Before Heading (With A Relay In Tow) To Track Nationals, Krafian Places Twice at New Englands

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Photo: They’re back! Anoush and the Belmont Boys (this photo is from last year’s event) return to the National Outdoor track meet this weekend. (Heather Krafian, photo)

Before she leaves Thursday for the 2018 New Balance Nationals Outdoor meet in Greensboro, N.C., Belmont High’s recent graduate Anoush Krafian traveled to the New England Championships in Durham this past Saturday, June 9, and had double the fun of the other athletes.

The Dartmouth-bound track not only competed in her specialty, the 100-meter hurdles against the best runners and jumpers in the five-state region, Krafian also took time to compete in the high jump. That meant Krafian ran a preliminary round and the finals over the ten hurdles while taking a number of attempts at the jump. In the end, arguably Belmont’s best all-around track athlete in school history had quite an afternoon on the campus of the University of New Hampshire.

After taking the Massachusetts state championship last week in near record time of 14.26 seconds, Krafian took second to senior Katherine Jacobs of Connecticut’s Northwest Catholic High School as the Babson-bound hurdler came home in 14.84, four one-hundred of a second in front of Krafian’s 14.88. 

Earlier in the morning, Krafian cleared 5-feet, 5 inches, equalling the fourth highest jump with five other athletes which was good enough for sixth place due to the number of misses she accumulated. 

On Friday and Saturday, Krafian returns to the Nationals to compete in the two-day heptathlon, in which participants gain points on how well they perform seven track events – 100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, and 200-metre run on the first day; and the long jump, javelin, and 800-meters on the second day. Last year, Krafian finished in fifth with 4,496 points, about 450 points behind the winner Kaitlyn Kirby of Palm Harbor, Fla. 

Like last year, Krafian will have company from her hometown in Greensboro as a team of four Belmont High seniors will compete in the 1,600-meter Sprint Medley Relay (comprised of two 200 meters legs, a 400 meters leg then finishing with an 800 meters anchor) as Bryan Huang, Max Serrano-Wu, Mel Nagashima and Belmont High 400 meter record holder Calvin Perkins will attempt to earn All-American status. 

Belmont’s sprint medley relay team which will compete at Nationals this weekend.

Track: Krafian Repeats As Hurdles State Champ; Perkins 2nd In Record Time

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Photo: Anoush Krafian

Belmont High School Senior Anoush Krafian finished her Massachusetts High School track career in style by repeating as champion in the 100 meters hurdles, coming within one-one hundredth of a second of the state record as she left a talented field in her wake at the MIAA All-State Outdoor Track and Field Meet held at Fitchburg State University on Saturday, June 2. 

The Dartmouth-bound Krafian flew over the 10 33-inch barriers in 14.26 seconds, a personal best and a Belmont High School record to win by more than half-a-second over runner-up Saige Tudisco of Pentucket Regional in 14.80. Krafian’s time was .01 of a second back of the state record of 14.25 set in 2011 by Brockton’s Vanessa Clerveaux who currently runs for Haiti internationally.

Earlier in the meet, Krafian jumped to a fourth-place finish in the high jump with a 5-foot, 6-inch effort, which tied with two other athletes for the second highest attempt (Krafian took fourth on the number of misses she accumulated in the meet) behind Anna Jordahl-Henry of Wellesley who won scaling 5’8″.

On Thursday, Krafian came close to repeating as the state’s pentathlon champion – a title she won indoors in February – as she broke her own state outdoor record by nearly 150 points. But she was overtaken by sophomore Jada Johnson of Sharon who destroyed her own personal best by 300 points to win the five-event competition, 3,529 to 3,408.

With her first, second and fourth place showings, Krafian earned all of Belmont’s 23 points to place 6th out of 71 schools scoring in the meet. 

On the boys’ side of the ledger, Belmont High Senior Calvin Perkins repeated last year’s All-State result placing second in a school record 48.16, this time to Phillips Magre of Somerville who dipped below the 48 second line in 47.98. Perkins took a half-second off last year’s race time to come close to the state record set by Boston College High’s Mike Greene 35 years ago. 

Belmont’s 4X400 relay team of seniors Max Serrano-Wu, Mel Nagashima, Bryan Huang and junior Nicholas Picardi took 7th in finals in 3 minutes, 24.75 seconds. 

Belmont’s Boys finished 25th with 10 points out of 77 teams scoring.

