It's a reality -- Poretta wins state title

NORTHFIELD, Mass. — Alanna Poretta's vision turned into a terrific reality yesterday at the Division 2 All-State meet at Northfield Mountain.

The Pentucket senior was not pleased with her All-State finish last year (15th), or her finish in last week's Division 3 Eastern Mass. meet (fifth). So she put her focus on how she really wanted to run.

"I pictured in my mind winning it and I kept playing in my head over and over how the race would go," said Poretta. "I really wanted to win it."

Poretta's mind game worked wonders as she ran a strong race from start to finish on her way to placing first in 19:08.8, three seconds ahead of Swampscott's Lindsay Walsh on the hilly and demanding 3.1-mile course.

Overall, it was a good day for the area's top individuals. Haverhill's Julie Solimine came in fourth in the Division 1 All-State race with a 19:25.6 and, on the boys side, Methuen's Jared Reddy ran third in Division 1 with a 16:11.8 with North Andover's Darryl Varney snagging 11th (16:43.7).

In the Division 2 boys race, Whittier's Bryan Stanley of Haverhill earned an All-State medal by coming in 12th with a 17:04.3.

But it was Poretta who led the way. She started strong up the intimidating first hill and stayed in a lead pack of three much of the race, going back and forth from first to second. She led at the 2-mile mark, but Walsh passed her going into the final mile. However, with about 500 yards to go, heading down the final hill, Poretta reclaimed the lead and charged to the finish line.

"I knew if I wanted to win, I had to make a move on the last hill," said Poretta, who recently committed to Boston College.

"Then, when I got in the lead, I kept telling myself — 'one more push, one more push' to be a state champion. I knew I couldn't let up.

"It's just an honor to win this."

Poretta did have a few things working in her favor. After finishing 15th at All-State last year, she was determined

She enjoys courses with hills and she thrived on the challenge from Walsh and Bishop Feehan's Viviana Hanley, who came in third.

"It was awesome having them push me," said Poretta. "Unfortunately, I didn't have that much competition during the dual-meet season."

Pleased as she was, Poretta did not list yesterday's title as her greatest running moment.

"Even though I finished fifth, breaking five minutes in the mile at All-State (track) last year, when I ran 4:57.83, that's my greatest moment," she said.

Solimine comes back strong

After finishing sixth last week at the Eastern Mass. Division 1 meet, Julie Solimine was not happy. Yesterday at the Division 1 All-State meet was a different matter.

Charging up the initial hill at Northfield Mountain, Solimine took the lead briefly after the first mile and held on later in the race to finish fourth with a fine time of 19:25.6.

"This definitely makes up for last week," said Solimine, who was eighth at last year's All-State. "I tried to focus on the girls in front of me and I didn't want to leave anything on the course. I feel good about it."

Her performance, which is the highest individual All-State place for a Haverhill girl in his 18 years as head coach, didn't surprise Haverhill coach Mike Maguire.

"I know she was upset last week and I think she runs well when she comes back from a race like that," said Maguire, whose team came in sixth overall. "She ran a terrific race."

Solimine, a junior, placed first in all but three races this year even without a push from standout senior Christine McNaughton, who missed most of the season with a hip injury.

"I missed Christine so much, it was tough training without her," said Solimine. "I'm hoping she's back for track."

Another Haverhill junior, Whittier Tech's Stanley, had a good day in his first All-State competition. The Commonwealth Conference champion was steady from start to finish.

