any one person as the scoring talisman. This year’s version is about everyone pitching in at the highest level.

“The one thing I like about this team is that they all use each other on the field,” said Belmont’s long-time head coach Jessica Smith. “There’s not one true standout. We have a lot of people who can play really hard and really well. They support each other and play together because they’re not looking to carry the ball 50 yards.”

In fact, the squads best defense is its attack. Against Melrose, the visitors did not enter the Belmont zone for the first four minutes of the game as the Marauders front line ball-hawked the Raiders passes and dribbles, forcing turnovers and sending a pair of steals/shots skirting a foot past the opponent’s right post.

So far into the season, Belmont found its scoring touch tallying 17 goals with senior co-captain Ellie McLaughlin, who scored a hat trick against Melrose, and Molly Dacey each with four goals.

The attack, in which an impressive nine players have scored, shows that all the players on the pitch are expected to contribute.

“I think we’re really working on spreading out and getting the ball to new people on the field,” said McLaughlin. The team’s offensive orientation is based on playing together for the past three years for many on the team.

”Our chemistry has brought us together as a team really nicely, especially how we work in our practices,” said McLaughlin in her third year on the varsity squad

What Belmont has demonstrated in its first three games is a quickness to shut down passing lanes and a willingness to challenge opponents for the ball all over the field, traits Smith seeks in her teams.

“I want to play physical because it takes teams out of their [plan] and we can play our game,” said Smith.

Unlike past teams which had college-level defenses (four recent backs have gone to play at Division 1 programs) a relatively young defense and first year goaltenders has been boosted by the addition of senior Mia Mueller who brings three years of varsity experience to the D-line.

“Mia played forward and midfield in the past so she knows how to handle the ball and make passes. And she’s fast so she can close down anyone in the middle. She’ll be so important for us this year,” said Smith.

And the Marauders will need to be at the top of its game as it opens its Middlesex Liberty Division account against strong programs, hosting Lexington on Tuesday, Sept. 21 and traveling to Winchester on Thursday, Sept. 23.

“It’s a big change going from playing the smaller schools to the larger ones. I’m excited because it’s a good test for us to see what we can do and I think the kids are up for it because they know what’s coming,” said Smith.

”We’ve been working hard at practices and been communicating on the field so I think it’ll work against them,” said McLaughlin.

Belmont High Soccer: Last Second Goals Give Boys’, Girls’ Opening Week Lift

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Photo: Belmont High freshman Dana Lehr (second left) celebrates the tying goal she scored in the final two minutes of the match vs Wilmington.

There’s a phase used in British soccer commentary: “at the death” meaning at the last possible moment of a game. For both of Belmont High soccer teams in their opening week, points were salvaged “at the death” – one for a much needed tie and the other resulting in a ruckus victory.

Freshman rescues Girls’ soccer

Belmont High Girls’ soccer opened its 2021-22 Middlesex League account on Friday, Sept. 10, facing the prospect of a solid effort against visiting Wilmington High go to waste as the Marauders’ trailed late, 1-0, via a deflected shot early in the fourth quarter.

But leave it up to one of the youngest players on the pitch to pull a point out of her hat a la Bullwinkle J Moose as freshman midfielder Dana Lehr deftly slotted a pin-perfect pass from forward Paula Dullaghan from just inside the goal area with two minutes remaining to see the match end as a 1-1 stalemate.

“You can’t loss the first game!” explained Lehr.

Belmont Head Coach Paul Graham praised his center defender Sofia Hospodar as a steadying influence for a young back line taking on a physical opponent.

The Marauders were on the road Tuesday, Sept. 14 visiting Stoneham, a good all-around squad that uses its home ground – a rarely cut grass pitch that tilts at an angle between the goals – to great advantage. The end result was Belmont’s first loss, 2-1, as the Spartan’s speed allowed them to play the long-ball game and keep the Marauders bottled up.

“We were running backwards all game long,” said Graham. “It was so frustrating but they played better then we did.”

While Belmont had its chances, they could only breech the Stoneham goal once through junior Sabrina Salls.

Belmont is in action on Saturday, Sept. 18 at Harris Field against Melrose.

