WEST BRIDGEWATER – To say the MSTCA Division 6 relays went well for Amesbury High School would be a massive understatement.
The Red Hawks took home first place in both the boys and girls divisions, with the former putting up triple digits. This was the first time both squads had won the event in school history. Coach Ernie Bissalion noted that winning can expectation for his athletes, but the weight of the team victory is not lost on anyone.
“This doesn’t happen all of the time,” Bissalion said. “I’ve come to some of these events where we were lucky to get third place. We don’t take this for granted.”
The 100 points scored by the boys put them comfortably ahead of second place Wareham’s 53 points and third-place Carver’s 45. The dominant victory was bolstered by eight event victories and four meet records.
“We had a lot of work this week, especially in technique days,” Amesbury senior Zach Rome said. “We knew we put the work in during the indoor season and we have a lot of depth on this team, which really showed in every event. We felt very confident and knew we would place high.”
Bissalion said that the victory comes amidst a dominant stretch for the boys team, as the Red Hawks have won six state championships since 2016. This has rubbed off on the athletes, heightening the team’s profile in the town.
“We have younger kids stepping up and excelling at a high rate,” junior Michael Sanchez said. “The popularity is growing, and the future of the program is really bright.”
The victory on the girl’s side was less expected and much closer. The Red Hawks were tied with Joseph Case for much of the meet but pulled away with a second-place finish in the 4×400 meter relays. Their 60 points placed them ahead of Ipswich, who pulled ahead of Case at the end with 53 points. Case rounded out the top three with 52.
The team expected to finish in the top three but did not anticipate the victory.
“This is the first time in my four years of running track that we even got close to winning a state,” senior Anna Tessmer said. “It’s really amazing that we actually did it.”
The team didn’t take home as many individual wins as the boys, rather relying on high finishes in various events to secure the victory.
“It was great to see everyone putting in their best effort,” senior Megan McAndrews said. “Everybody just did what they had to do, and it is so rewarding that after four years we finally did it.”
“It doesn’t matter if you are the underdogs, you can come through it,” senior Lidya Belanger said. “We never thought our team could do this and it shows that if you put your mind to it, anything can be done.”