Belmont Track’s Krafian, Calvin, Relays Shine At Coaches’ Invitational Meet

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Photo: MSTCA State Coaches Meet director Mike Miller and the field of an athlete of the meet Shira Stoller (left) and the Overall athlete of the meet Anoush Krafian (right). (photo credit: MSTCA)

In a warm-up for the league, division and state championships upcoming in the next three weeks, Belmont High top track athletes are hinting at some big results after putting forth some outstanding performances at the Massachusetts State Track Coaches’ Association Invitational on Saturday, May 12.

At the boys’ events held at Durfee High in Fall River, senior Calvin Perkins destroyed a talented field in the 400 meters, powering home to win in 48.98 seconds, a full second and a half in front of Boston College High sophomore Shawn Carter. Perkins then anchored Belmont’s 4×400 relay to his second victory of the day, again in impressive fashion as the quartet finished in 3 minutes and 27.95 seconds, two seconds clear of the second place squad.

Also showing his talent in two events, junior Merrill Barnes finished in fifth in the long jump (19 feet, 2 and a quarter inches) and tied for eighth in the high jump (5 feet, 10 inches). Senior Mike Pomer raced to 10th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:00.64.

As for a glimpse into the future, Belmont freshman Preston Jackson-Stephen won the freshman 100 meters in 11.88 seconds, the Marauders’ sophomore 4×100 placed fifth and sophomore Stephen Carvalho dipped under 10 minutes in the two miles in a time of 9:56.77 to place 10th.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Belmont senior star Anoush Krafian came away with her share of silverware as she strode to an easy victory in her specialty, the 100 meter hurdles, in 15.31 second (she qualified for the finals in 15.17) while finishing second in the high jump (5 feet, 2 inches) and a tie for ninth in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet and a half inch. At the end of the competition held a Sharon High School, despite some outstanding performances – including Natick junior Grace Connolly breaking Olympic bronze medalist and New York City marathon winner Shalene Flannigan’s state two-mile record set in 1999 – Krafian left with the Outstanding Overall Athlete of the Meet.

Belmont Girls’ 4×400 relay took home fourth in 4:15.81 while freshman Victoria Meringer finished sixth in the freshman mile in 5:34.23.

ALL-STATE CHAMPS! Perkins, Krafian Take Track Titles, Girls 400 Relay Breaks School Record

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Photo: Belmont’s All-State Champions; Calvin Perkins (left) and Anoush Krafian.

A pair of Belmont senior track athletes raced to the top of the winner’s podium at the 33rd annual MIAA Indoor Track & Field All-State Championship held at Boston’s Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center on Saturday, Feb. 24. 

Calvin Perkins broke the 80-second barrier in the 600 meters, taking first in 1 minute, 19.97 seconds, defeating Newton North junior Theo Burba (1:20.42) by nearly half a second in the two-lapper. 

It was deja vu for Anoush Krafian as the Dartmouth-bound multi-talent won her second all-state hurdle title – she took the 2017 outdoor 100-meter hurdle crown – by the same thinnest of margins, out diving Medway junior Ava Vasile by one-hundredth of a second, 8.26 seconds to 8.27 seconds. Krafian time lowered the school record in the event that she set a week previous winning the Division 2 state championship.

Krafian nearly took two titles, finishing second in the high jump, scaling a season-best 5 feet, 6 inches, only bested by Hingham senior Zoe Dainton who cleared 5’9″. Krafian also took 16th in the long jump, 16′ 6.25″, an event that took place immediately after the hurdles.

Belmont’s quartet in the 4×400 meter relay – seniors Emily Duffy and Carey Allard, sophomore Soleil Tseng and freshman Rachel November – finished in 7th in 4 minutes, 5.06 seconds, breaking the school record of 4:05.33 the team set last week. The Boys 4×400 squad made up of seniors Max-Serrano-Wu, Mel Nagashima, Bryan Huang and Perkins had a rough race with a dropped baton and finished in 3:33.81 for 15th.

The Belmont Girls finished in 6th place with 20 points while the Boys placed 15th with 10 points.



Track Record Holders Named Boosters Athletes For December
 

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Photo: Anoush Krafian.


The Belmont Boosters named its December Athletes of the Month.


The Female athlete for December is Anoush Krafian of the Girls’ Indoor Track Team. This season, senior Krafian has set the school’s record in the 55-meter hurdles in 8.41 seconds and the indoor long jump with a leap of 17-feet, 5-inches.


The Male athlete for December is Calvin Perkins of the Boys’ Indoor Track Team. Also a senior, Perkins established a pair of new records: 35.67 seconds in the 300 meters and a 1 minute 21.42 second 600 meters which was the fastest High School time in the US last month.




Another One Bites The Dust: Perkins Breaks 300 Record; Fastest 600 HS Runner in US
 

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Photo: Calvin Perkins at the 2017 Massachusetts All-State outdoor meet.