Boys’ grabs a late winner, everyone goes bonkers

After a big opening day 2-0 victory over host Wilmington on Friday, Sept. 10, the Belmont High Boys’ Soccer team hosted Freedom Division foe Stoneham at Harris Field on Tuesday, Sept. 14 and waited until the very last minute to snatch a 2-1 victory from the prospect of a tie.

For first year head coach Niman Kenkre the team’s three win start – Belmont secured a non-league 3-1 victory over Boston Latin which will impact any potential state tournament seeding – “has laid a marker for the season ahead.”

Against Stoneham, Marauder Lucas Alvarez Fernandez took hockey great Wayne Gretzky’s quote – “You miss 100 percent of the shots you never take” – to heart when his middling attempt was terribly muffed by the Spartan goalie to give Belmont a 1-0 lead at the half. While Belmont held a slight edge over the Stoneham team – made up of taller and stouter players – in the first half, the Marauders saw themselves on the back boot as the game moved into the later part of the second half.

”We are not at the fitness level as I had hoped. We had players cramping … and others needed to be subbed out,” Kenkre said.

Stoneham’s quickness paid off near the mid point of the half as two quick one-time passes along the goal line left an opening in the front of the Marauder’s net for the tying goal.

Rather than settle for the point at home, Belmont committed to the attack down the wings searching for a clear shot at goal. As the scoreboard clock stopped at the 2 minute mark – when the officials keep the time on the field – Belmont’s Anthony Durkin drifted in-between three Spartan defenders at the top of the penalty box where Alvarez Fernandez found the forward with a pass from the left. A few steps to find a clear view and Durkin’s blast found the back of the net with little time left to play. The resulting bonkers celebration on and off the field – including an attempted pitch invasion (?!) from Marauder supporters – will be seen by the participants as obviously over the top for an early season league match on a Tuesday night.

“I can’t say enough about [Anthony],” said Kenkre. “He’s our star, he’s our senior leader. He came back from cramps and when he went back in, he suggested that he be put up as a striker. And I did that and it resulted in a brilliant goal. He was brilliant all game.”

Belmont is on the road Saturday, Sept. 18 to play Melrose.

Belmont High Field Hockey Rains Over Wilmington In Opener, 3-2

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Photo: Belmont High (from left) Sajni Sheth-Voss. Mia Mueller, goalie Julia Herlihy, Layne Doherty and Willa Samg defending a penalty corner.)

Despite the visit of a steady shower, Belmont High School Field Hockey’s opening night of the 2021 season would not be dampened as the Marauders prevailed over the Wilmington High Wildcats, 3-2, on the first game played on Harris Field this school year, Thursday, Sept. 9.

Molly Dacey scored the game winner midway through the fourth quarter off a penalty corner where senior co-captain Sajni Sheth-Voss passed to Layne Doherty who bounced the ball to Dacey who struck it mid-flight and by the Wildcat goalie.

Belmont’s grades 11s and 12s were playing as if was mid-season, pressuring the Wilmington midfield and defenders with their speed on the ball and combination passing.

“We definitely had possession of the ball more than [Wilmington], our passing looked good because they were really looking for each other,” said long-time head coach Jess Smith.

“They were fast out there,” said Smith. “I’m a big believer in fitness. I don’t sub that often when the team is on their game so I want them to have the energy to go for the entire game.”

Belmont was led by senior co-captain Ellie McLaughlin who, with Sheth-Voss, quarterbacked the team from the midfield while fellow senior Mia Mueller anchored the back line moving back from her usual forward position.

“I told [Mueller] that ‘after being a forward and in midfield, you see the field so well you can control the ball and bring it up to the front’,” said Smith, who compares her play with former Marauder Emma Donahue who is playing for Division 1 Merrimack College.

Mueller opened Belmont’s scoring account less than five minutes into the game with a cracker of a shot on a penalty corner. After seeing the game tied at 1 in the second quarter, Sheth-Voss gave the Marauders its second lead in the contest with what could be a contender for goal of the year as she intercepted a Wildcat clearing pass on the right side, sidestepped a pair of defenders and from along the goal line sprung a quick shot that somehow breached the goalie’s pad and into the net.

Belmont will take on Stoneham away on Monday, Sept. 13.

