They came.
They ran.
They medaled.
(And they set a new Revere High School record.)
Four members of the Revere High boys track team, Keny Guerrero, JV Cunha, Ricardo Goncalves, and Mark Marchese, journeyed to Eugene, Oregon, to compete in the Nike Outdoor National Track Meet for high school athletes that was held at fabled Edwards Field at the University of Oregon during the week of June 16-19.
The quartet competed in the 1600 meter sprint medley, which features two legs of 200m each, followed by a 400m leg, and finishing with an 800m leg.
Seniors Mark Marchese and Ricardo Goncalves ran the initial 200 meter legs. Although splits for each runner were not official, RHS head coach Sam Ros’s unofficial time recorded a cumulative split of 46.96, which is an average of 23.48 per runner.
“This average split was the fastest they’ve achieved all season,” Ros noted.
Keny Guerrero then took the baton for the 400 leg and sped around the track in a clocking of 54.0
“This was about a second slower than his PR, but it kept us in the hunt,” said Ros.
JV Cunha then took the stick and faded to sixth place for most of the race. However, coming down the stretch of the final 100 meters, JV shifted gears into his trademark final kick and moved all the way up to fourth, narrowly missing third and finishing only a couple of seconds behind the second-place team.
The foursome’s cumulative time of 3:38.87 eclipsed the old RHS mark of 3:40.46 that was set a decade ago in 2012 by the team of Michael Fitzpatrick, Karim Sahila, Devin Colon, and Johnny Lopes.
“For myself and these boys, this was a once in a lifetime experience,” said Ros. “They took full advantage of this amazing opportunity that everyone helped to make possible. The community rallied together and helped raise $10,000 for us to be able to afford this trip.
“They ran their hearts out and finished fourth, earning themselves a well-deserved medal,” Ros continued. “I’ve always been proud to be from Revere and I instill that in my athletes. We always go for bigger and better. Local success is great, but we keep our eyes on representing Revere at the state and national levels. These boys did just that.
“If you’re from Revere, you should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. I know I am beyond proud. This was an amazing year and a great way to cap off my 20-year coaching career,” Ros added.