Division 1 Girls All-State

at Northfield Mountain (3.1 miles)

Team scores: 1. Lincoln-Sudbury 52, 2. Newton South 102, 3. Franklin 126, 4. Wachusett 147, 5. Whitman-Hanson 166, 6. Haverhill 175, 7. Amherst 188, 8. Acton-Boxboro 190, 9. Concord-Carlisle 201, 10. Wellesley 206, 11. Longmeadow 270, 12. Oliver Ames 272, 13. Dracut 278, 14. Groton-Dunstable 308, 15. Northampton 369, 16. Shrewsbury 373

Top 3 and top area finishers: 1. Andrea Keklak (L-S) 19:00.5, 2. Carolyn Stocker (Weston) 19:05.3, 3. Christine Davis (A-B) 19:14.9, 4. Julie Solimine (Hav) 19:25.6, 12. Abbey D'Agostino (Masconomet) 19:46.8, 44. Jillian Meserve (Hav) 20:48.8, 55. Kelsey Kowal (Central Catholic) 21:08.1, 68. Beth Fullerton (Hav) 21:18.4, 75. Mary Fullerton (Hav) 21:37.3, 81. Samantha Kelleher (Hav) 21:43.7, 99. Bridget Twomey (Hav) 22:03.9124. Corinne Clifford (Hav) 22:55.8

Division 2 Girls All-State

at Northfield Mountain (3.1 miles)

Team scores: 1. Bishop Feehan 45, 2. Hamilton-Wenham 70, 3. Milton 141, 4. Mt. Greylock 157, 5. Sutton 186, 6. Medfield 213, 7. Swampscott 217, 8. Seekonk 226, 9. Holyoke Catholic 229, 10. Dennis-Yarmouth 236, 11. Bromfield 265, 12. Coyle & Cassidy 275, 13. Whitinville Christian 316, 14. Monson 321, 15. Weston 325, 16. Norwell 372

Top 3 and top area finishers: 1. Alanna Poretta (Pentucket) 19:08.8, 2. Lindsay Walsh (Swampscott) 19:11.8, 3. Viviana Hanley (Bishop Feehan) 19:19.3

Division 1 Boys All-State

at Northfield Mountain (3.1 miles)

Team scores: 1. Mansfield 133, 2. Methuen 137, 3. Brookline 153, 4. Lowell 158, 5. St. John's Prep 164, 6. Nashoba 179, 7. Oliver Ames 182, 8. Concord-Carlisle 182, 9. Lexington 194, 10. Westboro 198, 11. Shrewsbury 233, 12. North Andover 248, 13. Reading 276, 14. Amherst 288, 15. Northampton 324, 16. Ludlow 347

Top 3 and top area finishers: 1. Patrick McGowan (Mansfield) 16:05.4, 2. Anthony Taylor (Arlington) 16:10.4, 3, Jared Reddy (Meth) 16:11.8, 11. Darryl Varney (NA) 16:43.7, 22. Andrew Stamatopulos (Meth) 17:02.6, 34. Max O'Brien (NA) 17:18.1, 37. Tyler Sullivan (Meth) 17:19.7, 41. Simon Voorhees (NA) 17:21.9, 43. Ben Pare (Meth) 17:23.8, 59. Griffin Coakley (NA) 17:39.8, 101. Corey Hamel (Meth) 18:09.2, 122. Tim Coppa (NA) 18:30.7; 126. Lucas Parsons (Meth) 18:35.2, 129. Aaron Martinez (NA) 18:39.2

Division 2 Boys All-State

at Northfield Mountain (3.1 miles)

Team scores: 1. Pembroke 37, 2. Bishop Feehan 95, 3. Seekonk 142, 4. Whitinsville Christian 158, 5. Hamilton-Wenham 177, 6. Marblehead 190, 7. Hopedale 194, 8. Newburyport 196, 9. Sandwich 222, 10. Medfield 271, 11. Weston 299, 12. Old Rochester 299, 13. Lenox 316, 14. Sutton 329, 15. Monson 343, 16. Mt. Greylock 375

Top 3 and top area finishers: 1. Arleigh McRae (Whitinsville) 16:23.2, 2. Ryan Kelley (Pembroke) 16:26.9, 3. Paul Cina (Pembroke) 16:28.4, 12. Bryan Stanley (Whittier) 17:04.3

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Solimine takes fourth in Division 1

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