  • Belmont High defender Mia Mueller
  • Belmont High defender Violet Whitmer
  • Belmont High Layne Doherty
  • (from left: Sajni Sheth-Voss. Mia Mueller, goalie Julia Herlihy, Layne Doherty and Willa Samg defending a penalty corner.)
  • Belmont High Sajni Sheth-Voss (left)
  • Belmont High’s second goal
  • McLaughlin and Devin Kelleher (fourth left)
  • Belmont High (in white, from left) Violet Whitmer, Sajni Sheth-Voss and Layne Doherty chase down Wilmington’s counter.

Successful Opening Day For New Belmont High School Wing

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Photo: A flood of students heading into the new school.

Around 7 a.m., on Thursday, Sept. 9, the first line of shower passed and behind it the skies brightened to allow the first day of school in Belmont to be one without raincoats or umbrellas.

Over at Concord Avenue, students – being driven, driving, walking and biking – began swarming to enter the new high school wing of the Belmont Middle and High School.

Despite the rain and the new street configuration that includes signal lights at Goden, the first morning was surprisingly calm. Traffic flowed somewhat seamlessly, students patiently waited at the cross walks and only a few parents attempted dropping off kids on campus – they were given a first day ‘pass’ with a reminder. The only issue on this opening day: not enough bike racks as a flood of students took the advice of the administration to wheel it to the high school.

“It’s a miracle,” said Jay Marcotte, Belmont Department of Public Works director, who came to observe how the new traffic/crosswalk lights were effecting traffic.

Maybe not a miracle as it was the result of countless public meetings (including 126 of the building committee) community notifications over the past weeks and a slew of public safety officers on the day directing vehicles and manning the crosswalks.

“Everyone is playing nice today,” said Marcotte, with his hope that it will continue deep into the school year.

For Belmont Superintendent John Phelan, this opening day with 300 educators and staff and 1,400 students arriving for a half day of school – Friday will be the first full day on the 180-day school calendar – was certainly one filled with some apprehension. Taking in the day from in front of the school with Owner’s Project Manager Tom Gatzunis of CHA Consulting, Phelan said his initial reaction to the morning was “a great deal of pride” for all who had a hand in bringing the 9-12 portion of the school on time and on budget.

Phelan has experience opening new buildings when as a principal in the Milton Public Schools the district brought on line five new schools within a decade in 2008.

“It’s alway exciting to see all our students and teachers come into a building that the voters overwhelmingly supported,” he said while taking photos of the day.

He noted that while it was conspicuous day, the project is just half complete with the Middle School expected to open in two years.

‘Prepared To Be Shocked’: Take A First Peek At Belmont’s New School [Video]

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Photo: The high school wing of the Belmont Middle and High School is just days away from opening.

First it was years. Then months, followed by weeks. And now the high school wing of the new Belmont Middle and High School is just days away from the opening of the school year on Sept. 9.

This week is when the town is expected to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy (TCO) that officially transfers the ownership of the structure from the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee to the School Committee. And while many in town have followed the progress of the exterior construction – from putting up steel, installing the bricks and windows and the landscaping – there has only been a few chances to witness what has been going on inside.

Last week, in a pre-tour before the building committee gets its opportunity this week, a small group got a glimpse at what has been developing on the inside.

”Be prepared to be shocked from the last time you were here,” said Building Committee Chair Bill Lovallo as he led the group into the just-about done school.

And Lovallo didn’t disappoint with his announcement; the interior is an exceptional educational space with an eye-catching design (by architectural firm Perkins+Will) that incorporates natural light to support the function of the building.

“It really is beautiful,” said a tour participant.

As recently as six months ago, the wing’s interior was just bare walls and floors, a few rooms filled with a jumble of tools and workers everywhere. And while there is still a fair share of material that still needs to be installed and unpacked, the tour introduced a building that is impressive, modern and waiting for students to start learning in.

“It has been a tremendous transformation,” said Lovallo, noting the work of the Building Committee which has meet for more than 125 meetings to keep the project pretty much on time and within the project budget at this stage of construction.

Many of the classrooms are only waiting for the furniture to be unwrapped, electronics to be plugged in and floors washed. But the paint is dry, the internet is up and running and the air conditioning works, using geothermal technology to pump in the cool air.

