Pair of Belmont High Alumni Race To National Championships

It was a magical Saturday, May 26, as two Belmont High School grads took home national championships at the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at at Ohio Wesleyan University.

Haverford College senior Chris Stadler passed long-time rival and defending champion John Crain of North Central College on the final stretch in the 5,000 meters to win by less than half-a-second, 14 minutes, 11.28 seconds to 14:11.72.Screen Shot 2014-05-28 at 12.18.40 PM

On Thursday, it was Crain who ran away from Stadler to take the 10,000 meter race.

The win was Stadler’s second national championship, having won the 5,000 meters indoors last year. The victory also secured Stadler his eighth All-American certificate and secured his status as the most decorated runner in Haverford history. He was also named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Mideast Region Outdoor Athlete of the Year.

Just a few hours earlier, Johns Hopkins University senior Andrew Carey became the first Blue Jay men’s athlete to win an individual event at the NCAA track championships when he won the 800 meters in 1:50.62, ahead of runner-up Mitchell Black (1:51.30) from Tufts.

In the preliminary round, Carey broke his own school record with a time of 1:49.67, the best time posted by any Division III runner this season. Carey became the first two-time All-American in school history as he finished second in the 800 a year ago.

See Carey’s post-championship interview here.Screen Shot 2014-05-28 at 12.14.41 PM

“It’s so fitting to see Andrew’s year end with a national title,” said John Hopkins track coach Bobby Van Allen.

“He put himself in that elite stage and just kept going. His confidence was overwhelming and a large part of his success. I’m ready to see the next chapter in his running career.”

Carey has become the first-ever two-time All-American after finishing second in the 800 meter at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships.

Both Belmont High alums’ colleges competed in the Centennial Conference.

Post Season Schedule Set for Sprinters, Belmont Baseball, Tennis Teams

Three Belmont High School teams will be playing in the post season as Baseball and the Boys and Girls Tennis teams along with two exceptional sprinters on the track team received their tournament draws yesterday, May 27, from the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Freshman Julia Cella is the favorite in the 200 meters – having run a season leading 26.07 – and a top contender in the 100 meters in the Div. 3 East track and field meeting taking place on Saturday, May 31 at Pembroke High School. She will also be anchoring the 4×100 meter relay ranked fourth in D3.  Joining her will be fellow freshman Rachel Berets in the 100 meter hurdles, the top 9th grader in the event. Junior Kayla Magno is a top eight threat in the 400 meters hurdles. Joining his teammates is junior Max Jones who has broken 23 seconds in the 200 meters and is rated 4th coming into the meet. Fellow junior Ari Silverfine dipped under 2 minutes in the 800 meters for a top 10 ranking this year.

Belmont High Baseball – which came out of the weekend’s Brendan Grant Tournament with a win and a loss – with a record of 11-9 has been seeded 9th in the Div. 2 North sections and will meet number 8 Beverly High School under the lights at Endicott College in Beverly on Friday, May 30 at 7 p.m. A win will see the Marauders head over to Gloucester on Saturday, May 31 to take on number 1 seed Gloucester High School.

The 8-8 Boys’ Tennis will be traveling to Topsfield to challenge the number 5 seed Masconomet Regional High School on Thursday, May 29 at 5:30 p.m. while Girls’ Tennis, with a record of 11-5 and co-champions of the Middlesex League’s Liberty Division, will host Tewksbury High School on Thursday, May 29 at 3:30 p.m. A Marauders victory will likely see a match between league co-champion Reading High School.