Girls Relay Team Headed to the Nationals After All-State Win

For the second time this school year, runners from will strut their stuff on a national stage.

The girls’ track team’s 4x800 meter relay team became All-State Champions on Tuesday after running the fastest time of the year for any class school – 9:18.23.

“They really ran by themselves,” said Coach Steve Sawyer about the team, whoch is made up of seniors Kerry Phelan and Emily Senning, junior Meg Blatchford and freshman Emily Weigand.

The two favorites headed into the All-Class meet – and the closest competition in second and third – were the Lincoln-Sudbury and Newton North teams. Lincoln-Sudbury finished in 9:24.33 and Newton North in 9:26.48.

“You run faster when you are with stronger teams,” Sawyer said. “But they were all by themselves.”

The performance also meant the team was named to the Boston Globe All-Scholastic team.

Part of the team’s winning strategy was to have two of the team members who had qualified for the All-State meet in other events to actually sit out of those races to stay fresh for the relay. Phelan had qualified in the 2 mile race, Senning in the 800 meters and Weigand in the mile.

“We kept them all fresh,” Sawyer said.

And that strategy will continue. This weekend is the New England Championships in Maine, but the Generals won’t make the trip. Instead, they will rest up until the following weekend, June 14-16 when they plan to travel to the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Greensboro, N.C.

The team qualified for the nationals with their time, as did the 4x1 mile team that consists of Phelan, Senning, Weigand and Emily Horgan.

The team is selling T-shirts to help pay for the trip, which will include flights to Raleigh-Durham and a drive to Greensboro. The team has been selling the shirts at recent playoff games for the lacrosse team and postseason tournament matches for the tennis teams.

The 4x800 meter race is scheduled for Friday night and the 4x1 mile relay will be Saturday morning.

Last fall, .

“It’s been a running high for the kids, parents and coaches,” Sawyer said.