Don’t tell Calvin Perkins to slow down; he’s got more records to break.


The Belmont High senior all-star has taken down his second school indoor track record, turning in a stellar 35.67 second in the 300 meters last Thursday, Dec. 28 at Boston University in the team’s dual meet vs. Winchester.


And the New Year brought even better news for the talented Perkins – he is a multi-year all-district musician playing the trumpet – as his 600-meter record of 1 minute 21.42 set on Dec. 22 was ranked the fastest time in the US for High School 600 meter runners so far this indoor season.


Move Over Victor: Perkins Breaks School’s 600M Indoor Record
 

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Photo: Calvin Perkins after his record-breaking run. (William Brotchie, photo)


According to Belmont High School Head Cross Country and Track Coach William Brotchie, there was actually a 13th Labor of Hercules that was specific to Belmont: to break one of Victor Gras‘ Belmont High School track records. Gras’ name dominates the record books in the middle distance races both indoors and outdoors for the past dozen years with only fleeting attempts to challenge his times.


But Gras’ name will be replaced in the 600 meters when last Friday, Dec 22, Belmont senior Calvin Perkins completed that Herculean feat at the Reggie Lewis Center in Roxbury during the team’s dual meet against Lexington as Perkins took a half a second from the old record crossing the finish line in 1 minute, 21.42 seconds.


The Marauder captain continues his impressive run of form, coming off a junior season that saw him take second in the Massachusetts All-State 800 meters and an 8th in the 600 meters in March’s Indoor state meet.




Belmont Juniors Krafian, Perkins Take Home EMass Division 3 Track Titles
 

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Photo: Belmont High Anoush Krafian in action earlier this outdoor season.


A pair of Belmont High juniors will be heading to this week’s All-State Meet as Eastern Mass Division 3 champions as Anoush Krafian and Calvin Perkins sprinted home to take individual victories on Sunday, May 28 at Burlington High School.


Krafian cruised to the 100-meter hurdles title in 15.33 seconds, beating Pembroke High senior Julieanne Watts by nearly half-a-second.


Perkins powered to an impressive 49.13 to defeat Burlington High senior Ben Piotti by more than half-a-second on his home track. The time was just a second back from the EMass D3 record of 48.1.


Belmont High junior Calvin Perkins during the 2016 Cross Country season.


It’s been a busy week for Krafian who on Thursday, May 18 shattered the school’s 100 meter hurdles record (which she already held) with a 14.95 second effort during the Division 3 state Pentathlon, a five-event competition that includes the 100 meter hurdles, the long jump, the shot put, 800 meters and high jump. The time broke the best-ever time in the hurdles portion of the event by more than a second.


At the All-State meet, Krafian will meet the only other athlete under 15 seconds in the hurdles, Plymouth South’s senior Madelyn Sessler who has run 14.91. 


Krafian placed second in the one-day pentathlon with a personal best of 3,040 points, behind the defending champion Hopkinton junior Caitlyn Halloran’s 3,166 points. During the events, Krafian also achieved her best marks in the shot put (26 feet 3.75-inches) and the 800 meters, 2:38.37. 


Not that she isn’t busy enough, on Sunday, Krafian took 5th place in the long jump, leaping 17 feet, 6 1/2 inches.


In addition to his victory, Perkins joined his teammates junior Max Serrano-Wu, senior Aidan Carey and junior Bryan Huang to lead off the 4×400 relay to a second-place performance in 3 minutes and 28.41 seconds behind winners Pembroke which broke the tape in 3:26.41 


Belmont’s tradition of strong relay squads continue as the girls’ 4×400 team of senior Danielle Kelly, junior Emily Duffy, freshman Soleil Tseng and senior Julia Cella placed third with a 4:06.70 effort behind Hopkinton and Tewksbury while the girls’ 4×800 of freshman Olivia Zarzycki, junior Alexa Sabatino, frosh Madeline Kitch and senior Alexandra Bailey broke the 10 minute barrier with a 9:53.51 to finish an impressive 4th.


Over on the boys’ side, Belmont’s 4×800 team of junior Jason Berger, junior Zach Tseng, senior Adam Cronin and junior James Kitch kicked it to the line in 8:17.29 in 4th.  


Also scoring for Belmont were junior Alexa Sabatino placing 7th in the mile (5:22.90) while 9th-grade sprinter Soleil Tseng took 5th in the 400 meters just a tad over the one-minute (1:00.11) mark for the one lap.


Belmont girls’ was 7th in the team event with 39 points with the boys’ in 10th with 23 points.