Work will continue after the school opens: The spacious theater needs the acoustic wood panels, carpet and chairs installed, the tiles for the Higginbottom pool just came in while the new turf field – dubbed the Rugby Field – is just waiting for a few days without rain so workers can lay down the carpet. All should be done by mid-October while the new locker rooms in the Wenner Field House is just now getting under construction.

And while there is growing excitement for the high school’s opening, the building project is a little more than half finished with the middle school segment just getting underway with the demolition of the original high school. Only in the fall of 2023 with the completion of the 7th-8th grade wing and athletic fields and parking will the “job be done,” said Lovallo.

Belmont’s Ellie Shea Rocks High School Track Nationals With Stunning Record Breaking Run [VIDEO]

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Photo: Ellie Shea is a really fast Belmont High runner.

Just how fast is Ellie Shea? OK, head down to Harris Field and step onto the track. Ready? Now start running. Keep a steady pace in which it will take you just about 71 seconds to complete a full lap. Whew, that took your breath away, didn’t it! But don’t stop! Do the same lap time for an additional three times around to finish in around 4 minutes and 44 seconds for the mile.

Yeah, Ellie’s is that fast. In fact, after this past 4th of July, the 15-year-old Belmont High student was the fastest freshman running the middle distances in the entire country.

“I like racing [against runners who] can push me to get a (personal record),” she told the Belmontonian in late May as she began her record-setting assault.

Shea demonstrated her growing prowess this spring and summer by clocking a series of outstanding times not just for freshmen but all high school runners including an out of nowhere 4:45.4 mile (on the roads) in her very first race against big time competition at the Adidas Boost Boston Games in May and then breaking the Massachusetts high school two-mile record running a 10:10.5 in early June.

Her half year of successes – she didn’t run cross country and participated in just a handful of “indoors” races during the Fall 2 Season – was so impressive that Shea was honored with the 2020-21 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Track & Field Player of the Year award, just days before she would make a name for herself nationally on the July 4th weekend across the country in the Pacific Northwest.

Shea’s times and talent earned her way into the National Scholastic Athletic Foundation’s Outdoor Nationals – the equivalent of a high school national championships – where she had qualified to run three middle distance events (1 mile, 2 mile and 5,000 meters) on July 3 against top-ranked prep athletes at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in Eugene.

But the nationals would have to wait until after Shea raced the mile at the Brooks PR Invitational in Seattle on July 2, her first major national track showcase. She held her own against older and taller prep runners – Ellie’s a slightly built 5 foot-2 inches, 98 lbs. – to set yet another personal standard by nearly two seconds, a 4:43.7 which is better than any ninth grader in the country has run the distance this year.

With little sleep and after a four and a half hours drive from Seattle to Eugene, Shea decided to compete in the 5,000 meters (3.12 miles), a race she last competed in seventh grade.

“I wanted to give it a shot after running a couple of fast two miles,” she said during an interview in Eugene. “The five K is intriguing and I want to see how it goes” with the additional benefit it was being run at 9:30 a.m. during Oregon’s historic climate-influenced heat wave.

Wearing the same spiffy blue framed polarized sunglasses she wore the day before in Seattle, Ellie latched onto the prohibitive favorite, junior Caroline Wells from Winter Springs, Florida (who finished one place ahead of Shea at both the Brooks meet and the Boston Games) from the start and wouldn’t let go, maintaining a stride-distance behind Wells lap after lap.

The final stretch as Ellie Shea powers to the victory in the 5,000 meters at the 2021 Outdoor Nationals.

After the two front runners dropped Shea’s club teammate, Margot Appleton, with a mile remaining, the pair kept logging in 78-second laps until about a kilometer to run (“two-ish laps” as Ellie put it) when Shea surged past Wells. But her move nearly went terribly wrong as she stumbled after hitting the inside railing. But Shea quickly righted herself to run about two seconds per lap faster than Wells, who had no answers to her rival’s surge.

Crossing the finish line a national champion

Down the final straight, Shea powered home to a sensational 16:10.7, obliterating the 41-year-old freshman national outdoors record by 29 seconds (her time is also under the existing sophomore mark), recording the fastest time ever by a US 15 year old while running the 9th fastest high school 5,000 in history. As of July 4, Shea’s time ranks her third among women under 18 years old worldwide, trailing only two 16 year old Ethiopians.

