Quarm makes history
Methuen track super sophomore Lauren Quarm‘s biggest accomplishment this spring might have flown under the radar.
Quarm now owns the Eagle-Tribune area record in the 100-meter dash, with her 11.92 at Meet of Champions. The previous area mark was owned by former Methuen High star Wileshka Samuel (12.17). Quarm topped that mark five time this spring!
Two other area sprinters nearly broke records — Andover’s Jason DeJesus in the dash (10.69) and Haverhill’s Natanael Vigo Catala in the 200 (21.70). They finished behind just 2023 Eagle-Tribune MVP Darwin Jimenez of Methuen in the dash (10.61) and 2022 MVP Jordany Volquez of Lawrence in the 200 (21.59)
Thornton one of the best
Friday was a sad day in area sports, with the exit of Pentucket Regional athletic director Dan Thornton after 21 years at the school.
Thornton, who was also an assistant principal, has long been one of the most reliable, helpful and passionate ADs in the Eagle-Tribune area. Need proof? He was recently honored by the Cape Ann League with the Elliot Roundy Distinguished Service Award.
I’ve worked with a lot of athletic directors in my more than two decades with The Eagle-Tribune. Very few have matched Thornton.
Keep it classy
While covering a recent New Hampshire state championship game, I was absolutely stunned by the behavior of the non-local team’s student fan section. The “fans” spent more than two hours screaming vulgar, obscene and offensive comments at the local squad, swearing and body shaming, and accusing the players of criminal activities.
I’ve covered high school sports for more than 20 years. Before that I played high school football. I’ve never heard a student section so bad. It has no place in high school sports. Shame on the kids, and the school officials for not stepping in.
Captains Corner
The high school sports spring season has come to an end, but we at The Eagle-Tribune still want to honor the area’s high school captains as part of our Captains Corner series. Coaches — or parents or the athletes themselves — who would like their captains featured are welcome to submit a photo to dwillis@eagletribune.com. Photos should have all captains featured and ideally in uniform.
One Final Thought
As Michael Muldoon used to say, “If you can bring a smile to someone’s face today, just do it!
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