RallyNorth.net

BURLINGTON — Joe Staudt had an impressive performance last year at the North Sectional decathlon, placing fifth with a school record 5,627 points. Tuesday and Wednesday at Burlington High, though, was more than impressive. He smashed his North Andover record with 6,010 points to place second out of 75 competitors in the North. He held the lead until the final event, but the 1,500 meters isn’t a natural fit for the husky 6-2, 210-pounder. Framingham’s David Welch (6,043 points) surpassed him for the narrow win. He ran a 4:54.98 to Staudt’s 5:27.13, good for a 175-point differential. In the last 17 years, only multi-time N.H. state champions Freddie Wills and Tristan Hall of Londonderry have surpassed Staudt’s 6,010. Both were Division 1 college track recruits.  Staudt, a Bowdoin recruit, also teamed with sophomore Matt Manteiga (26th, 4,307), sophomore Connor Grant (27th, 4,287) and senior Xavier Laguerre (37th, 3,923) to place second in the team competition. Their 14,240 points was another Scarlet Knight record. Wilmington was tops among the 22 teams with 14,710 points. “This is what Joe’s going to do in college,” said Knights coach Steve Nugent. “He’s going to Nationals, too. This is something he has been looking forward to, He’s just a competitor. He’s so multi-talented, He put it all on display.” Staudt has totally rewritten the North Andover record books. Hall of Famer Jack McManus had the original mark back in 1978 but Staudt easily erased that last June. Pentucket’s Alex Demeule (18th, 4,615) and Sam Coppola (20th, 4,615) were the next highest local scorers. Massachusetts does its sectional decathlons and heptathlons a few days before New Englands so some top athletes opt to skip the events.

Pentucket's Alex Demeule set a new school record in the 800 at the Division 3 Eastern Mass Championships, running a 1:58.93 to place third. He was also a part of the third-place 4x800 team, along with Josh Wildes, Drew Capener and Sam Coppola.

1. Noah Malhi snapped a school record that dated all the way back to 1970. The Pentucket star heaved the discus 152-9, topping the 150-10 by Bill Hamel in 1970.