“I just wanted to go out fast and get in a good spot and race with some really fast girls,” said Shea after the race.

The Hayward 5,000 meters was a simply a remarkable performance just in itself, made the more so coming from a young runner who seemingly came out of nowhere in the past four months, not that she hadn’t shown promise before 2021 having won the 2019 Boston Mayor’s Cup cross country event for girls’ 11-14. Since the late spring, Shea’s times have fallen faster than the value of bitcoin. Coming into the year with a mile best of 5:17.9 (recorded when she was a 7th grader in 2019), Shea took off nearly half a minute off her PR while dropping her two mile best from an 11:23 set in 2019 to her current 10:10.5 in early June.

She credits her rapid improvement on focusing on a single sport. Before the pandemic, “I did a lot of sports,” said Shea. Besides town lacrosse and soccer, there was rock climbing, tennis as well as several years as a competitive alpine and nordic skier out of New Hampshire’s Cranmore Mountain.

But as COVID-19 closed down many sports and venues, “I made [running] my priority” and was able to train more consistantly. Shea also joined Emerging Elites in the spring of 2020 which concentrates on designing training programs for young runners. When asked by track commentator Larry Rawson at the awards ceremony about her training regiment, Shea said she doesn’t run too much compared to the high mileage other do. “I like to focus more on quality over quanity.”

What gives Shea an added advantage is natural competitiveness. Shea’s mom, Jamie – a Belmont High teacher and a member of the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee – said Ellie has been “super competitive” at every venture she’s competed in. Jamie recalls when Ellie was a tee-ball player when an opponent hit the ball, she ran in from the outfield, dove into the scrum, and ended up with the ball.

“I really like pushing myself, pushing through pain … see how fast I can go and how good I can be,” Ellie said. That drive is also demonstrated in the classroom where she holds high honors. But there’s While she enjoys the sciences, “I don’t like physics so I’m excited for next year.”

In her near future, Shea is eager for a return to cross country “to have fun on trails” after being away for two years. Beyond the coming fall season, “I just want to keep racing in the big invitational meets.”

And while it’s clear that Ellie has found a home in running, the spark of another challenge for her is always there. Jamie Shea, a collegiate swimmer at Princeton who ran a 21:38 5K at the Friends of Belmont Education Apple Run in 2019, said recently Ellie saw the girls’ rugby team practice and told her “that looks exciting!”

Get Ready For Friday’s HS Furniture ‘Give Away’ By Knowing The Rules Of The Road

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Photo: It’s yours, that’s if you can carry it home.

On Friday, July 2, from 9 a.m. to noon, Belmont residents will have the opportunity to come to the Belmont High School building and take furniture that cannot be used in the new high school wing or other school or town buildings.

Over the past year, the Belmont School Administration and the Belmont Middle and High School Building Committee conducted a thorough inventory of furniture and equipment to determine what could be used in the new building and what needed to be replaced. All of these items, as well as teaching and administrative materials, will be moved to the Skip Viglorolo (The ‘Skip’) skating rink for storage during the summer while construction on the new high school wing is completed.

Next, other schools and town departments will have an opportunity to go through the high school building to identify surplus furniture that can be repurposed to meet their needs. Other school districts will also have an opportunity to tour the building and take fixtures, like lockers, that they need for their schools. (Actually, this is how Belmont acquired lockers as our student population grew.)

Finally, on Friday, July 2, just before the site is turned over to the contractor to be demolished to prepare the site for the 7-8 grade Middle School building, any remaining surplus furniture will be made available to Belmont residents. 

Surplus items, after the redistribution to other departments, could include:

  • student desks and chairs,
  • file cabinets,
  • round and rectangular tables,
  • office chairs, and
  • display cases.

So here are the rules of the road for this Friday!

  • All surplus furniture is free; no money is required or will be accepted.
  • Surplus furniture will be distributed on a “first come, first served” basis; items cannot be held for pick-up at a later time or date.
  • Participants are responsible for carrying items out of the building; movers will NOT be on site to assist.
  • This opportunity is only available on Friday, July 2; the district cannot accommodate alternative days or times.
  • During this event, building access will be restricted; available surplus furniture will be displayed in several first floor spaces; these days are not to be used for a final nostalgic tour of the building.