Gloucester Alumni

By Nick Curcuru
Staff Writer, Gloucester Daily Times

Gloucester head track coach Jim Munn described his athletes' performance at yesterday's USA Indoor Track and Field National Championships as memorable but not mind blowing.

The 4x800 relay team of sophomores Gilbert Brown, Kyle Hurd and Kevin Hurd along with junior Andrew Ryan and junior shot putter Gus Margiotta were just five of 22,000 competitors representing 33 states at yesterday's meet at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. The competitors did not have any affiliation with their high schools in the event as it takes place after the season ends. Therefore none of the athletes could wear their high school uniforms and represented their city rather than their school.

Personal bests were the goal for the meet according to Munn and both Margiotta and the 4x800 team came very close. Margiotta finished off the day with a throw of 51-2.25, three feet off of his personal best and good for 26th out of 33 throwers. On the other hand, the relay team finished with a time of 8:08.7, good for second place in their heat, 14th overall out of 29 teams and just a half second short of their personal-best.

"It was a good day but not spectacular," Munn said. "The kids ran well but there was really no expectation of winning. This year it was all about the experience, the kids were excited and privileged to be competing with such a quality field of athletes. None of them are national title contenders this year but they will all be back next year with a lot of experience on their hands."

In the 4x800, Gloucester was able to get an early lead thanks to Brown running the first leg at 1:59.9, which was the first time he ran a sub-two-minute leg this year. Kevin and Kyle Hurd ran the second and third legs respectively, Kevin Hurd finished with a time of 2:01.4 while Kyle Hurd came in with a time of 2:07.7. Junior Andrew Ryan ran the anchor leg with a time of 1:58.8. Ryan drew praise from Munn for running a solid time despite nursing a sore back. Gloucester's second place finish included a better time than two local teams from Newton and Lowell.

A team from Abermarle, N.C. won the 4x800 with a time of 7:36.99.

"They finished second out of 11 teams in the heat which was pretty good," Munn said. "They weren't expected to win but they expected to perform well which they did, it wasn't their top performance but they all ran hard and ran well. Next year they could be in the ball park with the other elite teams."

Munn also lauded Margiotta for his throw that came in over 50 feet. The junior did not foul in all three of this throws and according to Munn was very smooth in his technique. The winning shot put was turned in by Stephen Saenz of Rio Grand City, Texas who threw 71-0.5, five feet ahead of the second place competitor.

"Gus threw well," Munn said. "His technique was good and he did not foul. He was really enjoying himself and the experience will really help him develop."

Overall Munn was happy with the way his team performed, and even more happy with the valuable experience they gained.

"It's pretty remarkable to compete with the best," Munn said. "And most importantly they all enjoyed it, they are a great bunch of kids and they have gained priceless experience for next year, which is going to be a big year for us."